By Mike London
Salisbury Post
MOUNT ULLA — Senior tackle Max Kalinowski is a 280-pounder who can bench press a school bus, and he’s the little guy on the left side of West Rowan’s ominous offensive line.
Kalinowski admits there is “always someone badder,” and he’s right. Junior left guard Myles Howell checks in at 340 robust pounds.
“I slimmed down from 360,” Howell said cheerfully. “My footwork has gotten better. “Feeling quicker now, but also feeling stronger.”
And meaner.
“Myles is such a good guy, but on the football field, he’s playing to inflict pain,” West head coach Louis Kraft said. “He’s an absolute monster. There’s no stop in him. Anytime Myles and Max combo block a linebacker, it can be a ‘Holy Smokes!’ moment.”
Kalinowski and Howell combine for 620 pounds of beef in a relatively confined space. They combined for 11 knockdown blocks in Friday’s 39-20 comeback win against North Rowan. West accumulated five rushing touchdowns, with three different backs finding the end zone.
“We’re not going to hide from the fact that we plan to pound the ball and to do what we do every week,” Kalinowski said. “But a game like we had Friday, that doesn’t just happen. Running the ball as effectively as we did comes from months of teamwork. It happens because the o-line always comes to practice early and the o-line always leaves late.”
Kalinowski, Howell and their line mates, plus the two tight ends, get solid instruction from former tight end Kraft, but the bulk of their tutoring and inspiration comes from assistant Tim Pangburn, an All-State lineman during West’s glory days in the 2000s. He played and coached at the college level at Catawba.
Kalinowski had spent his high school career on the right side, but he’s embraced the challenge of playing left tackle in his final season for the Falcons. Now he’s the blind-side protector for right-handed QB Brant Graham. Graham can throw long and accurately, but the Falcons will pick their spots when they choose to air it out. A powerful running game will set up the pass.
“There’s a lot less help on the left as well as more responsibility,” Kalinowski said. “I had to flip my mind a little bit to make the adjustment, but it’s still pass-blocking and run-blocking. I’m at home on the left now. I don’t even think about it now as a major change.”
Leadership comes naturally to Kalinowski, and as the only senior starter on the offensive line, he’s glad to show the way vocally as well as by example.
“He’s not only a road grader, he’s a seasoned vet who loves to play OL,” Kraft said. “He’s got that football background.”
Kalinowski’s father, Peter, was a fine defensive lineman for Catawba during some stellar Indian seasons, while Max’s grandfather, Mike Ayers, was the head coach for 218 college victories at East Tennessee State and Wofford. Ayers’ teams dominated the Southern Conference for a long stretch at Wofford. Peter spent a number of years as an assistant coach for his father-in-law, so Max practically grew up on the football field at Wofford.
There’s no doubt he’l be a college player, as he has the grades, the character and the work ethic to go with his size.
As good as West’s offensive line is — the Falcons also are very good on the right side where Chipper Jones and Marcus Bailey go to work. North Rowan took it to West for a while. West had penalties and mistakes early, and the Cavaliers, playing at home, jumped out to a 12-0 lead.
“You can practice all you want, but it’s still going to be different whenever you play against guys wearing a different color uniform,” Kalinowski said. “North has really good athletes and we started slow. But once we settled in, we played physical and we played smart.”
The tide had turned for good by the second quarter.
“The offensive line is a brotherhood, and we came together,” Howell said. “We all got focused on the task at hand, and we pounded the ball. We got it done. North wore down some, but I don’t think it was guys playing both ways that wore them down. It was us wearing them down.”
Kalinowski provided a scouting report on West’s three new ballcarriers — Cooper Martin (who missed last season with injury), exciting sophomore Devaunh White and transfer Jamantay Cox.
“Cooper is that experienced, trustworthy senior,” Kalinowski said. ” White is strong and fast. Cox is a big back. He’s a battering ram. The thing that they all have in common is they are hard-nosed guys. We love blocking for them.”
The next challenge for the Falcons is Davie on Friday. Davie is a 7A school and a lot deeper than North, but the Falcons know who they are and they’ll look to pound the ball, especially behind that massive left tackle and left guard.
