Unsung Hero: Football Center Brian Czop Displays Intelligence, Drive

At the high school level, one of the most underrated portions of a football team is offensive line. You can read how many yards a guy like Yusef Lundi ran for in a game, or how many touchdowns Jarred Jones had in the first half, but you rarely ever see the five names that comprise an offensive line in accordance with those statistics.

That's why head coach Chad Brubaker picked out senior center Brian Czop for this week's unsung hero. Czop is a two-year starter at center - the only returning starter at the same position along the offensive front. Brubaker had nothing but praise for the way Czop is playing this year.

"I think offensive linemen just don’t get the recognition," said Brubaker. "Brian’s done a really good job as a two-year starter at center. He’s the only guy returning on the offensive line at the same position. He calls out all the defenses for us and has really done a great job so far this year."

Two things resonated from Brubaker's comments about Czop: intelligence and diligence. To be a center, not only do you have to go out and pass block or run block, but you also have to take a look at the defense before the snap and inform the rest of the offensive line of any changes to the blocking scheme given the current circumstances. Czop has taken that role in stride.

"Well, the past two weeks against [Pope John Paul II] and [Upper Perkiomen], we were actually gameplanning for a different defensive front than they actually gave us," Czop said. "Thanks to the coaching staff, preparing us all week, a lot of film sessions, you go out there and it’s just instinctive. Although it’s not what you planned for, you’ve seen the defense before and you switch the protection, basically."

Brubaker called him the quarterback of the offensive line, but moreso, a leader.

"What we really needed out of our seniors is leadership – we weren’t really sure where we were going to get that from," Brubaker said. "One of those kids is Brian. He’s a great kid and one of the things he’s really tried to work on is his leadership skills."

Czop has been modest in receiving unsung hero honors from his coaching staff.

"I don’t really need the recognition every week," he said. "I have fun seeing Jarred, Yusef and Xavier [Ingram] running it into the endzone. That means we did our job. If they’re in the endzone we did our job and that’s all I need."

Overall, Czop and his senior cohorts are hoping to achieve goals of a PAC-10 Championship and a district appearance. Brubaker reflected upon the types of kids his staff has developed.

"I say this about all of our kids, but we try to influence them to do the right things in school and be accountable for things," said Brubaker. "In general, we just have tremendous kids. I love these kids to death and I love this team. Brian is great. He’s typical of our kids right now."