Great Wall of Chapel Hill: Bulldog line paving the way for offensive success

Published 11:11 am Wednesday, December 13, 2023

NEW CHAPEL HILL — Chapel Hill has rushed for 5,005 yards this season and thrown for another 2,092 yards.

Yes, the Bulldogs have dynamic playmakers. But they also have a dominant offensive line paving the way.

“I think it’s really just coming to work day to day,” Chapel Hill offensive line coach Johnny Irvin said. “You say all of those numbers, and it feels like there’s a lot of highs and everything, but those kids have done a great job through the highs and lows, being steady every day and coming in with a workmanlike attitude. We know we’re not going to get a whole lot of praise.

“Every blame goes to the O-line, holding, false starts. They’ve done a good job of taking that mentality of it doesn’t matter who gets the praise, we’re just going to do our job and we’re going to try to be the most physical group on the field. That’s kind of the identity we try to create here, and I think the kids have done a good job of owning it and living it out each and every day.”

Making up the offensive line are seniors Dyllan Drummond, Pablo Martinez, Jose Moreno and Jay Knight and juniors, Braylen Allen, Keldrick Davis and Derek Tovar.

“They’ve done everything we’ve asked to do and everything we’ve expected of them,” said Chapel Hill head football coach Jeff Riordan, who referred to the group as the Great Wall of Chapel Hill. “They are a very relentless group, a hard-working group. They’re a group that spends a lot of time together. It’s a chemistry thing up front with those guys being on the same page. I think they do a good job of communicating.

“I think they do a good job of playing with relentless effort. They’ve got a little nasty to them. We call them the junkyard dogs. As the game goes on, you see that we start running the ball more effectively because they wear down a defense.”

Now, the offensive line and the rest of the Bulldogs (13-2) will play for the Class 4A Division I title against Anna at 11 a.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

“We’ve been looking through the window the last couple of years, now that we’re in it, especially since it’s our senior year, it means something,” Drummond said.

“It means the world to me,” Martinez said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid.”

“It’s amazing,” Davis said. “I always wanted to do it as a little kid, being in Chapel Hill for a long time. It’s a dream come true.”

“It means everything,” Moreno said. “It really shows off how much hard work the whole team has put in, especially us. We focus on us, but we’ve seen how everybody works. It’s truly just a blessing to be able to play Friday.”

“It means everything,” Tovar said. “As a kid, I got to watch my uncle, he played for Chapel Hill, and I got to see him win the state championship (in 2011). I just want to share that experience with him, because it means a lot to me.”

While the coaches credit the players for their work, the players credit their coaches for putting them in a position to succeed.

“Our coach, Coach Irvin, he’s always taught us what we need to be dominant and get our hands inside and just run our feet. That’s the main thing,” Martinez said.

“The way our coach teaches us, Coach Irvin, it’s great,” Davis said. “He tells us to work with our feet and do not sling them around, drive them, stay with a wide, narrow base and just drive them. We get holes open for our quarterback and running back.”

“I’ve got to hand it to our offensive line coach, Coach Irvin, and all of these guys,” Knight said. “it’s been a lot of fun playing with these guys the last couple of years trying to chase that ring.”

Now, it comes down to one game for the Bulldogs.

“We’ve been working with each other pretty much for four years,” Moreno said. “We came in as freshmen and now we’re seniors. Putting in the work has really helped us. We’ve just got to do our thing. We’ve seen what we can do. We’ve just got to keep doing our thing, be physical and just keep doing us.”

“We’ve just got to come out with it,” Allen said. “We’ve got to play hard and play fast and be locked in. We’ve got to play with the juice.”