Maples tackle weighty issue
Members of the Mapletown High School football team, particularly the offensive linemen, were totally immersed in another sport this summer. The games took place three mornings a week in a secluded room adjacent to a back hallway in the high school.
Everyone was in.
The stakes kept getting higher and higher as the summer wore on.
Then on July 21 a bunch of the guys got together and won big at a competition at the Jacktown Fair.
No, the Maples were not the latest victims to the poker craze, but instead weightlifting was all the rage. For players like senior Matt Jones, pumping iron was more than a supplemental activity over the summer.
“It was like a second sport,” Jones said. “We are always asking each other, ‘What’s your max?’ and when someone misses a day we are like ‘Where were you?’
“Everyone pushes each other because everyone wants to succeed.”
That’s why coach George Messich, with a bigger and stronger offensive line, believes he will be dealt a nice hand when it comes to running the football.
“I never had a group of seven like this,” Messich said. “It’s tradition for us to have some big husky linemen. We’ve had some teams with two or three real big strong linemen but none like this.”
In such a collectively strong and dedicated unit, Jones is considered the leader. The 5-9, 230-pound right tackle bench-presses 385 pounds. Two other linemen press over 300 pounds, junior left guard Wes Loring (5-8, 220) and junior left tackle Frank Jeffries (6-2, 265), who bench 325 and 305, respectively.
Jones, Loring and Jeffries, along with quarterback Zach Novak, made up four Mapletown players that won their weight divisions at the Jacktown Fair bench press contest last month that featured 42 high school competitors.
The next highest bench-pressers on the line, senior tight ends Brad Hartley (275 pounds) and John Grimm (290), round out the offensive line’s returning starters, while the top candidates for the right guard and center positions, sophomore Josh Lewellen (260) and junior Randy Pritchard (245), are no slouches either.
“The kids, when they are younger, they see the older kids benching 300 pounds and that puts a spark inside of them,” Messich said. “They are happy and feel good for each other (when they get it).”
Just ask Jeffries, a recent addition to the 300-club, who looks up to Jones for inspiration.
“Him benching 385, he’s like an idol to us,” Jeffries said half-kidding, half-serious. “He’s strong and fast and he’s got a great attitude; he pushes us.”
Jeffries believes the camaraderie, not just size and strength, is an asset to the offensive line.
“We just push each other and we’re like brothers,” Jeffries said. “It’s just a great group of guys. We’ve been together since Bulldogs (midget league). Our attitude is great and we just keep on working hard.”
Though it’s loosely regarded as a second sport at Mapletown, the players are well aware of what they need to accomplish on the football field. Jones explained how they apply certain lifts to football techniques, which is something Jeffries has noticed.
“I can feel it just coming out of my stance,” Jeffries said. “You just feel the difference. It’s definitely made us stronger.”
Messich, meanwhile, eagerly waits to see if his Maples can rack up the wins just as they have racked up the weights.
“Hopefully they can carry that out onto the field,” he added.
Mapletown’s season opens Friday, Aug. 26, at Bentworth.