It’s crunch time, when the sound of shoulder pads hammering off the line after the ball is snapped means high school football season is getting ready to rock.
The sound has remained unchanged over the years, but the challenge to offensive linemen has evolved. It’s not enough to be big anymore. Now the players in the trenches have to be athletic.
“We pride ourselves on speed work and agility,’’ said Andover High center Jason Lynn, who is 5 foot 10 inches and weighs 225 pounds. “All offseason we do training with a lot of different people and we try to stay big, but agile, because we know [quarterback EJ Perry] likes to throw the ball around and we try to protect him for that.’’
Like many offenses in the area, the Golden Warriors run a spread offense. But with a quarterback like Perry — who is committed to Boston College — and a wide receiver like Dan Gemmell (Brown), the offense is not only high-caliber, but high-octane as well.
Because Perry likes to go deep — he threw for 2,852 yards and 34 touchdowns last season — the offensive line has to give him time to find his receivers downfield.
“[You have to be] running through the play, never stopping,’’ said Max Beati, a 6-8, 325-pound offensive tackle who also plays defensive line.“Last year I didn’t always finish the play, but by watching a lot of film I learned that I’ve always got to finish the play and hit right before the whistle’s blown and be physical, never give up.’’
Since Beati and Lynn play on both sides of the ball, it gives them a unique perspective on their offensive duties.
“For defensive line you have to be very low, and at the end of the day for offensive line, you have to be low as well,’’ Beati said. “And I think it does give you the ability to see where people are going, so when you’re on the offensive line you kind of have a better understanding of what you should do.’’
Lynn is a fleet linebacker when the Golden Warriors are on defense.
“It works both ways, because when you’re on offense you understand the way linebackers are trying to play and fill their gaps and you can manipulate that and get them out of the way,’’ he said. “Defensively, you understand where the line’s trying to block you, and you can counteract that and so you can cut underneath it and blow the play up.’’
One position on the offensive line that probably requires the most versatility is tight end. They can be responsible for protecting the quarterback on one play, then running a passing route on the next.
Pat Freiermuth of Merrimac, who attends the Brooks School in North Andover, has found the balance well enough to be recruited by more than 10 Division 1 colleges, electing to commit to Penn State. At 6-5, 235, the junior has the big body, but he is also an athlete who can jump off the line and make himself a viable passing target.
“I have a strength coach who works at Brooks,’’ Freiermuth said. “He works on a bunch of things, kind of explosion stuff, getting after the ball, and definitely powerlifting, benching . . . and obviously squatting, getting down, and moving up fast. So a lot of explosion and definitely trying to get my speed up.’’
A versatile tight end makes a world of difference, not just as another option for the quarterback, but also as a source of protection for primary wide receivers.
“It really helps us out and really opens up the field. We can spread out the field and it lets us run anything we want,’’ said Gemmell, who had 49 catches for 991 yards and 18 touchdowns for Andover High last season. “Having big guys up front that can move, that’s all you can really ask for. They’ll just push everyone around, that’s pretty much everything you look for in a football player.’’
His quarterback agreed.
“Especially in a spread offense — you look at [San Francisco 49ers head coach] Chip Kelly, he resurrected the spread offense — and they all want lean, fast guys. Not only big, but they want guys who can get out and run,’’ Perry said.
Logan Mullen can be reached at logan.mullen@globe.com.
