Five horsemen: O-line leading Trojans into playoffs

By Jon Hoover
Longmont Ledger

The Longmont High School football team is charging into the playoffs behind the solid play of its offensive line. Steady improvement throughout the year has the Trojan front line peaking at just the right time.

Offensive line coach Eric Coyle said the line is leading the team in the right direction.

“There is no question that as the offensive line goes, so the team goes. They have got to be the leadership on the team from a work standpoint,” Coyle said.

Longmont’s Nathan Mann holds the line against Sand Creek’s Vernan Chilton. Jonathan Castner, Longmont Ledger

Like the other Trojan linemen, senior right tackle Paul Johnson is focusing on his mental game.

“I feel we can be very good. We need to stay smart, but we have the physical part down. We have very good chances,” Johnson said.

Senior left tackle Nathan Mann agrees.

“We have our minds in the right place. Sometimes we don’t really get things clicking with our back´field, but I know that once we do … we’re on fire, we’re unstoppable,” Mann said.

The workhorses of the Trojan front are Justin Hansen and Scot Coyle. Both players play every down on the offensive and defen´sive lines.

At 6 feet 5 inches and 270 pounds, Hansen towers over other players. He has been playing foot´ball since he was 5 years old and still finds joy in the little things — like blowing an opposing player off his feet.

“I like going to lay people out the most. It’s just fun,” Hansen said, chuckling.

Hansen admires the way that his head coach gives players the oppor´tunity to try different roles.

“It’s a fun little program he has here. He gives everybody an equal shot at any position they want. He has given me equal opportunities for both defense and offense and I really appreciate that from him,” Hansen mused.

But Hansen doubted Head Coach Doug Johnson would let him carry the ball.

“Not unless we want to fumble,” he laughed.

Scot Coyle has started at center for three seasons. He thinks his group needs to concentrate on fine-tuning their blocking techniques.

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“At this point in the season we have the basics down pretty well. If we can get the little things working for us then we can be quite a bit better,” Coyle said.

Coyle especially enjoys the opportunity to be coached by his father, Eric. The elder Coyle played offensive line for the University of Colorado and the Washington Red´skins in the NFL.

Senior left guard Taylor Keller also has high praise for his position coach.

“He is probably one of the biggest influences that I’ve had throughout my high school career in any sport. He is just a great guy and a great motivator. He just makes me want to get better,” Keller said.

Coach Coyle has taught his players that success “in the ditch” has more to do with technique and attitude than size.

“I don’t care if the guy across from you is 280 pounds, if you put your hand on the line and you fire off and stick him right in the belly button you can block him,” Coach Coyle stated emphatically.

Head coach Johnson said when the offensive line does its job, other players get to collect the accolades. But without good blocking up front, backs and receivers won’t have run´ning lanes or time to get open. He said that too often people remem´ber offensive linemen for what they do wrong.
“The times when you notice an offensive lineman as a fan is when there is a holding penalty, a sack or the running back gets hit before he gets the ball,” Johnson lamented.

Coach Coyle added that the Trojan scheme requires blockers to be particularly nimble and athletic. This style of play puts extra physical demands on the offensive line´men.
“These are the big kids, the workhorses. That’s a lot of meat to be packing back and forth across the field. In that way they have to work harder because they are not running on the same chassis as some of the smaller guys,” he said.
Coach Coyle wants his line to work on playing until the whistle, rather than letting up when their in´ternal clocks tell them the play should be winding down.

“If they want to be a championship-caliber offensive line they have to get to the point where they are absolutely finishing every play. I have challenged the guys and they’re getting there,” Coach Coyle said. “Hopefully we get several more weeks of football and can get as good at that as we possibly can.”

Email: hoover29@hotmail.com