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In the Trenches: Allen offensive line evolves, continues to dominate
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
Allen has been known as the land of the giants the past decade, housing a plethora of Division I offensive lineman as well as at least one (J.D. Walton) that went on to start in the NFL.
This year's line doesn't fit that mold.
"This is a different type of group," said Tom Westerberg, Allen head coach. "We don't have a lot of stars or really huge kids."
This group, led by positional coach Mike Carter, has dominated due to its cohesion.
"Every time you see those guys, whether it is lifting or whatever, there is never just one of them," Westerberg said. "You always see two, three, four of those guys together."
That philosophy was backed by the line itself, which consists of senior left tackle Brad North (a Northwestern commit), senior left guard Kevin Wortham, junior center Tejan Koroma, senior right guard John Clark and senior right tackle Cade Camp.
"It's not really an individual thing," Carter said, "everyone on the line is doing their job for each other."
"Yeah," Wortham quickly added, "we always fight for each other."
That philosophy wasn't born in 2012.
"It can take a couple years to establish that trust factor sometimes," Wortham said. "But we've all known each other for awhile, so that trust factor is definitely there."
"I've known these guys for years," Clark added, "so I definitely trust them."
That trust began taking form in seventh grade, back when John Clark was first stepping into the Plano stadium that shares his same name.
"That used to be a little weird," he said. "But I could also get into games there for free by showing my ID with my name."
Plenty know Clark's name now, but for an entirely different reason as he, North and Koroma were all named unanimous first team all-district selections. With all due respect to the remainder of 10-5A, one of the reasons fellow linemen Camp (second team) and Wortham (honorable mention) didn't join them on the first team may be because Allen rotates up front. Senior Price Samford and junior Myles Massei also get heavy minutes.
"Coach Carter always tells you when your backup is coming in or ready to go," Camp said. "That way we always have someone fresh out there and we can always stay fresh."
"Yeah, if we're ever sluggish while we're doing weights, [coach Carter] will be there to remind us there are other guys that can take our spot," Clark added.
That depth was evident in Saturday's 51-36 state semifinal win over DeSoto as Samford filled in at right tackle. Allen was no worse for wear, amassing 394 yards rushing.
The line's ability to adapt matches the rest of the offense.
Among the 4,401 yards Allen has run for, the Eagles have five players with at least 350 yards rushing. That includes seniors Jeff Harris and Marcus Ward (who started the season as lead backs), junior Jaelen Barlow (who took over as the backup when Harris was injured), senior Oliver Pierce (who began the year as starting quarterback and still occasionally runs the Wildcat) and sophomore Kyler Murray (who took over at quarterback when district started).
"Those guys just go about doing their job, I don't think they even worry about who is running the ball," Westerberg said. "They just carry out their blocking assignment; that means putting a body on a body and engaging, because whether you push your opponent off the ball or not, it is tough to tackle when you're engaged."
The offensive line has proven adept at engaging as well.
In addition to creating running lanes Ward described as, "huge," Allen has kept Murray and Pierce upright with North not allowing a sack all season and Koroma giving up one.
"We've got a lot of great players on this line," Camp said. "We want to hit people, get them off the line and make sure we are all doing our job."
That job has been well done thus far, but it isn't finished.
"We're all excited for what we have done and that's great," Wortham said, "but we still have Saturday night to go."
"I think there is a lot of excitement right now," Clark added, "but then the butterflies will be there once we hit the field."
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