A source of concern heading into the season, the Lisbon offensive line is clicking heading into Saturday’s matchup with Boothbay.
By Randy Whitehouse
Staff Writer

LISBON FALLS – The Lisbon High School football coaching staff knew they’d have one of the best backfields in Class C going into this season.

Ah, but there was a catch. The Greyhounds had lost their entire starting offensive line from the year before. Other than subbing in for a play here or there, none of their returning linemen had any varsity experience. They were also smaller than a lot of the people they would be trying to block.

So, the line was a question mark, to say the least. What good would the talents of running backs John Tefft and Tony Walker and QB Chris Kates do the Greyhounds without someone to block for them?

But Elijah Treffts, Jacob Sprinkle, Chris Waters and Randy Chaloux, Sean Unterkoefler and Ryan Strout put in a little extra time in the weight room, paid attention to their coaches, worked hard, in practice, and developed into a cohesive, often dominating unit.

Behind them, the Greyhounds have rushed for over 2,000 yards this season and will be taking a perfect record (10-0) into this Saturday’s Western Class C championship game against Boothbay.

“The kids up front have kind of stuck together,” Lisbon head coach Dick Mynahan said. “If one person is having a hard time, the other guy just pitches in. They’re really playing smart football right now. Over the course of the year, they’ve developed some confidence in themselves.”

Indeed, the line has thrived more on technique, teamwork and discipline than raw power.

Treffts, a 6-2, 270-pound sophomore, was the one immovable block of granite before Strout, a 6-5, 245-pound senior, worked his way back into the lineup upon returning from a knee injury midway through the season. But Unterkoefler, listed at 5-8, 180 pounds, Sprinkle, (6-0, 195), Chaloux (5-10, 195) and Waters (5-5, 150) often line up against defensive linemen who outweigh them by 50, 100 or even 150 pounds.

Rather than worry about having to go up against bigger, more experienced and more heralded linemen, the Greyhounds have taken it as a challenge. They’ve quickly settled into roles they might not have expected to play at the beginning of the season in order to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. For example, Sprinkle, a junior center surrounded by mostly seniors on the line, has become the on-field leader of the group. They’ve almost had to learn those roles on the fly this season, all while getting their first real taste of varsity football and while others have received more recognition for the team’s success.

“I think it’s brought us closer together. None of us is really an all-star except Elijah Treffts,” Sprinkle said. “We just all came together because we knew we had to get it done.”

They have been getting it done, and the ones they block for have taken notice.

“They’ve been able to push around guys that are twice their size,” said Walker. “You look at Chris, he’s small, but he just knows how to block guys really well. They’ve all got good form to be able to make great blocks.”

“Most of them are low to the ground, so they get good position on them, and they’re quick to their blocks,” said Kates.

None are lower to the ground, or quicker to their blocks, than Waters, who played running back for most of his football career before converting to tackle for his senior season. Opponents often line up their biggest defensive linemen opposite him, hoping to create what they think will be a big mismatch.

“You can hear some guys say, ‘Take it easy on this guy. He’s small,” Waters said. “It’s like, ‘Oh yeah? Okay,’ and then you drive him back five yards.”

“You can’t worry about it. You just have to go out and do it,” Waters said. “They’re bigger than you. What can you do about that? Get lower than them and push them back.”

Saturday’s game promises to be a physical contest that will probably come down to who can push the hardest for the longest time. As much as pride as the Greyhounds take in wearing opponents out, they’ll be facing a Boothbay team that has made wearing down the opposition an art, as their back-to-back Class C championships have proven.

Lisbon’s line won’t be backing down, though. The way they see it, they’ve come too far.

“Every time I think about Boothbay’s line, I just think about how much time I spent lifting weights this summer and how hot it was, seven o’clock in the morning every day,” Sprinkle said. “It just pumps you up.”