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Tiger FB Notes: O-line gets in groove vs. challenging defensive front
Tuesday, September 3, 2024
The Caruthersville High School offensive line, which has most of its starters returning this fall from last year, readies for a snap during an MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 game last season against Kelly in Caruthersville.
Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com
There isn’t a high school football coach in the state of Missouri who has a deeper appreciation for solid offensive line play than third-year Caruthersville High School coach, Dom Guglielmo.
As a former offensive lineman at the college level, Guglielmo knew full well, as his front six was getting off to a shaky start on Friday against St. Pius X (Festus), that eventually the unit would come around.
“That 3-3 stack (alignment) is tough,” Guglielmo said of the Lancers’ defensive alignment. “It is different when you’re running against your scout team (in practice) and you’re running it in the game.
“Early on, (the line) was trying to get their identity and trying to figure out how everything sorts out against a team that is coached in a 3-3 set.”
The Tigers, who started senior Oscar Dominguez (left tackle), junior Ridge McGraw (left guard), senior Kenyon Bogan (center), junior Jackson Napier (right guard), and junior Jermaine Caruthers (right tackle), got rolling in the second quarter, and offensively, they did to St. Pius X what few teams are capable of.
Caruthersville (1-0) scored 41 points against a program, that only allowed that much once last season, and that was 42 points to a nine-win St. Vincent squad.
Tiger junior running back Sammy Bryant totaled 179 yards on the ground and four scores, but Guglielmo said, “most of his yards came from the second quarter on.”
“Sammy,” Guglielmo explained, “was trying to figure out the defensive alignment, too. We got to the second quarter and Sammy busted a 25-yard run, and you could tell, things were starting to grove.”
That success shouldn’t have surprised anyone.
Dominguez was a First Team All-District selection last season while McGraw was a Second Team selection.
Caruthers and Bogan were each named to the All-District Second Team as defensive linemen.
“Everybody knows what is going on in a walk-through,” Guglielmo said. “But when you throw a varsity defense out there, in front of a ton of people, it is different.”
It’s up and it’s good
Not only did Caruthers fare well on both lines, but he also was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra point kicks. If you need to know how reassuring it is to have a reliable kicker at the high school level, just find a high school coach, any high school coach, and ask him.
“It’s nice,” Guglielmo said of that aspect of play. “I find myself not even watching it because I already know what is going to happen.”
Guglielmo said that once his team scores a touchdown, he generally spends the next few moments talking with senior quarterback Ryan Guest or Tiger defensive coordinator Brad Treece.
“It’s become an expectation to where I know that Jermaine is going to be locked in and he is going to put it through there,” Guglielmo said. “Rain, snow, sleet, or hail, he is going to make it happen.”
Caruthersville will open Bootheel Conference play on Friday at 7 p.m. at Malden (0-1).