- October 26, 2024
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LAKEWOOD RANCH — One look at Lakewood Ranch’s offensive line, and it’s safe to say they are, without a doubt, the largest unit out on the field.
Throw on helmets and a full set of pads and the unit collectively towers over its teammates in weight, height and strength.
“There’s a lot of experience and a lot of size there,” coach Shawn Trent said. “They aren’t missing a lot of meals.”
Collectively, the seven offensive linemen weigh in at a little less than a ton, but seniors Shane Blair, Kiet Duong, Greg Funk, Alec Jones and Gannon Katzenberger and juniors Corey Adams and Michael Farhat will be the first to say size and strength isn’t always an advantage.
“We weigh more than anyone else out on the field, so it’s hard to do all of the same things,” Adams said.
“It’s not always about how strong you are,” Farhat said. “It’s about knowing where to be.”
“You’ve got to be smart,” Katzenberger said.
There may be times during practice when the unit would give anything to be smaller, but it’s the unit’s size and strength that Trent and the rest of the coaching staff are hoping will carry the Mustangs throughout the 2011 season.
“We’re going to have to ride them,” Trent said. “They’re a tremendous group of kids. Half of them are seniors, so there’s a lot of experience there.
“This year, it’s a good thing and a bad thing, we don’t really have a superstar,” Trent said. “They’re going to have to depend on each other and rely on each other to have success, and in high school football, that’s not an easy thing to do.”
Rather than one lineman taking charge, Blair, Jones and Katzenberg, who have all been starting since their sophomore year, will anchor the offensive line this fall.
Last year, the Mustangs fell short of reaching the playoffs for the second-consecutive season, but the offensive line showed signs of improvement.
The unit spent the offseason working out and trying to build on last year’s successes. At the end of June, the team went to Appalachian State University in North Carolina for a football camp.
“It built up our confidence a lot,” Duong said.
The offensive line spent the week working on power drills and other team oriented drills, practicing nine times in three days.
“It helps a lot with team communication just being away from moms, girlfriends and all of the distractions of home,” Trent said. “We practiced nine times in three days, so it was a lot of things pushed together. They think they can’t make it, but they ended up working hard and doing more than they thought they were capable of.”
In addition to working on drills, the unit also got a chance to participate in full-contact practices against other defensive lines from across the country. It was a welcome change for the unit, which normally practices against its own defensive linemen.
“It’s just different,” Jones said. “You don’t want to injure your own teammates, so you can’t put out the same effort. You don’t want to beat up your best friend.”
“But at the same time, your teammates are willing to do whatever it takes to make you better,” Blair said. “If we have a bad game as a (unit), then the team doesn’t do as well. But, if we’re on our game, then the team does great.
“We’ve gotten so much better,” he said. “We had some success last year, and we’re hoping to have even more this year.”
Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].
SCHEDULE
All games start at 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 26: Preseason Kickoff Classic at Sarasota
Sept. 2: at Braden River
Sept. 9: Southeast
Sept. 16: at Bayshore
Sept. 23: at Boca Ciega*
Sept. 30: at Palmetto
Oct. 7: Tarpon Springs*
Oct. 14: BYE
Oct. 21: Dixie Hollins*
Oct. 28: at Largo*
Nov. 4: at Osceola*
Nov. 11: Manatee
*indicates district game
Mustang Roster
No. Name Pos.
2 Ki-Jana Brown DB
4 Dwight Roberts DB
5 Connor Lewellen WR
9 Brandon King WR
10 Jeren Kowalewski QB
11 Zach Reda QB
13 Nick Toth DB
14 Wyatt McLeaod QB
16 Tanner Adams DE
18 Justin Greenaway DB
20 Lennie Twenty WR
22 Andre Christiano RB
23 Sam Harper RB
24 David Ballard DB
25 Ty McLeod DB
26 Michael Chea DB
27 John Handy RB
28 Peter Ravelo WR
29 Josh Boney DB
31 Jordan Rogers DB
32 Andrew Shackelford DB
33 Tim Gibson LB
34 Josh Rogers LB
35 Scott Paravicini LB
36 Alec Davis LB
37 Stephen Peoples DB
38 Jacob Pierce WR
39 Robert Collier DB
40 McKenzie Hathaway LB
41 Lou Barreda LB
42 Karl Haller LB
44 Tim Castelloe DE
45 Jack Cournoyer TE
46 Frank Lafrese DL
No. Name Pos.
48 Devon Thompson DL
49 Alex Pashley RB
51 Nick Maulfair DL
52 Mason Hobbs LB
53 Noah Pascuzzi OL
54 Michael Farhat OL
55 Luke Sears LB
56 Andrew O’Connor DL
57 Alex Richard DL
58 Thomas Hames DL
59 Jacob Booth OL
60 Corey Adams OL
61 Kiet Duong OL
62 Bryan Dexter OL
63 Logan Duch OL
64 Nick Wolfe OL
66 Michael Iacobelli DL
67 Aaron Bickhart OL
68 Chad Triplet OL
70 Alex Jackson OL
72 Gannon Katzenberger OL
75 Matt Charbonneau OL
77 Alec Jones OL
78 Zach Bixby OL
79 Shane Blair OL
80 Sam Slade DE
81 Armond Singleton WR
82 Geoffrey Ea WR
83 Cody Hoffman TE
84 Bailey Sever WR
86 Greg Funk TE
87 Andrew Hoskinson WR
88 Chris Pearcey WR
89 Aaron Edwards WR
COACHES PLAYBOOK: Shawn Trent
Years of experience: Seven years with the Mustangs
What is the strength of this year’s team?
The offensive line. We’re going to have to ride them. They’re a tremendous group of kids, and there’s a lot of experience there.
What is the one area that still needs improvement?
All of our skill positions. We graduated a lot of pretty good players. Taryn (Laws) had been our starting running back since his sophomore year; and Daniel Clifford and Seth Browning were both strong physical receivers who could block besides catch the ball.
How does this year’s team compare to last year’s team?
I think we’ll be just as good — if not better. The offensive line will be better. The skill positions are still unknown. We’ll have three new starters at running back and wide receiver. The defense should be as good. We have a lot of kids returning on defense.
Who will fill the open skill positions?
McKenzie Hathaway, Andre Christiano and Sam Harper will split time at running back, and at wide receiver, it will probably be Isaac Twenty, Brandon King and Connor Lewellen.
What does Jeren Kowalewski bring to the quarterback position?
He’s been in the system for four years, so he knows the system and is more than capable of doing what we need him to do. I just (wish) he had more experience being a starting quarterback. He’s pretty athletic — he’s a lot more athletic than people probably give him credit for. He’s also smart, so mentally he can handle it, and he runs pretty well.
