Tucker Monico at center of St. Joseph’s powerful offensive line

Wisdom Quarshie and Sean Morris are the burly bookends, a pair of 300-pounders at the tackle positions.

Brad Lomax and Bobby Hyndman are the swift and skilled guards along St. Joseph's offensive line.

Tucker Monico is the man in the middle of it all.

"I see it like, 'That's a lot of protection for me,'" Monico said. "Having those guys all around me, I feel safe."

That's one way of looking at it. Another is that Monico is the anchor of it all, the strong, steady center whose rapid improvement over the last couple of years has helped to push the Wildcats' front line into historic territory.

St. Joseph coach Paul Sacco, South Jersey's all-time leader with 319 victories in his 37th season, believes this year's offensive line could be the best in school history. Given the program's unparalleled success, that's saying something.

Monico and Co. know better than to take their coach's compliment as cause to let down. One slip up — say, in Friday's highly-anticipated showdown with rival St. Augustine –and all that talk about being the Wildcats' top front line ever will go out one of those old windows at the team's field house on Peach Street in Hammonton.

"It's inspiring, to hear Coach say something like that," Monico said. "But it just makes you want to work harder. It makes you want to not let up for one play, for one drill in practice.

"Coach always says, 'Play every play like it's your last.' That's what we try to do."

As the top-ranked Wildcats' center, Monico has unique perspective on his line mates, all of whom are seniors.

On Quarshie: "Nobody in front of him is going to be better. I trust him to beat any opponent."

On Lomax: "I trust him with everything, just like Wis. He's not as big as Wis and Sean but he's so fast and knows his technique so well."

On Hyndman: "He's so smart. Him and Brad, they are just so smart. They know everybody's job on every play. It's amazing, really. And they both love to pull out and run people over on the edge."

On Morris: "He's our enforcer."

Monico believes the offensive line is one of those rare groups where the whole is better than the sum of the parts, thanks largely to the athletes' camaraderie on the field and off.

"We're all seniors together and ever since high school we just clicked," Monico said. "Even when we weren't the same line, we were always best friends, always close with each other.

"I feel like I can trust those guys with my life."

Through two games, both victories, St. Joseph has rushed for 880 yards, at a clip of 9.67 yards per attempt. Much of that can be is attributed to the explosiveness of junior all-purpose star Jada Byers, who has 11 touchdowns.

But the offensive line has cleared the way for Byers (555 yards on 32 carries) as well as senior Nate Johnson (150 yards on 16 carries) and sophomore Ahmad Ross (180 yards on 32 carries).

"I just want them to keep improving, not take any plays off," Sacco said of the linemen.

St. Joseph has long been known for strong offensive lines. But Monico's improvement over the last two seasons — along with the addition of Morris, who transferred to the school last year and became a full-time offensive lineman this season — has pushed this group to another level.

"From sophomore to junior year, you could see he really improved," Sacco said of Monico. "A year later, he's made more improvement. That's really what you want to see, kids that keep improving."

The 6-foot-3, 270-pound Monico is a first cousin to former Timber Creek quarterback Devin Leary, the state record-holder for career passing yards and touchdowns who is a freshman at North Carolina State, and current Timber Creek freshman Donovan Leary. The relatives all knew their roles, growing up and playing for the Gloucester Township youth program as well as during pickup games in the backyard.

"The joke in the family always was, 'Devin and Donovan, they're quarterbacks. I'm a lineman,'" Monico said.

At St. Joseph, that's a position of honor.

Friday at 6 p.m.

Rankings: St. Joseph is No. 1 in the Inquirer Top 25. St. Augustine is No. 2.

Coaches: St. Joseph's Paul Sacco is 319-62-5 in his 37th season. St. Augustine's Pete Lancetta is 221-71-2 overall, including a 215-65-2 mark in 26 seasons at Hammonton.

Last season: St. Joseph beat St. Augustine, 22-10.

The series: St. Joseph holds an 11-4 edge over the last 15, seasons but St. Augustine won in both 2015 and 2016.

St. Augustine player to watch: Senior all-purpose Sincere Rhea, who returned a kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown last weekend against Lenape, recently committed to Penn State on a track scholarship.

St. Joseph player to watch: Sophomore quarterback Jayden Shertel, an athletic lefthander, makes his third career start against an active and experienced St. Augustine defense.

The pick: St. Joseph, 20-13.