Published: August 25, 2009 12:23 am      

FSU offensive front much improved in ’09

FAIRMONT — No matter how many flashy offensive or defensive stars are on a team the majority of football games are either won or lost in the trenches.

Offensive lines play a vital role in a team’s success, yet rarely garner attention or accolades for their efforts.

This season Fairmont State’s offense is looking to break out of a slump which has not seen the Falcons finish any higher than sixth in the league in total offense since 2001. Fairmont has offensive weapons for sure – Perry Baker, Doug Brazill, Omoniyi Bakare, Travis Hawthorne, Stephan Johnson, Derek Taylor, Vick Bradford and Scott Victorio just to name a few.

But ultimately it will be guys like Luke Stafford, Kyle Knight, Matt Khouri, Josh Kniceley, Josh Evans, Pat Halpin, Sean Murphy and Zach Nolan who go a long way toward determining FSU’s overall success this season.

“We know we’ve got to be more consistent on offense this year,” said Khouri, a 6-5, 320-pound junior offensive tackle, who was a first-team All-West Virginia Conference selection last fall and a second-team NCAA Division II Super Region I honoree. “Our big goal this fall is to sustain drives and finish them. Last year too often we didn’t finish drives. This year our focus from the first day of camp has been finishing everything. No matter what we did we finished in the end zone.

“One thing I can tell you in all honestly this year is I’ve got faith in the four guys beside me – no matter what combination we go with.”

That’s because this year the Falcons finally have quality depth on the offensive line and it’s not just in terms of numbers. FSU has a wealth of experience returning up front after having to rely on Kniceley, Halpin and Murphy to start numerous games as true freshmen last season.

For Khouri this will be his third year as a starter for the Falcons. Knight, Fairmont’s 6-5, 305-pound senior left tackle, will be starting for the fourth year as will 6-3, 290-pound senior center Luke Stafford, who has the unique ability to play any position along the front line.

“Last season there’s no question we were very young at the beginning of the year,” said Stafford. “We had to rely on freshmen and they did a great job for us, but they were still freshmen and they were learning the game at this level as we went along which isn’t easy. I know because I played as a true freshman.

“Now when I look at guys like Pat, Josh and Sean they’re tons better than they were a year ago at this time and as a result we’re better as an offensive line. Instead of spending time learning things in camp we spent a lot of time perfecting things and I really believe that’s going to make a big difference for us.”

This summer Fairmont added Evans, a 6-4, 320-pound junior offensive guard who transferred from Marshall University. As a redshirt freshman in 2007 with the Thundering Herd, Evans started 12 games and was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team. Last season he made six starts for Marshall.

Both Khouri and Stafford agree that Evans has brought with him from Division I a certain air of toughness which both admit the Falcons may have been lacking in the past.

“The addition of Evans made us a lot better as a whole,” said Khouri. “You can’t argue that. I like how he plays. He brings a certain toughness with him that maybe we were lacking in the past, I don’t know. When he’s in the lineup we’re a better football team.”

Stafford agrees.

“The addition of Evans has been a huge help to us,” said Stafford. “He’s a player.

“I really like this line. We’re as big as we’ve ever been and I think we’re really solid up front. I think we’re all ready to start pounding on people.”

FSU opens the 2009 season Thursday at 7 p.m. when it hosts Clarion (Pa.) University at Duvall-Rosier Field.