Doug Gilbert is tired of getting pushed around.
So is the rest of the Lenape football team.
The 6-foot-4, 315-pound Gilbert wasn't exactly a soft touch during his first three seasons in the program. He has made steady progress, and could be one of South Jersey's top offensive linemen in 2011.
But it has been a long, tough road. Gilbert remembers struggling in the sport in middle school. And he heard a few disparaging remarks about Lenape football during his first three years in the program.
"I try to use it as motivation," Gilbert said. "I use it during the game. It makes me go harder."
Gilbert and the rest of the Indians are determined to rebuild Lenape's reputation in 2011. Under new coach Tim McAneney, who was successful during stops at Bishop Eustace and Holy Cross, the Indians are hoping to emerge as one of the surprise teams in the West Jersey Football League's American Division and in the South Jersey Group 4 tournament.
Gilbert is one of the keys to Lenape's planned improvement. A powerful run blocker at tackle, Gilbert will be counted on to create room for the Indians' ground-oriented attack.
McAneney said Gilbert also is likely to see some action at defensive tackle, especially against run-oriented opponents such as Cherokee, Lenape's opponent in Friday night's opener.
"He worked so hard in the offseason," McAneney said of Gilbert. "Sometimes with big kids, it takes them a little while to grow into their body."
McAneney said Gilbert is "freakishly strong," noting that the player bench-pressed 355 pounds four times during a June workout. Gilbert also has surprising agility for his size, and he attributes that to his participation in wrestling.
"Wrestling helps me get in shape," said Gilbert, who had a 16-8 record last season at heavyweight. "It helps so much with your balance, hips."
McAneney said the key for Gilbert this season is to play with a little more of an edge. It's funny, but Gilmore is sort of a perfect symbol for Lenape football, since that's sometimes been the knock on the Indians through the years: All that size, all that potential, but maybe not enough focus and follow-through.
"He needs to finish blocks, play through the whistle," McAneney said. "Sometimes, something clicks with seniors. They just realize this is their last year."
