Offensive line is hardly a glamorous position on the football field.
After all, most of the sport’s dirtiest work is done in the trenches, where linemen spend their Friday nights sparring, often without recognition beyond the locker room.
Jordan Martinez wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I just have a very mean mindset — that I’m going to mess up the guy in front of me,” Martinez said. “I’m going to put him in the dirt, even though I don’t get recognized very much by everyone else. But as long as I’m doing my job, that’s all I really care about.”
Martinez’s job at Plano is a crucial one. As the Reapers’ left tackle, he serves as the primary blind-side protector for quarterback Braylon Schmidt. Martinez stepped into the role as a sophomore last season and is now one of the anchors of Plano’s offensive line.
And he’s not alone.
Lining next to Martinez at left guard is Quinn Lyle, a third-year starter — and the only other returning starter.
The two bring more than experience to the left side of the line. They also bring familiarity dating back to their days playing youth football together.
“Me and Quinn have great chemistry with being together for such a long time that we build a very strong bond with each other,” Martinez said.
Plano coach Kyle Tutt said that bond carries plenty of weight — both literally and figuratively — for the Reapers’ offense.
“We can always feel comfortable whichever way we go,” Tutt said. “Especially when those guys are in there, we feel like we can go either way, both sides … and just the camaraderie that those guys have, being through some of the same experiences, has really allowed them to feel good about what they do, and probably why a lot of our plays go near those guys.”
Lyle also adds an element of versatility, having also played stints at left tackle, right guard and right tackle. That, combined with his extensive varsity experience, makes him a natural fit to slot next to sophomore center Tyran Lockett.
“He’s just done an excellent job at being a sophomore and playing that,” Tutt said of Lockett. “A lot of it has to do with having Quinn on his side all the time, coaching him through, talking him up, but also building him up and knowing that he had been in that position before and able to have empathy for him and get him an opportunity to continue to improve.”
In the grander scheme, Lyle and Martinez also have the added responsibility of being leaders amid a difficult season for the Reapers. Plano currently sits at 1-7 after going 0-5 to start the year.
For Lyle, the answer hasn’t been to dwell on the losses. It’s been to focus on what could come next.
“Nobody expected walking into the streets and us to start out 0-5,” Lyle said. “I just keep focusing on the good practices. We’ve got to stack those good practices to stack good games, and then I just keep looking to tomorrow, looking at my teammates, keeping them up.”
‘Just a bump in the road:’ Oswego finding groove since Bolingbrook loss
Even teams as mighty as Oswego aren’t immune to receiving a gut check every now and again.
Last year, the Panthers took two of them, suffering low-scoring division losses to Minooka and Yorkville before regrouping to make a run to the Class 8A state championship game.
This year, the gut check came in Week 5, when reigning Southwest Prairie West champion Bolingbrook upended Oswego.
That 21-7 could ultimately cost the Panthers the division title if the Raiders, still perfect in division play, win out.
But the Panthers hardly view it as a wash.
“Coaches always say the only way you can actually lose a game is if you don’t learn from it and stuff like that and get better the next week,” quarterback Drew Kleinhans said.
Oswego has since scored at least 35 points each week — most recently putting up 62 points against Joliet West in a game in which the starters sat the entire second half.
Only five of the Panthers’ nine touchdowns were scored by the offense — a feat made more impressive by the fact they’re still without star running back Ammar Banire, who’s been dealing with a foot injury.
The other four came off a pair of pick-sixes and punt return in the first half, along with a kickoff return in the second.
It’s the kind of all-around performance Oswego needed late in the regular season, especially as it tries to lock down a first-round playoff bye.
Looking back on that night in Bolingbrook, Kleinhans called it a bump on a road that leads to even better performances.
“It was just a bump in the road for us, and we got over that bump, and now we’re back on track,” Kleinhans said. “And I think we still haven’t played our best ball yet.”
RB3 steps up for Oswego East at Romeoville
Oswego East knew it would be breaking in a sophomore at quarterback this season in Carter Meindel.
What the Wolves didn’t anticipate was needing another sophomore to emerge in the backfield.
After losing starting running back Ty’Rel Thomas and breakout star Obadiah Carlson to season-ending injuries within the first three games, Oswego East has had to lean on Jeremiah Gbean to get things going on the ground.
Gbean originally split carries with converted safety Brandon Hill. But with Hill needed on defense, the Wolves gave Gbean the brunt of the workload, especially last week.
The sophomore ran a season-high three touchdowns during Friday’s 42-0 win at Romeoville. Gbean racked up 164 yards on 18 carries, setting him up as Oswego East’s newest breakout player.