By Aaron Coe
Herald Writer
LAKE STEVENS – These guys don’t exactly define athletic grace.
They don’t put up gaudy statistics or make plays that show up on highlight reels.
They are a nameless, fameless group that has led their team to a 5-0 record.
They are the Lake Stevens offensive line.
Look at each one individually and no one really stands out. There are no can’t-miss college prospects. No 300-pounders. Just a bunch of 220-pound seniors that form one cohesive, dominant unit.
They realize not many people know their names. For the record, they are Marc Bryce, Jake McMahon, Ryan Klett, Mike Johnson and Cale Werner. Tight ends Jon Williams and Dylan Henderson and fullback Joey Daube have also contributed to an offense that could block out the sun.
It’s OK, they say, if you didn’t know those names.
They’re used to letting others get the glory.
Their reward comes when running back Justin Balunsat (660 yards, 10 touchdowns) bursts through the middle for a 12-yard gain or quarterback Mitch Canham (40 for 62, 708 passing yards) hits the No. 3 receiver for a big play because he had the time to find him. All that matters to these guys is that they win, something Lake Stevens has done a lot of the last couple of years.
“Winning is awesome,” said McMahon, who at 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, is the biggest Vikings lineman. “It’s all I think about – except for my girlfriend.”
The lineman believe they are good because they are all seniors who have played together all the way through high school and even before that. They are close friends off the field, which gives them the ability to work together in practices and games. Although they are one on the field, they are different as individuals.
Johnson is the quiet one. McMahon has a pet kangaroo that hops freely around his house and yard. Klett is the thinker of the bunch. He’s got a 3.89 grade point average and is an eagle scout and outdoorsman.
“He’s a borderline genius,” McMahon said.
Werner is one of the more intense lineman. Bryce is the group’s spokesman. He is also the smallest of the bunch. He’s listed at 5 feet 8, but that might be a stretch. He’s 208 pounds, much of which resides in a pair of tree trunk legs he uses to mow down much bigger foes. Bryce says he’s gotten over the lack of stardom that comes with being an offensive lineman.
“I used to not like blocking because I didn’t get to score any touchdowns,” Bryce said. “Now I like it because there is an inner battle that no one sees.”
Bryce and Klett were the only starters on last year’s line, which was a big part of Lake Stevens’ run to the state playoff quarterfinals.
Replacing three starters on a line can sometimes mean a long transition, but this one was eased because Vikings coach Ken Collins was plugging in seniors, not wide-eyed sophomores and juniors. Though Werner, McMahon and Johnson didn’t start last year, they did get some quality playing time.
“They’ve slipped right in there and played well,” Collins said. “We’ve been able to move pretty fast because they were veterans. We didn’t have to do a lot of re-teaching like you do with young guys. A lot of them could have started last year, but we just happened to have seniors in front of them.”
Each of the lineman is quick to credit Collins, a former defensive lineman for WSU and the New England Patriots.
“He’s got schemes that’ve been tested on all levels,” Bryce said.
Collins’ blocking schemes take advantage of the athleticism of the Lake Stevens line. They don’t always just blast straight ahead and knock guys back. They pull in different directions and use an assortment of blocking angles to slow defenders.
Sort of a big fella ballet.
“Quickness is a big part of why we are the way we are this year,” Klett said. “We can take guys straight up and drive ‘em out if we have to. But our scheme is to get angles on guys so we can take advantage of our quickness as opposed to just being big and bulldogging guys.”
Whatever they are doing, it’s working. The Vikings average 34.8 points per game. They’ve rolled up 1,139 rushing yards and another 708 through the air. The team averages 6.3 yards per rush and Canham has completed 65 percent of his passes. Lake Stevens opponents have managed only 3.9 yards per carry and a 42-percent completion rate.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in them,” Canham said. “They come out there ready to work and get after it and that’s what it’s all about. You can’t do it without those guys blocking.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
