THE BEST GUYS ON THE BLOCK OFTEN IGNORED LINEMEN WIN GAMES BUT NOT PRAISE.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON

They're the forgotten football players, the ones you don't hear about, the ones who get all grimy and dirty but never score touchdowns or kick field goals or come through with a game-saving tackle.

They don't worry about who gets the credit when their team wins -- not that they have much choice -- but it's part of the football world's cruel order that they often get blamed for losses.

They're the offensive linemen. Like gridiron policemen, it's their job to protect and serve -- in relative anonymity, but that's OK.

``It's pretty typical when we don't get the credit we deserve, but we don't complain,'' Golden Valley High offensive lineman Dean Woolum said. ``We just do our job. At the end of the day, if you've done a good job, you'll know it.''

In the Foothill League, Canyon's Nick Peterson is the only national prospect, though teammates Nick Madia and A.J. Wallerstein, both returning juniors, could eventually find their way onto the recruiting map. Saugus' Ramsen Golpashin and Shane Watterson and Hart's Derek Bickford and Jordan Rojas also are highly regarded, but most who follow local football are much more enamored with flashy running backs J.J. DiLuigi or Shane Vereen, or perhaps one or two of the league's ultraproductive quarterbacks.

Fans don't pay $8 to root for linemen. But teammates must trust them implicitly, and that's what makes the boys who bring the noise so vital.

``The game just isn't the same without them. You need someone to protect you,'' Canyon quarterback Ben Longshore said. ``People usually watch the skills guys, but there's so much more to football than they realize. A lot of things have to develop, and the linemen have to be smart enough to pick up blitzes and know who to block.''

Teamwork among linemen is crucial, so even though they're the biggest and brawniest players, they also have to be the brainiest.

``They all talk to each other and work things out,'' Longshore said.

In the football trenches, there are battles within the battle, as offensive and defensive linemen collide on nearly every play.

``It goes back and forth. Usually it's a matter of conditioning,'' Gopashin said.

Defending section champion Canyon stresses team strength as much as anyone, and coach Harry Welch believes the four-time titlists simply wouldn't be the same through the years without so many devoted blockers.

``They're absolutely essential,'' Welch said. ``If you can't block, then your quarterback isn't going to be successful, and your running game is all over with. Of all the positions, the linemen are of No. 1 importance. If the offensive line does its job, you can control the tempo of the game.

``Everything revolves around the offensive line.''

And the sad ending for linemen is sometimes they're too sore even to party it up after a victory.

``If you do your job right, you're pretty dead afterward,'' Golpashin said.

``All you want to do after a game is go home and go to sleep.''