From Bears to Grizzlies, Cal High’s offensive line has grown up playing football together, establishing the characteristics and skill sets that are necessary in developing a successful offensive line.
Cal High’s offensive line consists of seniors Jeffrey Huettenhain, Dean Heinz, Mario Diaz, Kurt Olson and juniors Matt Snyder and Tyler Whisenhunt. All of the guys played together in youth football except Olson, who joined the group freshman year.
The key ingredient to having a successful offensive line is teamwork, and understanding the capabilities of the man playing next to you.
There is definitely an advantage for the varsity team having five of the six offensive linemen grown up playing football together.
This advantage helped the Grizzlies (9-2) win its first outright EBAL title with a perfect 6-0 record in league, and reach the NCS quarterfinals Saturday night.
“We click well, and we mesh well, and we’ve played together for so long that we know each others capabilities,” said Huettenhain.
The importance of a strong offensive line lies within the bond the athletes share.
“We just get each other, and our bond is so strong that playing next to each other just becomes natural,” said Heinz.
Senior quarterback Cameron Owen relies on the offensive line to protect him from defenders during each game.
“It all starts with them, they’re accountable for each other and the team, and they won’t let anyone down,” said Owen.
If the offensive line fails to perform at their best, the rest of the team won’t be able to execute their game plan. But the closeness between them allows for the rest of the team to want to perform at their best.
“Everyone else sees how close we are and they feed off of it,” said Diaz.
It’s one thing if the offensive line is in sync, but if it gets the rest of the team motivated to be their best, they can’t be beat.
“Our offensive line has good chemistry, good camaraderie, and are all around good friends,” said junior defensive lineman Lorenzo Richardson.
Friendships and bonds, as close as theirs are formed at a young age while they were playing for the Bears.
“It was awkward at first because we didn’t know each other, but football is the reason for our friendship, and if I wouldn’t have played, I wouldn’t have met them,” said Heinz.
The closeness and the confidence that Huettenhain, Heinz, Diaz, Snyder, and Whisenhunt share allowed for newcomer Olson to play alongside them as though he had grown up playing with them as well.
“In the beginning it was a little weird having not played with them, but I quickly became friends with them,” said Olson.
Without the chemistry from the offensive line, the rest of the team wouldn’t be as strong.
“It would be hard to get a momentum going and trust that everyone would do their job,” said Huettenhain.
Although the relationship the boys have is beneficial, the whole team shares a special bond.
“Our [offensive line’s] relationship isn’t different from the rest of the team,” Heinz said. “Our whole team is close and that’s what helps us win ball games.”
“We are close friends,” added Whisenhunt, “but we’re also brothers.”
