They never have a football tucked under their arms.
Touchdowns are not their trademark, and spectacular runs are not their calling card, either.
Brandon Boyer and Richie Smith may not smell the goal line like running backs and wide receivers but both have significant roles in deciding the outcome of football games.
Boyer, a Saucon Valley senior who plays defensive tackle and offensive guard, is a four-year starter who had an impact in the Panthers’ season-opening 49-7 rout of Bangor last Friday. A 6-foot, 225-pounder, he is a team captain and the leader of both the offensive and defensive lines.
Smith, a Pen Argyl junior who also has started since his freshman year, lines up at right guard on offense and at tackle on defense, usually against the strong side of the opposing team’s offense. Though both players won’t be lining up against each other on every play, there will be occasions during tonight’s Colonial League matchup at Montford Illick Stadium in Lower Saucon Township where Boyer and Smith will be eye-to-eye.
Boyer and Smith (6-2, 280) aren’t year-round football players, either. Smith finished fourth at heavyweight in the PIAA Class AA wrestling championships while Boyer placed third in both the District 11 and Northeast Regionals at 215 pounds.
While Boyer was solid in Saucon Valley’s opener, Smith also got off to a good start in Pen Argyl’s 19-16 opening-season win over Salisbury last Saturday.
“Richie played really well, “said Eric Sampson, Pen Argyl’s head coach. “And he played his best football in the fourth quarter. He played both ways and the temperature was in the high 80s.”
Saucon Valley head coach Dick Bowman wouldn’t predict how many plays Boyer and Smith will be lined up against one another. But they’ll be banging on one another on at least a few plays.
“We move our linemen around quite a bit on defense, “Bowman said. “Sometimes, Brandon will be in the (tackle-guard) gap and other times he’ll be over the guard or over the tackle.”
-More at original site.
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