GRACE, THEN FEAST LINE HUNGRY FOR PERFECTION.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

Grace Brethren's young but talented offensive line is striving to put together what its position coach labels ``the perfect game.''

To achieve such status, Lancers Brian Andrews, Dustin Smith, Steve Josker, Daniel Sagerman and Cory Elmore must meet the following criteria: no penalties, no sacks allowed, no negative rushing plays and no missed blocking assignments. The reward? An offensive lineman's dream: dinner at a Simi Valley all-you-can-eat joint.

``They haven't gotten it yet,'' first-year offensive line coach Aaron Josker said Thursday after the Lancers' senior-less line helped them to a 4-0 start. And given that all five will be back beyond this season, there is plenty of time to reach perfection.

A hefty line - average height and weight 6-foot-2, 245 pounds - for a Div. XIII-sized school, the Lancers have just two returning varsity starters, right tackle Andrews and center Josker, who was a regular as a 2002 freshman. The left tackle, Elmore, is starting as a sophomore. Like Andrews, right guard Dustin Smith is a junior.

But they've opened holes and fended off pass rushes like grizzled veterans for the offensive backfield of senior quarterback Eric Durso, junior tailback Chad Kackert and senior fullback Josh Flora.

Josker is a good example of how fast they've jelled as legitimate varsity offensive linemen. The younger brother of his position coach, he stepped right into a starting role in 2002. There were the usual freshman jitters, but he improved during Grace Brethren's 14-game season.

``I've been playing for a long time so I kind of get used to it,'' said Josker, who like Elmore and Smith gained valuable experience as members of the Simi Valley Vikings youth football feeder program. ``When I first came up, I was around seniors who were much better than me. But I'm a lot better than I used to be. I'm a lot stronger.''

Sagerman said his time with the Vikings' coaches, some of whom eventually joined Grace Brethren's coaching staff, allowed him to get familiar with the philosophy and tendencies needed to be successful.

``We already knew most of our blocking assignments,'' he said. ``Just a few minor changes.''

Few of the Lancers' opponents can match up in size or athletically. All five have quickness in addition to their weight advantage during most game nights.

``It's not all about size, it's technique; it's all about heart and what you've got out there,'' Elmore said.

And with a seasoned quarterback in Durso and the Flora-Kackert running tandem averaging 258 yards a game, the Lancers have the ingredients to finish what they set out for last season. The former eight-man program advanced to the Southern Section final before settling for Div. XIII runner-up.

``We came so close, and we thought we had such a good chance with everyone we had on the line. But it didn't work out,'' Andrews said. ``But this year I think we still have a good line with skill and big, muscular guys. We really want to come back this year.''

Smith said: ``If we go all the way and win it all and being perfect, as our coach would say, strive for perfection every game, would be the biggest goal to have.''

And that's what makes Aaron Josker's job so enjoyable. His offensive line wants to be perfect, regardless of how much food is at stake if they grade out with highest marks. With no seniors in the bunch, there is plenty of time to get better and much room for improvement.

Coach Josker loves the way the Lancers linemen, who carry an aggregate grade-point average around 3.0, are willing to learn whatever techniques and blocking packages are thrown at them.

``They pick up what I tell them and implement it almost right away,'' said Aaron Josker, a 22-year-old who played at Royal High and Moorpark College. ``That's very important with the offensive line. We can make quick adjustments in the games and they'll be doing that.''

If they pull a collective Don Larsen and throw that perfect game on some Friday or Saturday night, imagine where Smith, Elmore, Sagerman, Josker and Andrews will head once their buffet line opens.

``The ice cream,'' one of them predicted. Others will opt for ``the meat and potatoes'' trays. And another tried to convince his fellow hungry linemen he'll block through to the salad bar first. It's a sight Grace Brethren coaches wouldn't mind watching more than once over the next couple of seasons.

``They work pretty well now,'' head coach Dennis Stephenson said. ``But it's not yet the championship line. We've got work to do to get there. Our goal is to get to that level, which will only make them better.''

Chris Cocoles, [phone]

chris.cocoles(at)dailynews.com

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If Grace Brethren linemen, from left, Brian Andrews, Cory Elmore, Dustin Smith, Daniel Sagerman and Steve Josker play a ``perfect game,'' their reward will be an all-you-can-eat meal.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer