After a 42-21 win over Berrien Springs Oct. 19, the Edwardsburg football team gathered together in front of their coach Kevin Bartz.

Way in the back stood Ryan Jacobson, quiet, with a slight smile.

Jacobsen is used to being in the background.

The 5-foot-11, 275-pound junior is the starting center for the Eddies.

“Offensive linemen don’t get any glory, but we’re the one’s that play a big role in winning games,” said Jacobson, who has been an offensive lineman for nine years, going all the way back to rocket football.

A young line, which has four new starters this year, including Jacobsen, has paved the way for another successful season for Edwardsburg.

The Eddies are 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Wolverine Conference West Division. Edwardsburg can clinch its second straight outright division title with a win Friday at Coloma.

Jacobson is part of a line that has helped the Eddies score 336 points and average over 300 yards a game rushing this season.

“I feel like we’ve done really well this year as an offensive line,” Jacobson said. “I’ve done the best that I can. Playing the middle is very important.”

Certain techniques need to be performed by a center to make Edwardsburg’s wing-T a headache for opponents.

“The big thing with (Jacobson) that we worked on was getting his feet moving a little quicker,”Bartz said.

“Early in the year, he was snapping and standing a lot. Now, he’s starting to get movement. We’re starting to open up those traps because he’s getting on that backside. It’s opening things up for us.”

Pain, sacrifice and pancake blocks are part of running the wing-T.

“It’s about power,” Jacobson said. “You’ve got to keep going and keep hitting your opponent. It hurts, but you just have to keep going. You have to take the guy in front of you and roll him over and land on top.”

Jacobson prefers run blocking over pass blocking.

“In pass blocking, you just sit back and get hit,” Jacobson said. “In run blocking, you can run forward and hit somebody.”

Edwardsburg had one of its best rushing games of the season against Berrien Springs. The Eddies rushed for 451 yards and scored touchdowns on six of their eight possessions despite playing in a steady rain.

“(Jacobson) and the other linemen did a tremendous job (against Berrien Springs),” Bartz said.

“We played amazing,” Jacobson said. “(Berrien Springs) has the best defense in the conference and we showed that we were able to play with them.”

As the regular season concludes, Jacobson is anxious for the playoffs to begin and show people that Edwardsburg is ready to play football deep into November.

“We’ve looked amazing in past years coming into the playoffs,” Jacobson said. “This year, we want to play well in the playoffs.”