Southmont football has had the luxury of having a majority of it’s offensive line in tact the last four years. That’s because the Mounties have three four-year starters up front in seniors Will Cody, Waylon Gomez, and Kasey Line. The three have anchored the trenches for the Southmont offense and when needed shifted over and played defensive line as well. Having a great o-line is important in any offense, but it’s often overlooked when someone brings up the team success. For the Mounties who a have been a run heavy offense under coach Desson Hannum, the play of those three four-year starters has been vital to the success of Southmont football over the last few seasons.
“Will, Kasey, and Waylon have all been very reliable,” Hannum said of his three four-year lineman. “We’ve always been able to count on them to be in lineup and sometimes we ask them to play both ways. They’ve taken some bruises and have been banged up at times but that hasn’t stopped them for being out there every Friday. We knew coming in their freshman year they’d get some early playing time and they’ve been a huge part of our success.”
Gomez was the first to say how it hasn’t been just at the high school level that he, Cody, and Line have all played together, it dates back to when they first began playing football.
“We’ve been playing football together pretty much since fifth grade,” Gomez said. “We’ve been on that line together so these guys are pretty much like my brothers at this point.”
Line added how much fun he’s had in the trenches alongside them.
“It’s been a blast to play with these guys every single day, and the coaches and our teammates make sure that we all get the recognition and love.”
Cody echoed Gomez’s comments about the brotherhood that the three have established over the years.
“This is our 13th year of either competing against each other or playing with one another,” Cody said. “We’ve had a lot of time to grow close and we’re all just here for the success of the team. As long as they’re doing good then that’s ok with us.”
It doesn’t matter for the three seniors who is in the backfield running behind them or under center. Wyatt Woodall over the years has made sure to give the three the love that they’ve earned. Also this season the Mounties have had first-year starting QB Nolan Boyer at the helm after protecting Nick Scott the last few seasons.
“With Nolan being a senior right alongside those guys he knew that he was going to have a good line to protect him,” Hannum said. “They’ve kept him fairly clean this season and opened up some lanes when he takes off to run. Having those guys gave Nolan the confidence knowing he had those guys in front of him.”
Cody, Gomez, and Line all noted how they’ve seen Boyer grow throughout the season and have seen him become just another leader for the Mounties.
“It’s definitely different this year with having Nolan this year who can make plays with his legs,” Cody said. “I think though he’s really settling in and starting to see how well he can play. It’s our job to keep him up right and know that everything is going to be ok.”
Line added that they’ve seen the potential from Boyer who has had to sit back and wait his turn, but is now showing everyone what he’s capable of.
“He’s always had the talent there,” Line said. “It comes down to having a good mindset and knowing that we’re going to do everything we can to keep him protected makes him feel a lot better.”
The brotherhood hasn’t just been with the three lineman, but with the nine other seniors on the Mountie team this season. On senior night Woodall was honored before the game for becoming the fifth player in county history with 3,000 career rushing yards. The people that went out to hand him the ball from that game? That would be Cody, Gomez, and Line. Over the years, it doesn’t matter what situation they might have been thrown into, the group has rallied around each other when faced with any adversity.
“We always preach the next man up mentality,” Cody said. “Against Sullivan last week Wyatt went down and we all had to rally as a team. There was a lot of pressure on us to go out there and block for whoever was carrying the ball. We just need to be told who to block and we’ll do anything as long as there are guys standing in our way.”
The last three seasons the Mounties have won their sectional opener and have re-wrote the history books in some categories. Hannum looked back on when Cody, Line, and Gomez got to the team four years ago and knows that the program is in a much better place because of their leadership.
“When you have guys like them come in, it changes a program,” he said. “As an offensive line they’ve done everything that we’ve asked of them. You want the team to know they can rely on you and those three have done that and more over their careers.”
