For Boyd-Buchanan to have a successful 2009 high school football season, one particular group was going to have to come through. The burden was on some specific athletes, but they were OK with that. They've got big shoulders.

And now they and their Buccaneers teammates have an 11-1 record and are playing in the state semifinals.

The linemen will be a focal point tonight when Boyd-Buchanan hosts Rockwood (11-2) at 7 with a berth in the Class 2A championship game at stake.

The Bucs will start 6-foot-2, 225-pound Lance Headrick at center, flanked by guards Taylor Ellis and Seth Roy and tackles Devin Caldwell and Vinnie Jordan. The 6-4, 330-pound Jordan is a junior. The others are seniors.

Under the watchful eye of line coach Sam Montgomery, the Bucs' linemen have thrived on competing all season. First, there's been stiff competition for the starting spots. Then there's been competition between the 6-foot, 225-pound Ellis and 6-5, 250-pound Caldwell on the left side and 5-10, 215-pound Roy and Jordan on the right side. Each duo claims most of the team's rushing total has come in their direction.

"The big thing has been their cohesiveness," Boyd-Buchanan coach Grant Reynolds said. "As a group, they work well together. They don't get much glory. They have to find things intrinsically that motivate them."

Much of the glory has gone to senior running back Ben Beasley. The line's No. 1 task, as it has been all season, is clearing paths for him, and he has topped the 1,000-yard mark in rushing for the second consecutive season. He has nearly doubled his touchdown output of 11 from a year ago.

"We want to get the tailback as many yards as possible," Roy said. "The more Ben can gain, the more that's good for us."

Ellis said he expects defenses will be getting tougher as the Bucs progress through the postseason. Rockwood may support that statement.

Last week the Tigers traveled to Hampton, which featured two 1,000-yard rushers. They limited the Bulldogs to 152 yards on 35 carries and won 28-14.

Afterward, Hampton coach Mike Lunsford told the Johnson City Press: "Really, I thought we could block them a little better than what we did. They were so quick on the line. Every time we tried to run a trap or anything, they were getting so much penetration that we couldn't hold them off. Things that had been working for us, we couldn't run."

Word has made its way to Boyd-Buchanan.

"We've got to stay on our blocks," Jordan said. "They've got a pretty fast defensive line."

Ellis pointed out that the Bucs feel prepared after having already faced some athletic defenses. Class 4A Red Bank, which finished 12-1, and South Pittsburg, 10-2 and still alive in the Class 1A playoffs, are among them.

"Usually when you have teams that are quick defensively, you try to run right at them," Reynolds said. "We're going to try some things early in the game and see what happens. Marion County was real quick on the defensive line. We hope playing Marion County twice has got us ready."

A game plan predicated on power running suits these linemen fine. Ellis said getting a push at the line of scrimmage and opening some holes for Beasley are typical expectations for the group anyway.

Coaches generally have a mathematical grading system for sizing up blocking performances. These linemen measure themselves in a different way numerically.

The Bucs are averaging 36.5 points per game. And it's no secret how they've done it.

"Now that we're towards the end, can we run the ball?" Roy said. "That's our grading scale."