On the Front Lines
Down on the field, with clenched muscles, the offensive line concentrates on the three-point stance that will make or break their reaction time while keeping their eyes fixated on the opponent’s defensive linemen that they will soon make contact with.
At quarterback Eric Beagle (10) cadence, center Nelson Seilhan (12) snaps the ball and pushes up into the nose guard on the opposite side. Since he is only a football length away from him, Seilhan is prepared to exert all of his energy to keep his opponent back. With all his strength, Seilhan does his best to block for his quarterback, to lead the offensive line and to try to help advance the ball down the field as far as possible.
The fans observe Hansen’s drop back, then the pass, the completion and then wide receiver, Tyler Barclay (12) gain. All it takes is a quick tackle and the ball is stopped.
However, when all the eyes are on the wide receiver and the ball, when everybody cheers because of the progress down field, few notice Seilhan and the rest of his offensive line releasing from their blocks and trying to regain their strength for the next play from scrimmage.
The center and the left and right guards endure the most hits during a football game. Since they are in between all the other players, it’s hard for the referees to notice the brutality taking place.
“[The middle] is probably the dirtiest spot on the field because what happens between the center and the nose guard and the two guards goes completely unnoticed by the referees,” Seilhan said.
Along with dealing with the requirements of being an offensive lineman, Seilhan also endures the vigorous play that is undetected and almost unknown to anybody outside the game.
“[The center has] to relay calls between the left and the right and you have to know about the offense and you have to know how to make different calls all while snapping the ball and making a block,” Seilhan said. “A lot of it is very mental as well as physical.”
In Seilhan’s second year of playing varsity football as a center, he understands the pressure that comes with it.
“There’s a lot of rib punching, cursing and every once in a while somebody will give a low blow on purpose,” Seilhan said. “People will take your knees out on purpose when it’s not the most respectable thing to do.”
Starting left guard Mark Mann (12) has experienced the intensity of being in the middle of the line of scrimmage.
Last year during the game at Mt. Carmel, Mann accidentally tackled his opponent to the ground, unintentionally falling on top of him.
“I started going at it and making my hits to keep him down, and I fell on top of his foot and [tore] the ligament,” Mann said. “It ruined his football career.”
Seilhan said that the actions in the middle of the field aren’t always intentional.
Despite all that comes with being a lineman and the unseen battles, there is a dedication that comes with it.
“I can’t say that I’ve ever been hesitant to get back on the line. It’s something that I have to go through and I love feeling the adrenaline running and the intensity that comes with it all,” Seilhan said.