Not much glory, but plenty of guts

Football players are always telling me that, perhaps more than in any other sport, teammates are like family, like brothers.

During the course of a long, long season that includes dozens of trips to the weight room, two-a-day training camp practices, nine weeks of the regular season and possibly the playoffs beyond that, deep-rooted, lifelong friendships can't help but blossom.

After all, these are guys who are your support in a grueling, taxing sport that tests the body like no other. These are guys who are bleeding on you, sweating on you, even puking on you.

There's nothing casual about acquaintances like that.

And yet within this very tight circle of bonding there is a tighter circle still.

It's called the offensive line.

On most teams, those guys are a family within a family. They make up a unit within a unit that depends on each other like no other for timing, cohesiveness and chemistry.

On top of that, no one but them understands what it's like to endure the physical challenges of football without getting even an ounce of glory for it.

I thought it was time that changed.

I wanted to find out a little more about offensive linemen, so I sat down with perhaps the best unit in Lake County.

The Antioch offensive line has played a significant role in a magical 10-0 season that has been extended to Saturday's second-round Class 6A playoff game against Highland Park. One needs only to study the team's rushing statistics to see that.

The Sequoits have run for about 3,200 yards this season and boast two of the best backs in the area - senior Cameron White and junior Steve Lorenzini.

White is a Division I prospect and has rolled up about 1,380 yards and a school-record 33 touchdowns this season.

Lorenzini reached the 1,000-yard plateau in last week's first-round playoff victory over Harlan.

We hear about White and Lorenzini all the time. But even they'll tell you they don't arrive at those eye-popping numbers alone.

"Our offensive line is our whole offense," White said. "They open up the holes. Without a line, running backs are nothing."

Well, maybe not nothing.

Backs like White are pretty darn good.

But guys like tackles Mark Ano, Brandon Ginter and Bageera Taylor, guards Louis Schultz and Jake Anderson, both all-conference players last year and the line's only returning starters, center Craig Tanner and tight end Anthony Cappello make them even better.

It's time they got their due.

PBM: What's the best part about playing on the offensive line?

Schultz: "I like the unity of the offensive line. We're all so tight-knit."

Anderson: "Every play you're guaranteeing yourself contact. I'm a guy who likes contact. I love hitting and I love making people cringe, as bad as that sounds. That's a lot of fun."

Taylor: "Even though we don't get the glory, we still can say, 'I helped do that, I helped us get that touchdown.' It makes you feel good inside to know that you're helping the team."

PBM: Is it a bummer to rarely get noticed for your contributions, particularly in the media?

Schultz: "Not at all. The glory is for guys like (quarterback) Matt (Romani) and Cameron (White)."

Ano: "We know what we do every Friday night. We don't need any glory for it."

Tanner: "When I first started, I maybe didn't like that you didn't get any glory but I'm used to it now and I don't mind it."

PBM: Antioch went 3-6 just one year ago. The offensive line returned only two starters. How do you account for such a big improvement, specifically within your unit, and when could you tell that this group was going to be special?

Schultz: "Our communication is better. The guys last year weren't as vocal. We have better leadership this year and that makes our communication better."

Anderson: "This year, we really put in the hours in the off-season. A lot of us were getting together running miles, hitting the weight deck every day we could. We didn't see that last year. Last year the mentality was, 'Let's have fun.' This year, it was 'We're going to be good. We're going to put in the hours.' It really paid off."

Ano: "Communication has been big. We have chalk talks after every drive."

PBM: What's your favorite play to run?

Anderson: "I love the 14, which is a fullback dive. I pull off the line and it's just me and Lorenzini going up the field. I would say that him breaking the 1,000-yard mark this year has a lot to do with the 14. I get all excited at practice when we're going to run it. I start jumping up and down, ready to go when coach calls 14. I bet Steve would say the same thing, that he loves the 14. It was big against North Chicago and Lakes."

Schultz: "Almost darn near every game, I go up to (standout sophomore running back) Vinnie Holm and say, 'You're going to score on the 24 counter.' And darn near every game, we score on the 24 counter. Against VH, their defensive ends tended to go up field and I kick out on the play so it worked great."

Tanner: "My favorite play that we run is the 34/35. Normally, I'm just blocking one of the nose guards, but I get to go and block a linebacker on that play. Steve (Lorenzini) normally gets the ball on that one and I just like to make the block and watch Steve run. The last game (against Harlan) we ran that well."

Taylor: "One of my favorite plays is jumbo, a package play. I get to switch from tight tackle to tight end. I just get excited. Against North Chicago and Lakes it worked really well."

Ginter: "My favorite play is the 24 and the 19. On the 24, I get to pull and make a big hole for Vinnie (Holm). And on the 19, I get to lead block for Cameron (White) and he scores on that EVERY game."

Ano: "The 23. I get to pull with Jake (Anderson). Against Lakes, we had Lorenzini break that for more than 100 yards."

Cappello: "I'd have to go with the 25. It's the only play I get to pull on and I get to go right behind Jake. Every game it works out great."

PBM: Antioch has some amazing running backs. What was the most amazing play one of them has made this season.

Anderson: "We ran a 19 in the Round Lake game. Of the 11 guys on the field, Cameron (White) juked out nine guys. He made them all miss. We watched it on film the next day and we were just in shock. That was just incredible."

Schultz: "It was nuts."

(Everyone agrees.)

PBM: Best part of the season so far has been-

Schultz: "The winning has got to be the best part."

Ano: "I also enjoy lunches and breakfasts at (quarterback) Matt Romani's house."

Schultz: "Yeah, Matt treats us quite well."

PBM: How well?

Anderson: "The starting five (offensive linemen) get steak."

Schultz: "On the grill. They're big and juicy."

Anderson: "We've been there for steak and eggs for breakfast. The really impressive part is that Matt is the one making the steak. Mrs. Romani makes the eggs, and they're really great, too. It's really a wonderful thing they do for us. We really appreciate it."

PBM: Have you told Romani that some pro quarterbacks give their offensive linemen Rolexes?

(Laughter fills the room)

Ano: "I'm totally happy with the food."

PBM: So who's the best eater on the line this year?

Everyone in unison: "Mark (Ano)."

PBM: What makes Mark the best eater?

Schultz: "He's eaten a whole watermelon by himself."

Ano (proudly): "In five minutes."

Ano: "(The offensive line) went (to a steakhouse on Sunday) for my birthday and I ate a 44-ounce steak, baked potato and side salad. After we were done, we went out for dessert and I had a brownie sundae and I felt fine afterwards."

Anderson: "I got a little filet mignon and it was about a sixth of the size of what Mark got. When we went out for dessert, I got about the same portion as him and I was sitting in the car like, 'Ugghhh.' And Mark is sitting there going, 'What are we having for lunch tomorrow?' He's the big eater."

Ano: "Yeah, I break the bank on food. I also hold the (team) pancake record. After every game we get pancakes and the most I've eaten is - 17."

Schultz (shaking head): "17 pancakes."

PBM: So if Mark is the best eater, who is the best offensive lineman overall this year?

Schultz: "Jake (Anderson). It's about reliability. The 14 is a play we run a lot. It always works and that's because of Jake."

Anderson: "Louis (Schultz). What makes a good offensive lineman to me is that never-give-up attitude. Never done until the whistle sounds. You always see Louis blocking to the whistle. There's nothing that makes a defender more angry. That's just you putting it in their face."

Tanner: "Louis. It's the trust you have him and (the rest of) your linemen."

Taylor: "Louis. It's the trust that if I mess up, I know that Louis is always there to show me, 'You do it like this.'"

Ginter: "Louis. Having him there makes me a much better lineman, just having him help me out, telling me what to do when I forget, just trusting that he knows the plays in case I don't."

Ano: "Jake. During the Wauconda game, we were tied and we ran the 19. Jake was running downfield and Cameron did his thing and juked out three or four guys. The last guy he needed to juke, Jake took out and just destroyed. It was in that moment that you knew how important (Anderson) is."

PBM: It seems like you all have a lot of respect for each other and enjoy your time together on the field. Are you also friends off the field?

Schultz: "Best friends. We're all together on the weekends. We all hang out. I've never been closer with anyone in my life, other than my family, than with these guys right here."

Anderson: "It's really special. Our personalities go so well together. We'll all go out to eat together, hit up the all-you-can-eats. Our favorite is the Round Lake Chinese Buffet. We're offensive linemen, we can eat as much as we want. It's a lot of fun. I could say I trust these guys with almost anything and you can't say that about many people in this world."

Schultz: "It's kind of cool to have all these guys calling you up the night before a game reminding you to get to bed before 10 o'clock or to get home before a certain time. We hold each other accountable. It's close-knit."

Taylor: "We're so close that even though I'm a bum and don't have a car, they all give me rides everyday."

PBM: What will you miss about football and about the offensive line in particular?

Anderson: "Being around your friends and under the lights on a Friday night is the best feeling I've ever had."

Schultz: "Seeing the same people every single day sometimes gets you mad at them and you don't want to be around them. It's totally the opposite with us. I'm just going to miss not seeing these guys every single day."

Tanner: "I'm going to miss how close we are and how the seniors here make practice more fun."

Taylor: "I'm going to miss the dedication, the devotion, the will to win and to work hard."

Ginter: "I'm going to miss the seniors."

Cappello: "I'm going to miss the seniors, too. They're funny and I know they've got my back. That makes you feel good."

Ano: "We're heroes in this town. Our school hasn't had a team like this since 1983 (Antioch's last undefeated regular season). Being on this team means so much more than just being on a high school football team. It's a family and I'm going to miss our family."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com