Michael Donohue is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Apache Junction High School for AZPreps365.com.

The Apache Junction Prospectors’ offense lines up five yards away from the end zone. Their coach signals in one of his favorite plays: Power run.

The offensive line digs their fingers into the turf and grinds their cleats into the dirt. Five yards separate their running back from the end zone. Five yards of dominating the opponent. Five yards of pushing another six-foot, 220-pound defensive lineman back into the end zone.

The center wraps his hand around the rugged football, taking one last look at the defense before snapping the ball. When it is snapped, a mass of humanity lunges off the ball. Pads clash into each other as the offensive line grinds for those five, long yards.

The running back crosses the goal line. It isn’t flashy. It isn’t pretty, but it is five yards of power. It is five yards of pure domination, one of the best feelings for an offensive lineman.

Apache Junction’s offensive line showed its power on and off the field this season.

Last year, the Prospectors did not have a permanent offensive line coach. The lack of consistency hindered their play, but a new coach sparked a fire for the O-line. 

Coach Bruce Binkley, who came over from Del Norte High School in Albuquerque, worked with the offensive line on a consistent basis. He told his players that he wanted them to be one of Arizona’s top offensive lines. 

In practice, Binkley spent more time with the offensive line than any other previous coach. He stripped his line down to their foundation and built them back up by teaching them new footwork and technique. He even brought in his former player Ben Garland, now a center for the San Francisco 49ers, to help with fundamentals for a couple of days.

For JC Taylor, center for the Prospector football team, learning from a professional center helped him and the rest of the offensive line improve.

“He showed me some new form on how to snap the ball [and] how to move while you snap,” Taylor said of Garland. “Overall, he showed the offensive line some new footwork that coach couldn't really show us.”

Prospectors' offensive line working on stances during practice. (Photo via JC Taylor)

With the coronavirus pandemic delaying the start of practice, the Apache Junction offensive line learned a new playbook over Zoom. 

Binkley told his players, “If it’s just about you, it has zero value.” With an offensive line, that meant all five players needed to be on the same page to be successful.

“He was really hard on us about playing for each other, not yourself,” Taylor said.

Binkley repeatedly drew new plays on a whiteboard to hammer in the new offense. He emphasized that every lineman should know other positions along the line so they could better understand each other. For Roman Yashchuk, senior left tackle for the Prospectors, learning different positions was a new experience.

“Junior year I was playing varsity [and] I did not really know what a lot of the other guys did on the line,” he said. “Going over that whiteboard, it kind of gave us a perspective on what everybody else did.”

The extra attention and practice paid off for the Prospectors. This season, Apache Junction averaged over 200 rushing yards per game, compared to 130 yards per game a season ago. The Prospectors also averaged over 400 yards per game, which contributed to a 3-2 record.

However, the linemen’s biggest improvement may have been their bond off the field.

In previous years, the offensive line did not see each other outside of practices and games. After those couple hours they shared on the field, they went home.

“We didn't really do much as an offensive line last year. We never stayed in contact with each other,” Taylor said. “We never really talked. We were there to play the game.”

This year, the linemates turned Thursday night into a tradition. 

The day before a game, the offensive line went to Native Grill & Wings to hang out and talk about their game plan for Friday night. After getting themselves hyped up for the game, they would relax, eat some wings and watch Thursday Night Football at the restaurant.

After mowing down the wings, the linemen went to Bahama Buck’s, a shaved ice and smoothie place, for even more food. 

The bonding off the field helped their communication on the field. Being one of the anchors of the offensive line, Yashchuk felt the bonding allowed him to better coach his teammates. He knew how to get them fired up or calm them down.

The offensive line also had their own group chat where they would talk about practice and film, but also get to know each other. After practice, the different position groups would huddle together and talk about how practice went and certain plays that needed more attention.

While the offensive line position is often overlooked, Taylor and Yashchuk know they play one of the hardest positions on the field.

“At the end of the day, I know I have one of the hardest jobs on the field,” Taylor said. “I just let people overlook me and then they can look for the film.”

“Nobody really looks at the O-line, but I feel like we’re getting ourselves on the map,” Yashchuk said.

On defense, players get their own stats. Sacks, tackles and interceptions are tracked throughout the season. With the offensive line, they depend on the rest of the offense for stats.

“You don't get your stats up,” Yashchuk said. “Your stats are basically your running back’s and your quarterback’s and your receiver’s stats.”

Even though their football season was shortened because of the pandemic, the Apache Junction offensive line formed a connection that will live for many years. You can still find them eating wings and watching football at Native Grill & Wings on Thursday night.