Andrew Goveia likely to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards tonight at Portage, where his blockers will be tight end Mike Rone and O-linemen, left to right: seniors Tyler Nevious, Carlos Leon, Jack Gearhart and Braxton Ozug and junior Kameron Elliott

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Not many high school football teams can boast a lineup with three offensive linemen who combine for close to 70 career starts.
Chesterton can. Carlos Leon, junior all-state last season, is the strongest and most decorated. He deserves all the recognition he gets.
Not far behind him though in terms of value are fellow seniors Tyler Nevious and Braxton Ozug. Mix in beefed-up classmate Mike Rone, the tight end, and the Trojans have far greater depth of experienced blockers who know what they’re doing than most teams.
Keeping them all healthy at the same time has been the challenge. All four blockers have been in the lineup at the same time for just three halves of football this season.
If you think big back Andrew Goveia (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) is simply saying the right thing and being the good teammate when he said, “It all starts up front,” after rushing for 193 yards in the Valpo win, think again. In the three halves of football that has had his four classmates in the huddle – the first half vs. Morton and the Valpo game – he has rushed for 314 yards, 195 yards in the other seven halves. Goveia knows how to use his blockers, especially the ones who know what they’re doing. And he uses his strong right arm to move more than would-be tacklers.
Nevious shared what he likes about blocking for Goveia, who has rushed for 1,978 career yards, 509 this season.
“I like it because there will be plays where I’m blocking my guy down the field and Gove will be behind me, kind of like pushing me,” Nevious said as Thursday night’s freshman game that he, Ozug and several teammates watched was finishing up. “Then he’ll be watching farther down the field, and if a safety is coming down on my right side, he’ll push me to the right so he can cut off left and we’ll be taking out two guys at once.”
Does he ever fall when Goveia shoves him and then cuts in the other direction?
Both blockers laughed at the question, and Ozug shot Nevious a quick glance that seemed to say, “I won’t tell him if you won’t.”
Laughing, Nevious confessed: “Yeah, all the time.”
That’s just another occupational hazard of playing offensive line, a position that leaves blockers with swollen knuckles and waking up the next morning sore from head to toe. Knowing they are doing it for a good cause, Goveia keeping the defense off the field by steadily moving the chains, soothes the aches.
This year’s team that takes a 3-2 overall record and 2-1 DAC mark into tonight’s game at Portage (0-5, 0-3) is an interesting one in that a case could be made that one of the most valuable players for the defense is Goveia, who has taken all of his snaps on offense, and a key player for the offense has been linebacker Lucas Anderson, who has scored two touchdowns without taking a snap on offense.
Ozug explained why he also considers Goveia to be one of the key components of the team’s steadily developing passing game.
“I think the best thing Andrew does is bring the safeties up so we can pass. Teams gameplan against him and if they move the safeties up, it’ll stop the run but then the safeties are gone so they can’t stop the pass,” Ozug said. “We have three senior receivers and Rone is a senior. Everyone knows what they’re doing, and they’re really good too. We throw with efficiency. Every time we throw, the play works. Against Valpo, the majority of the tackles made on Gove were made by the safety crashing down and then the play-action was wide open.”
That only matters if the trigger man can deliver an on-time, on-target throw, which sophomore Hunter Boyd has done with increasing accuracy as the season progresses.
“Hunter’s pretty good, especially for a sophomore,” said Nevious, who has been healthy for every game.
Added Ozug of Boyd: “He has sky-high potential. He has the frame (6-3, 185). He just needs to put on a little weight. And he has a cannon. He can throw it. I mean, he’s a sophomore with (seven) touchdowns and one pick.”
Injuries led to various various O-line combinations and even have had Ozug shifting from left guard to right guard and back in some games. Last week, the Trojans seemed to find the combination that works best: senior Jack Gearhart (6-0, 270) at center, Leon (6-1, 250) at left guard, Nevious (6-3, 270) left tackle, Ozug (6-0, 260) right guard, and junior Kameron Elliott (6-0, 260) at right tackle, Goveia carrying the football, shoving around blockers and tacklers alike.
Leon and Ozug would like to play college football and are talking to several schools close to home.
Ozug said his playing days will end when this season does and added that he wants to attend Florida State University or Indiana University.
“I’m kind of banged up a little and I don’t want to be any more banged up for when I’m an adult,” Ozug said. “I think I’ve already had enough of football. I can just watch it from now on. I’d like to still be involved. I’d like to coach one day when I’m older, just so I’m still in the sport, but I think I’m done playing after this year.”
He's going out with a bang and cherishing every game, knowing the finish line looms.
If, as expected, Goveia surpasses 2,000 career rushing yards tonight in Portage, look for him to be the first to shove credit the way of his blockers.