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Imposing Gratz line will test Imhotep

In Erik Zipay's senior season at Pottstown, the 190-pounder was thrown into the mix on the offensive line due to depth issues.

Simon Gratz's offensive linemen (from left) are Raquan Thomas, Charly Timite, Cameron Brown, Amir Baylock and Clifton Mariney. At right is alternate tackle Qadir Ahmed. Gratz, which opens its season Friday evening against Public League Class AAA power Imhotep, reached the league's Class AAAA title game last season. STEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer
Simon Gratz's offensive linemen (from left) are Raquan Thomas, Charly Timite, Cameron Brown, Amir Baylock and Clifton Mariney. At right is alternate tackle Qadir Ahmed. Gratz, which opens its season Friday evening against Public League Class AAA power Imhotep, reached the league's Class AAAA title game last season. STEVEN M. FALK / Staff PhotographerRead more

In Erik Zipay's senior season at Pottstown, the 190-pounder was thrown into the mix on the offensive line due to depth issues.

Nearly two decades later, the 35-year-old coaches a Simon Gratz squad with a line that averages a whopping 302 pounds. "They're all pretty agile, too," he said. "None of these guys is stuck in cement."

With that impressive group playing a crucial role, the Bulldogs kick off their season against fellow Public League member and Class AAA juggernaut Imhotep Charter at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Germantown and Hunting Park Avenues.

Gratz is primed for a run at the Class AAAA league title after going 11-2 overall and 6-0 in the Liberty Division last season. The Bulldogs advanced to the final before losing to Ben Franklin.

The imposing line is made up of center Clifton Mariney (6-foot-2, 295 pounds), guards Amir Baylock (6-1, 305) and Raquan Thomas (6-4, 340), and tackles Charly Timite (6-3, 260) and Cameron Brown (6-3, 310). With Timite also seeing time on the defensive line, junior Qadir Ahmed (6-2, 245) will rotate in for him at left tackle.

"They've got some really big linemen who get off the ball extremely well," Imhotep boss Albie Crosby said. "It's going to be a challenge for us."

Mariney, Thomas, Timite, and Brown were in the mix as Gratz averaged 29.6 points last year. It reeled off nine straight wins after a Week 2 loss to Council Rock North. Baylock, who was previously at Martin Luther King, is a newcomer.

Zipay, who doubles as the school's athletic director, said the current group impressed in scrimmages against George Washington and Penn Wood. "It's like they're in midseason form," he said. "They're communicating well, adjusting on the fly. It's good to see."

Zipay is surprised that Thomas enters his final season with only a scholarship offer from Temple. "You'd be hard-pressed to find a better offensive lineman than him," he said. Georgia, Michigan State, Penn State, and South Carolina have shown varying degrees of interest.

Timite has an offer from Towson, with interest from Delaware, UMass, and Temple. "He's a 260-pound guy who moves well and has good hands," Zipay said.

Brown owns an offer from Monmouth. "I'm eager to see how he does against Imhotep's defensive ends," Zipay said.

Zipay says assistant Ryan Flanagan, a 6-6, 280-pound offensive lineman at West Chester East and James Madison, has played a key role in the line's development. So, too, have ex-Gratz linemen Antoine Bland and Donte Mathews.

Now, it's time to see if the Bulldogs' vaunted line can win the battle against Imhotep's swarming defense.