Most high school coaches inflate the weights of their players. And why not? Precious college scholarships are at stake.
But one coach bucks the trend. Mike Mayo, coach at C.F. Flowers underestimates the size of his players, listing none of his five massive offensive linemen at more than 260 pounds. Press him on the matter, and he admits a couple of them “might be 270.”
“He must have said 260 and meant 360,” joked Eleanor Roosevelt coach Rick Houchens. “Those guys have got to be bigger than that.”
Houchens would know. Last Saturday, when his team lost to Flowers, 13-12 in overtime, ER’s veteran defense had trouble standing up to the Jaguars’ powerful line. Flowers rang up 18 first downs to 10 for ER. Had it not been for the Jags’ failure to score on five possessions inside the ER 30-yard line, it wouldn’t have been close.
Flowers’ powerful ground game, fueled by its pile-driving offensive line, is a familiar refrain. Last year, running behind most of the same blockers, Rapheal Johnson sprinted for 2,332 yards.
The year before it was Brandon McRae (1,529 yards). The heir apparent has yet to be determined, but a bevy of candidates emerged last week in Clarence Reese (16 carries, 72 yards), Joe Medley (11 carries, 63 yards) and Keenan Fenwick (12 carries, 56 yards).
“It’s great running behind those guys,” said Medley, who scored the winning touchdown in overtime when Ben McQueen and Robert Moore blasted a huge hole in the right side of the ER defense. “Having them up front, it’s a luxury. A lot of schools don’t have that. I’ll never take them for granted.”
Junior quarterback DeAnthony Jones also appreciates his beefy escort squad.
“All those guys are back,” said Jones. “That gives me a lot of confidence playing behind them.”
Full bloom
» LG Jamal Thomas (6-foot-2, 250 pounds) leads the offensive line and has received the most interest from Division I programs.
» The Jags’ other starters on the line are LT Donald Wilson (6-2, 270), C Donovan Stevenson (6-0, 265), RG Robert Moore (6-1, 250) and Ben McQueen (6-1, 270).
» Flowers has lost three straight 4A South Region finals, falling to Eleanor Roosevelt (2003), Suitland (2004) and Douglass (2005).
