Small Players Pump Up When Facing Heftier Opponents

Bring them on.

No one would expect football players--especially the small ones--to relish their workloads when they are assigned to block the biggest linemen of the league.

But that is precisely how some of the county’s smaller linemen view it.

Villa Park has what Coach Pat Mahoney described as average-sized offensive and defensive lines that are “up and down.” Down in the trenches are three players--junior Ben Janssen, senior Colin Elliott and senior Stan Chao--who hardly qualify as Big Men On Campus but love the challenge of blocking players who sometimes outweigh them by 100 pounds.

“I’m not intimidated,” said Janssen, a defensive end who at 5 feet 9 1/2 and 175 pounds has every reason to be. “I’m always going up against guys who are bigger than me, never against someone my size.”

Elliott, a 5-10, 180-pound two-year starter at center, thrives on meeting heftier opponents.

“I get up against a big line, there’s something exciting about it,” said Elliott, who also plays on defense. “You get real pumped. The small team can surprise you.”

The Spartans did surprise Loara in a nonleague game Oct. 2. The Saxons’ offensive line features 6-5, 350-pound right guard Stephen Watson and 6-4, 313-pound tackle Roy Bengochea.

Villa Park won, 37-12, and held running back Denis Dawson to 55 yards, including one 23-yard run. Dawson is averaging 108 yards a game and 8.2 yards a carry this season.

How did the little guys contain their mammoth counterparts?

“I tried to jump in front of him and take his legs out from under him,” said Elliott, who lined up against Watson. “On (other plays) I’d run around him.” Elliott believes the third key to beating a larger opponent--roll blocking and outmaneuvering are two--is double-teaming, which worked in Thursday’s 19-14 victory over Mission Viejo.

“They had some guys who were 250 and 260, so we combo-blocked them,” he said.

For Janssen, keeping his body moving quickly and as close to the ground as possible is also an effective strategy.

As easy as they make it sound, it’s not. Their diminutive size is neither a blessing nor a curse.

“That’s all the line is, size,” said Janssen, who ran to stay in shape over the summer, lost 17 pounds and is struggling to gain it back. “I think smaller players can be as good, but we also have to play smarter.”

Janssen contends smaller players have a mental edge because big players tend to underestimate them.

“Sometimes big guys start thinking you’re soft just because you’re small,” he said. “But you can be a big guy and not hit and be a small guy and hit hard.”

Coaches encourage, even demand, that their players spend sufficient time in the weight room, but Mahoney said it’s as much for a psychological advantage as others.

“Even if they’re not big, they’ll get strong,” he said. “With that work in the off-season, combined with their quickness, the right blocking schemes, and if they’re smart, they can win at the line of scrimmage, and we believe that’s where the game is still won.”

Mahoney tries to pass on that belief to his players. “In college and the pros, (big) is definitely a trend,” Mahoney said. “To get drafted, you have to fit certain parameters. But in high school that’s not true. (High school) will continue to be a place where even a small kid can play and do well.”

Mahoney cites a 1991 Villa Park playoff game against Encino Crespi as an example of a small kid with a big success story.

Villa Park’s starting center was injured, and Crespi had two defensive tackles in the 250-260-pound range. Mahoney’s backup center was 140-pound Glen Pipper.

“He battled and battled,” Mahoney said. “He didn’t win every skirmish, but he survived, and we won. He did a great job. We like to use that as an example that a small kid can play.”

It behooves an offensive lineman of any size to play in front of a talented backfield, and when Janssen occasionally fills in at guard, he has few worries.

“We know we have (tailback) Grant Pearsall behind us, and we only have to block long enough to get him the ball and he’s off,” Janssen said.

Katella Coach Larry Anderson said some systems are better designed for smaller linemen. When he coached at Lynwood in the early 1970s, he ran a quick veer attack where his linemen had to sustain lengthy blocks.

But it’s impractical to change an entire offensive look to suit who is suited up.

“You have to adapt the players to the system, you can’t change the offense year in and year out,” he said.

A good coach will mix up blocking schemes, double-team and avoid obvious mismatches to create a successful and competitive line.

“Anything to give them a better chance,” Anderson said.