There’s a special club on Capital High School’s football team, one where you’re only allowed admittance if you’re a lineman.
Once a month, the players on the line get together for their Linemen Movie Night. The genres vary between comedy and war movies. You can be certain lots of food is eaten – steak is a popular favorite – but more importantly, chemistry grows stronger.
Some of the guys have played together since second grade in the Thurston County Youth Football League, with others joining the mix over the years. Now, they’re all the best of friends.
“Our close, tight-knit group keeps getting bigger and bigger,” said senior Ben Buma, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound right guard.
Coach J.D. Johnson, who begins his sixth season at Capital, said this year’s offensive line is the largest and most experienced in his tenure with seniors Buma, Mat Cox (left tackle), Zach Superfisky (center), Baylor Hahn (right tackle), Tevyn Stevenson (center) and junior Riley Haub-McElreath (left guard).
They average 6-3 and 255 pounds, and Cox, Stevenson and Haub-McElreath also start on defense.
“This group has all the intangibles that come with it – size, quickness, power, those types of thing,” Johnson said, “and the mentality, especially for as much as we run the ball.”
The relationship between a line and the running game in football draws comparison to the age-old question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Does the offensive line make the running back, or the running back make the offensive line?
In Capital’s case, each helps the other, a big reason for the Cougars’ running game success the past four years.
Since Capital switched to a power game in 2008, the team has piled up rushing yards. The Cougars’ featured running backs since then – Riley Wall (1,570 yards, 16 TDs in 2008), Tyler Sundberg (combined 4,100 yards and 60 TDs in 2009-10) and Kai Van Sickle (1,903 yards, 15 TDs last season) – have combined to rush for 7,573 yards, an average of just under 1,900 yards per season. With Van Sickle leading the way, Capital rushed for more than 2,500 yards last season.
No matter who lines up in the backfield, he has success. And in his case, Van Sickle gave “100 percent” of the credit to his line and called them “workhorses.”
“The line definitely makes me,” Van Sickle said.
And that mutual respect runs both ways. What sets Van Sickle apart from previous running backs, the line said, is his graciousness and gratitude.
“He thanks us every play,” Haub-McElreath said of Van Sickle. “He’s the first running back that says, ‘This is you and not me.’ That made me respect him as a running back.”
With their offseason weightroom workouts and speed and agility training, the chemistry built on the line extends to their relationship with the running backs. That’s big for their trust in the backfield, which will feature Van Sickle for the second consecutive year.
“You have to know that you can trust the guy next to you to work as hard as you are,” Buma said. “Spending time together opens up that trust.”
There’s even a special bond between Van Sickle and Hahn, a two-year starting tight end who was moved to tackle this season. The two became stepbrothers last August when Van Sickle’s mom, Jillian, and Hahn’s father, Steve, got married.
Said Van Sickle: “We’ve (the entire line) built that strong bond, and it’s going to take us a long way this year, I believe.”
EVERGREEN 2A FOOTBALL PREVIEW
ON THE THRONE: A 3A quarterfinalist last year, Capital returns a large part of its roster, including tailback Kai Van Sickle. The Cougars should win the EvCo.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Should he stay healthy, Van Sickle (1,903 yards) may surpass Capital’s single-season rushing mark of 2,475 yards, set by Tyler Sundberg in 2010.
CHANGE IS GOOD: The W.F. West quarterback situation stays in the Gueller family, going from Mitch (all-EvCo performer) to Tanner, a former receiver.
BY THE NUMBERS: In the new read option scheme, River Ridge’s Brad Wallace might eclipse his 2011 all-purpose totals (2,500 yards, 21 TDs).
PROJECTED FINISH: Capital (8-4 in 2011), Tumwater (7-2), W.F. West (10-3), River Ridge (3-6), Centralia (5-4), Black Hills (4-6).
MARK THE DATE: Sept. 22, Tumwater at Capital, Ingersoll Stadium, 7 p.m.
Meg Wochnick, staff writer
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