BULKED-UP SAUGUS AIMS FOR REVENGE : FAST OFFENSIVE LINE AVERAGES 270 POUNDS.

Byline: Bryan Winchell Special to the Daily News

Saugus High School's Erien Hodge can remember all too well his team's 47-7 loss to rival Hart last year. So can Kevin Schmitz and Brian Grubb.

And every time those three athletes joined in off-season weight training, the memory lingered. Just about every time each one lifted a barbell and performed a squat, he thought about how that hard work would pay off in this year's rematch.

``I never felt that losing feeling before, so it kind of bothered me,'' said Hodge, a senior. ``I try to forget that score, but it still stays in my mind. It just made us start lifting harder.''

While the Hart game is still months away, the off-season weight training has the Saugus offensive line bulked up as none before it for its season opener at Santa Barbara on Sept. 13.

The average height of the seven offensive linemen who will see significant action this year is 6 feet 2, and the average weight is a whopping 270 pounds.

``I've never been around any group that's this big,'' said coach Jack Bowman, whose first offensive line at Saugus in 1991 averaged 230 pounds and had two players under 200 pounds.

Bigger isn't always better, and sometimes weight can slow a guy down. But Bowman's big players are fast.

``The surprising thing about these guys is their speed. It's phenomenal to be around these big kids who can run,'' Bowman said. ``It must be in the water or something.''

For Hodge, an off-season growth spurt added 20 pounds and an inch to make him 6 feet 4 and 275 pounds. Although Schmitz is 6 feet tall and weighs 245, the senior guard joked that he feels small standing around senior guard Howie Titzel (6-2, 245), senior tackle/guard Grubb (6-2, 285), senior center Bill Barrett (6-1, 285), junior guard Scott Rodriguez (6-4, 255) and junior guard Jason Chase (6-4, 300).

``They protect me,'' joked Schmitz, an All-Foothill League selection last year.

Schmitz believes a big difference between this year's team and last year's is not only its size, but its work ethic.

``This year we have a tendency to not joke around as much,'' Schmitz said. ``We really get into what we're doing.''

That includes weightlifting. Bowman put the team on a high-intensity workout, used by major colleges like UCLA, to get the players to increase their endurance and flexibility.

``The biggest thing weightlifting does is it makes big kids healthier,'' Bowman said. ``It turns some of that weight into muscle, and it makes them better athletes.''

For Grubb, the knowledge that this is his final year gave him extra incentive to pound the weights. He went beyond that, too, and took a boxing class at Gold's Gym.

``I wasn't as aggressive last year as I am now,'' Grubb said. ``This year, I'm going after people more. I'm not so timid.''

If that extends to the rest of the offensive line, defenses beware.

``We feel pretty good about things,'' Schmitz said. ``We've got a lot of size and a heck of a lot of talent. We're ready to go, and we don't plan on taking any bull from anybody.''

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Photo

Photo: Quarterback Chris Kobe is backed up by Saugus lineme n, from left, Jason Chase, Bill Barrett, Howie Titzel, Kevin Schmitz, Bryan Grubb, Scott Rodriguez and Erien Hodge.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News