SPENCER — Tackles Caleb Anderson and Braxton Rabon, guards Brandon Rabon and Nick Leverett and center Josh Cozart hear their names called when North Rowan’s starting lineup is introduced, but chances are pretty good that will be their last brush with notoriety on any given Friday night.
They are the offensive line — five mostly anonymous individuals, but one indispensable unit. They protect the quarterback and open holes for the running backs.
“We’ve got three returning starters with the Rabons and Cozart,” North coach Joe Nixon said. “The new guys are doing well, and they’re all starting to come together as a group.”
The young left side of North’s line is big, with Leverett checking in at 6-foot-4 and 290 and Anderson standing over 6 feet and weighing 245.
The experienced right side is small. The Rabon twins, 180-pounders, are tough and strong, but they basically look like normal high school students.
“We’re not the biggest guys, so have to use our speed to our advantage and we have to have great technique,” Brandon Rabon said.
Cozart, in the middle, isn’t extra-large either, but he orchestrates everything. He makes the calls depending on the defensive front. He makes sure his linemates know who they’re blocking. As the most vocal offensive lineman, he’s well-suited for that role.
And so far, so good. North leads the county in rushing yards, and when you lead a county that includes West Rowan in rushing yards, you’re getting it done. North (6-0) also has thrown the ball effectively and has scored 37 points a game against a solid schedule that has included five teams that are decent or better.
North is averaging a county-best 378 yards per game.
“We try to be balanced, and that means our O-linemen have to be good run-blockers and good pass-blockers,” Nixon said. “Fortunately, we’ve got a bunch of guys who come to work extremely hard every day.”
Nixon’s specialty is the offensive line. He was a standout right tackle at Catawba in his playing days a decade ago.
“I think that’s why he probably pushes the 0-line harder than he does anyone,” Cozart said.
Some of that pushing is because North lost Will Robertson, now at Appalachian State, to graduation. He was the household name on the 2012 o-line.
“Even losing Will I think we’ve gotten better this year as a group,” Braxton Rabon said. “We’re all stronger than we were last year, and the juniors are working. We practiced hard last season, but I think we’re practicing even harder this year.”
North quarterback Alexis Archie had three touchdown passes opening night, but he was injured in Week 2. That meant running back Jareke Chambers started taking the snaps. It was feared that the loss of Archie might make North one-dimensional, but Chambers has a QB background and has thrown for 597 yards and five touchdowns to go along with his 15 rushing touchdowns. He’s been the county’s most dynamic player. The offensive line has helped him reach that status.
“We lost a quarterback and we know we can’t lose another one,” Braxton Rabon said. “We’re really working to keep Jareke safe,”
North has been able to rush for at least 200 yards in every game except the Davie contest. Davie stopped the run and forced North to throw it. But Chambers answered the bell. He passed for 235 yards, and the Cavaliers won 28-13.
Cozart believes the 39-33 game at Statesville was the toughest test for the Cavaliers so far.
“Because they weren’t just big, they were big and quick,” Cozart said. “But we started getting the line push we needed and we pulled it out.”
Friday’s game at Forest Hills was more of the same for North’s o-line. It figured to be a dangerous game for the Cavaliers, facing an opponent that was better than its record a long, long way from home, but North took care of business and led 28-0 at halftime.
North rushed for 277 yards and won 34-7.
“That doesn’t mean it was easy,” Cozart said with a laugh. “Forest Hills was the best 1-5 team I’ve ever seen.”
North has reached its bye week undefeated and has been ranked No. 1 in the 2A state poll ever since it beat 4A Davie.
“If anything, we’ve worked even harder since we got to No. 1,” Brandon Rabon said. “We’ve shown we can overcome adversity, and now we want to stay on top.”