Fratmen line looking to gel

by Rob Benneian

Win or lose, the glory tends not to come their way.

But if the Windsor AKO Fratmen are to achieve their championship goals this season it will be due to the play of their offensive line.

Though there have been some positive signs from the five big men up front, head coach Mike LaChance is looking to the group’s leader to raise the line’s overall play.

“(He) has played well, but he has more in the tank,” LaChance said of  team captain Kieran Winter. “I’m gonna look at him to be the best center in the league.”

Winter played five years of high school football for the Riverside Rebels, but didn’t move into the middle until his second year with AKO. He played primarily guard and tackle at Riverside Secondary School. LaChance’s expectation for Winter to be the best fall in line with what he calls ‘the gold standard’.

Winter Gold

“The gold standard is a term that (defensive coordinator Mike) Morencie came up with defensively and the offence has adopted it, the special teams has adopted it,” LaChance said. “It means to be the best and to expect yourself to be the best on every play. Not just once in a while, not just here and there, not just in the games but in practice. Bring that attitude to the forefront.”

Last year’s offensive line saw three players move on who LaChance called “All-Conference or All-Canadian type of players” in right tackle Ben Asselstine, left tackle Paul Pruyn and right guard Mike Main.

He said the difference between a year ago and now is time.

Or more specifically, age.

“Last year’s offensive line was a 22-year-old offensive line,” LaChance said. “They were a bigger, stronger, faster group. More athletic than this year’s group. This year’s group is going to have a chance to be good as they get older but it’s a younger group by a couple years.”

Growing pains

As one of two returning players on the line, Winter has taken it on himself to make this year’s group a successful one. He has embraced the role of team captain on the field, a role he said he is comfortable in, but he knows more is needed out of him as a leader on non-game days.

“I haven’t done it yet, and I really need to get on that because I have been slacking to be totally honest,” Winter said of team-building activities. “I definitely need to get a bunch of the guys together because we need to be communicating more.”

“If it takes going out for dinner, getting everybody together and talking, that’s what needs to be done.”

Winter said there was a level of trust amongst the 2011 offensive line which he has yet to see in the 2012 edition. He said a very intricate and complex AKO playbook may have something to do with it.

“We have a lot of code words, our own hidden language,” Winter said. “We’ve been using that a lot, and a lot of the guys haven’t come to it yet, aren’t used to it.”

“It’s still a work in progress. Individually, everyone is a fantastic player, it’s just all about the meshing and we haven’t come together yet.”

The line will have a chance to prove their mettle with a stiff test facing them Saturday afternoon. The Fratmen will travel to TD Waterhouse Stadium to face the undefeated London Beefeaters.