LE GRAND -- The emotions still bubble up in the back of Leo Marquez's throat when he thinks about the day. The Le Grand senior was sitting in the Grape Bowl stands almost a year ago, overcome with remorse as the bulk of the town celebrated around him. A football player all his life, Marquez found himself a spectator as Le Grand battled Highlands for the Division 5 title.
After a good deal of waffling, Marquez had opted not to play football last season. And as his would-be teammates closed in on the school's first Sac-Joaquin Section football championship, the ramifications of the decision hit Marquez.
"I had a pretty tough school schedule that year and I didn't think I could do football and stay motivated to do homework," Marquez said. "It was exciting sitting up in the crowd and watching them beat Highlands, but I almost cried because I knew I should have been down there with them."
Marquez wasn't about to live with the same regret in his senior year. The 6-foot, 260-pound guard rejoined the team in 2011 and has helped solidify the Bulldog offensive line.
It's not the biggest, strongest or most athletic group in the area, but the Le Grand offensive line's numbers and efficiency stack up against any in the state.
The Bulldogs have produced 4,587 yards of total offense on just 435 plays, good for 10.5 yards a play. Even mighty Folsom's record-breaking offense trails, averaging 10.2 yards per play.
Buhach Colony — whose blue-chip offensive line has received national attention — has only accumulated 430 more yards than Le Grand, and that's with 155 more plays.
While both Folsom and Buhach have faced stronger competition during the season, that shouldn't diminish the Bulldogs' big-play ability.
And it helps explain why few outside of the community can name anyone on the line, which leads Le Grand into Saturday's Division 5 championship game against Highlands.
At over seven touchdowns a game and an average of 39 plays per contest, the Bulldogs are scoring every 5.5 plays. Unlike the programs that have to grind out series 3 or 4 yards at a time, the LG line just isn't on the field that long.
"That's the idea," said junior left tackle Roman Hernandez. "We're trying to score as fast as possible.
"When we hit a big play, we know as a line that we executed everything perfectly.
"It's OK that we're just known as the offensive line, because that's what we are, a unit.
"We do everything together, whether it's eating or hanging out. We should share the credit as one unit."
Roman Hernandez, center Andrew Hernandez and right tackle Diego Morales provide the experience. All three are returning starters, and all three would have been on the field for the section title win if Morales hadn't suffered a season-ending injury.
Marquez and right guard Nathan Romero have rounded out the group after not playing football a season ago.
"Every game this group seems to get a little tighter," LG head coach Rick Martinez said. "They've got solid size, are pretty good athletes and they're good in space. They come to work everyday and get after it once the whistle blows.
"There's a reason the skill guys have given them props all season long. Without the line, we're not putting up the numbers we have."
Gaudy as the offensive numbers are, the unit's protection of quarterback Alex Bucio has been equally impressive.
Le Grand has only surrendered six sacks on the season, and according to Martinez, only allowed their quarterback to be hit about another dozen times.
"It's definitely a source of pride," Andrew Hernandez said. "We've done a good job communicating with each other before the snap, and Bucio has confidence we'll give him the time to make something happen."
That communication is going to be key on Saturday as Le Grand (12-0) squares off against a Highlands (10-2) squad that has racked up 62.5 sacks.
The Scots have used their front of two-down linemen and five linebackers to create confusion and bring pressure from all over.
Senior linebacker Ray Edwards has been particularly effective with 23 sacks on the year.
"We know we need to watch the 'backers," Marquez said. "We have a plan to slow them down. As long as we talk and get our pre-snap reads down, we should be fine."
Sean Lynch is a Sun-Star sports writer. He can be reached at 385-2476 or via e-mail at slynch@mercedsunstar.com.
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