Jordan HammDeer Valley football has been rising up the ranks over recent years. The 6-4 Skyhawks have been a team tabbed to take steps and make a run in 2017.
So much of the optimism comes up front. Deer Valley is led along the offensive line with Joey Ramos, Xavier Delgado and Brandon McCrea.
”They’ve done their job as far as leading by example,” Deer Valley head coach Eric Bolus said. “I’m sure once we start practice, their verbal skills will come out if they see something that they don’t like because they’ve earned that respect and this team is theirs.”
Running Hawks
Collectively, the group has logged plenty of varsity minutes and are blocking for a rushing tandem of junior Dez Melton and Talianuu Tanai, who combined for 1,700 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2016.
“Having Dez run through the holes and knowing I made it, helping him get the touchdowns, also for (Tanai), it’s just a great feeling,” Delgado said.
“Dez is fast and can make people miss, but he’s also 210 pounds and 6-foot-4 so he’s hard to tackle,” Bolus said. “(Tanai), he’s a bowling ball. He will lay people out so it’s lightning and thunder, but Dez is not soft. He’s hard to tackle.”
The group of senior offensive lineman is impressive, and colleges are taking notice, specifically with left tackl Ramos. The 6-foot-4, 272 pound tackle holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Iowa State, Kansas State, Nebraska, Oregon, UCLA, Utah, Washington and Washington State.
“I’ve got a lot on my plate, but I need to handle it,” Ramos said. “It’s always been like that thought. I’ve always had that for my life. I’ve always been the one to be looked upon.”
Ramos, Delgado and McCrea all visited Oregon together, and Bolus feels it was beneficial for the three in attendance, as well as the entire Deer Valley program.
Loving it out here so far 🙏🏽🐣🐣#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/Y6enf1xow7
— Joey Ramos (@Joey_Ramos76) April 27, 2017
“I think them seeing the tempo, seeing how fast they go how hard they go on every rep,” Bolus said. “I think that’s a big deal for them to bring that knowledge back to our guys and say “No, that’s not fast enough” We like to have our practices be short and fast and high tempo has to have that happen.”
Look for Deer Valley football to run past – and if the offensive line had it their way, through – defenders in 2017.
