​Experienced offensive line brings stability for Eagles

by Michael Smith
 
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The offense could be a big part of any success the Grain Valley football team has this season.
 
It will certainly help the Eagles cause that they bring back four out of five starters from a 2022 team that finished 9-3 and made it to the Class 5 state quarterfinals.
 
Those returning to pave the way for the Grain Valley offense are seniors Blake Robinson, Stylz Blackmon, Luke Arndorfer, and junior Corbyn Goodwin.
 
That group helped the Eagles offense rush for 2,756 yards and pass for 1,116 last season, and help the team bring stability for a new quarterback in senior Sal Calderella.
 
“They have that experience in knowing what each other are going to do,” Grain Valley head coach David Allie said. “They played for us all last season together so they have that camaraderie.”
 
In recent years, Grain Valley has not had a lot of size on the offensive line and this season will be the same. However, that has not prevented the Eagles from finding success on offense as the offensive line finds ways to create holes and protect the quarterback.
 
Part of the reason that unit has been able to do that is their technique and executing the blocking schemes at a high level.
 
“We’re going to be pretty good this year,” Robinson said. “The biggest thing for us will be communication because we have a new quarterback this year.”
 
“We’re very smart and our footwork is very good. We all have around a 3.5 (grade-point average).”
 
Blackmon will move from guard to tackle as he will take the spot of Grain Valley’s lone graduate from the offensive line – Beckett Disco.
 
“Tackle is probably his more natural position for as tall as he is,” Allie said of the 6-foot-4, 253-pound Blackmon. “He’s going to solidify that right tackle position for us.”
 
Blackmon is attracting the attention of college coaches as he’s already received offers from programs like Sioux Falls, Air Force, Northwest Missouri State, Augustana, MidAmerica Nazarene and Southeast Missouri State.
 
Blackmon participated in the KC Varsity Combine this summer and turned some heads as he could end up fielding more offers from college teams. According to an article on 247sports.com, written by Ryan Wallace: “Blackmon ended up walking away as the combine’s King of the Hill championship as the top lineman. Every player who earned that honor at the combine went on to sign with an NCAA FBS Division I program.
 
Standing 6-foot-3, 254 pounds, Blackmon appears (and plays) even bigger thanks to an 81.25-inch wingspan. Not overly explosive or strong for his size, what the Missouri native does bring is strength in the fundamentals and mobility, seen by a 1.84 split at 10-yards in his 40-yard dash.
Blackmon is a positional project, yes, but with a frame capable of holding significantly more weight, he could be worth the long-term payoff.”
Blackmon added that those camps helped him become a better player.
“The coaches at the camps helped me correct my footwork,” he said. “I was able to go against some impressive D lineman in the area. The coaches challenged me and helped me get better. That was the best part of it.”
Goodwin will be next to Blackmon on the right side as the guard as he will be in his second season as a starter. At 6-foot and 260 pounds, he brings some size. And he’s not only big, he’s athletic, too, Allie said.
 
“He’s an aggressive, explosive, powerful young man,” Allie said. “He’s one of our best athletes. He can actually throw the football 70 yards.
 
He could play defensive line if we needed him to. He’s that good of an athlete.”
 
Robinson returns to man the center position for the Eagles. At 6-foot and 270 pounds, Robinson is one of the bigger linemen. In 2022, he was a steadying presence for the team and was a leader on the field.
 
“Having a senior center like Blake Robinson helps,” Allie said. “He’s a fantastic kid. He’s a big kid. Last year, you can count on one finger on how many times he had a bad snap.”
 
“He solidifies that middle and he can talk and communicate with the guys to make sure everyone knows where they are going.”
 
Arndorfer started out as a linebacker and tight end but converted to an offensive lineman in 2022 because the Eagles were in need of a tackle. Blackmon said that the starting left tackle at the time was having issues so that’s when Arndorfer was asked by the coaching staff to step in.
 
“One of the coaches put their hand on my shoulder and said, ‘This is your new partner and it was Luke. I am like, ‘Let’s get it done.’ We helped each other get better. It was really cool to see how quickly he picked it up.”
 
He is not the size of a typical offensive lineman at 5-foot-11, 205 pounds, but he still held his own.
 
“He’s a very heady player,” Allie said. “What he lacks in size he makes up for with his technical ability.”
 
Logan Bennett is the one newcomer to the offensive line as he will step in at left guard. Allie compared him to Goodwin. He said Bennett is not a prototypical size for a lineman but he can pull, he can move, and he’s aggressive.
 
With so much experience coming back for this core, the Eagles offensive line has a big goal in mind.
 
“Stylz and I have been talking about breaking the school rushing record,” Robinson said. “That’s something we are going to work on this year.”
 
Added Allie: “If there was any group that could do it, my money would be on this group.”

Stylz Blackmon, right, will move from left guard to right tackle and is one of four returning starters for the Grain Valley football team's offensive line. GRAIN VALLEY NEWS FILE PHOTO