Weight room confidential: Meet the O-line and D-line

This is the second in a 3-part series as Daily Bee sports editor Eric Plummer sits down in the Sandpoint weight room and talks shop with the Bulldog football players as they prepare to battle in the state championship game on Saturday against No. 1 ranked Bishop Kelly.Part 2 — Offensive and defensive lines.

Cast of characters: Carlos Collado (G/DE); Alex Feyen (G); Rob Wentz (C); Tyrell Murray (T); Travis Davis (T); Sam Johnson (DE); Devin LaCroix (DT); Brett Hutchens (DT); Zack Alamillo (DE).

• Up close and personal with the ‘sexy hogs’

Many a coach has called his offensive and defensive linemen the big uglies, and strange as it may sound, it’s a term of endearment on the gridiron. But the Bulldog offensive line fancies a different moniker.

“We prefer to be called sexy hogs,” quips Carlos Collado, the only Bulldog who starts on both sides of the ball.

But make no mistake, there’s nothing sexy about the way the group plays. While undersized by the competition’s standard, averaging 210 pounds per player, they’re fast and physical, and play with great confidence and passion.

Before the opening playoff game against Kuna, Collado asked LaCroix an honest question.

“Aren’t you nervous about the game?” recalls LaCroix, who in fact wasn’t. “I always had that mindset that we’d play to the end.”

Or as guard Tyrell Murray says: “It wasn’t if we’re going to state, it’s when.”

The confidence stems from knowing they’ve paid their dues, put in the time and effort to fulfill a goal.

“As freshman we made a decision that we were going to make it here no matter what,” recalls Collado of the state championship game. “And here we are.”

With a matchup against top-ranked Bishop Kelly looming, guard Alex Feyen, the biggest of the group at 250 pounds, says it’s a game four years in the making.

“In almost every game we play, we’re the underdogs, people don’t respect how far we’ve come,” says Feyen, a deceptively quick player in the trenches. “If we play our physical brand of football, Bishop Kelly is going to have a rude awakening.”

• So fellas, what traits make a good offensive or defensive lineman?

Senior defensive end Sam Johnson, who has tallied 13 sacks coming off the edge, says it’s all about effort.

“The want-to and motivation to give it your all every play,” says Johnson, who seems to have a knack for creating turnovers. “Giving 100 percent every snap, even through the fourth quarter, and being quick off the ball.”

LaCroix, whose 5-foot-7 frame and plus quickness help create havoc in the trenches, says aggressiveness is key.

“The D-line is the start of all the defense. We get everybody going,” says LaCroix, second on the team with six sacks, a big number for an interior lineman. “We make the first hit, then everybody has to trust everybody to do their job.”

Collado, who sees snaps on both sides of the trenches, embodies what coaches look for in a player, blessed with a long reach and great speed and size.

“You’ve got to have a motor, can’t quit on the play, keep grinding,” says Collado, who feels speed is his best weapon. “Pulling and getting to a linebacker. They don’t expect you to get there. I meet them at the point of the attack.”

Wentz, a 180 pound senior who stepped in at center when two-year starting senior Marcus Rodriguez was injured two games ago, says good footwork and knowing where to step are keys.

Often times the low man wins in the trenches, and Murray says the undersized offensive line has to employ leverage.

“Because of our size, we have to get under our opponent so they pop up,” describes Murray. “Then we can drive them off the ball.”

Davis says getting guys to the ground on backside plays and pass protecting from his tackle spot are essential for success. Alamillo says all of the power cleans he’s done in the weight room have helped with explosiveness in the legs and hips.

When it’s all said and done, it’s 11 players that ultimately make a defense, and success often comes from playing as one unit.

“We all work really well together,” claims senior defensive tackle Brett Hutchens, a two-gap player whose job is to eat up blockers. “One guy doesn’t try to make all of the plays. You just have to flow and everything will come.”

• When you think of offensive line coach Crosby Tajan, what comes to mind?

“Hillarious. Intelligent. Incredibly detail oriented. He’s got every part of everything down,” answer four different hogs.

Tajan is also a master motivator, going to great lengths to fire the team up before games. Before the Kuna game, set to face the Kavemen, Tajan lit a torch while delivering a speech in the locker room.

Prior to the Rigby game, set to face the Trojans, he donned a spartan helmet and costume modeled after the movie 300 and stabbed a dummy with a sword, replete with fake blood.

The theatrics work, especially coming form an imposing figure like Tajan, himself a former starting offensive lineman at the University of Idaho.

“He gets us fired up. He’s very loud and has a fire in his voice,” says one of the hogs. “He gets everybody going.”

•ß Sandpoint defensive line coach Sean Lyon on what he likes most about his charges:

Johnson — “Flies around. He’ll hit anyone in the face if you ask him to. He’s quick as heck running things down from the back side.”

LaCroix — “Small and quickness; it’s made him such a great player. I’ve seen him in the backfield before the running back.”

Hutchens — “He’s just a beast. Pretty much every game he gets double teamed. When you watch the film, he holds two, sometimes three guys. It makes it so the rest of the defense can really fly around.”

Alamillo — “He’s just starting to tear it up inside, shedding blocks and making tackles.”

Tune in tomorrow for part three of the series, when we examine the far more glamorous positions of quarterback, running back and receiver.