Heavy lifting: Offensive line key to postseason success / Football

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, November 2, 2016

One heartbeat.

For the Oak Harbor High School football team to be successful in its quad-district game at Timberline Friday, the Wildcats will need to run the ball successfully.

To do that, the heavy lifting falls on the offensive line; and for it to do its job, the players need to be in sync.

“Coach Esvelt (offensive line coach Peter) tells us that we have to have one heartbeat,” left tackle Sam Zook said.

That camaraderie is the line’s greatest strength, according to left guard D’Andre Bellamy.

“We are buddy-buddy,” he said. “And, as the year has progressed, we have become better and better.”

Little fame

Offensive linemen work in a world of little recognition as the skill players gather the headlines.

That lack of notoriety doesn’t bother Zook and Bellamy.

“They know us,” Zook said. The “they,” he explained, are the ones that matter most, the players they dominate across the line of scrimmage.

The senior pair is joined on the line by three juniors, center Weston Whitefoot, right guard Kameron Mebane and right tackle Ozell Jackson. Senior Colton Burdick rotates in.

Zook and Bellamy both received conference honors last year. Zook was a first-team, all-league choice on both offense and defense; Bellamy was a second-team selection on offense.

“Sam and D’Andre are the heart and soul of our team,” head coach Jay Turner said. “They have both been a major reason for our success in the past three years. They do a lot behind the scenes that a lot of people don’t see. They are both quiet leaders in that they lead by example in how they play and with their work ethic.”

Big Blazers

Zook is 6-foot-6, 250 pounds; Bellamy stands 6-1 and weighs 245. The others along the line weigh between 175 and 185 pounds.

Two Oak Harbor coaches and two players were asked separately of their impressions of Timberline after watching the Blazers on tape, and all four gave the same first response: “They are big.”

The Blazers have nine players 250 pounds or larger, including three over 300 pounds. Alizen Wilson checks in at 6-5, 380.

Timberline “hangs its hat” on defense, assistant coach Tom Mueller said. Last week the Blazers defeated then unbeaten and third-ranked Peninsula 7-3 for the South Sound Conference title. Peninsula came into the game averaging 33 points.

Oak Harbor is a run-first team, throwing only 58 passes in nine games. On the ground, the Wildcats average 435 yards per game, with 200 per contest coming from Princeton Lollar.

Moving day

For the Wildcats to advance the ball, they are going to have to move the Blazers’ huge front wall. That falls on Zook, Bellamy and company.

A win puts Oak Harbor into the state tournament, and anything less would be a disappointment, Zook and Bellamy said.

“We want to go at least one step farther than last year,” Bellamy said. “That would make it a successful season.”

Oak Harbor lost to Juanita in the quad-district round last fall.

Timberline runs a spread offense led by 5-8, 210-pound senior running back Anthony Hathaway.

Two-way players Zook and Bellamy will also be responsible for helping slow the Blazer attack.

“I actually enjoy defense more,” Zook said. “After you take a beating on the offensive line, it’s nice to crack some heads and get some payback.”

Looking ahead

Zook, who hasn’t decided on a school, hopes to wrestle or play football in college. Last winter he finished third in the heavyweight division of the state 3A wrestling tournament. The two wrestlers who finished ahead of him were seniors, so he will enter the season as the favorite to take the 2017 title.

He understands that will put a target on his back.

“That is why you always train like you are second,” he said.

His goal is to not only be the state 3A champion but be ranked as the best heavyweight in the state regardless of classification.

Bellamy plans to attend Central Washington University and may try out for the football team as a walk-on. School, however, will be his primary focus as works toward his career goal of being a commercial pilot.

But, first-things first, they said, and that is Timberline.

The game begins at 7 p.m. at South Sound Stadium in Lacey.

The winner will host a first-round state game the following weekend, and the heart of its season will continue beating.