After generating 402 yards of total offense in their opener against Spring-Ford High School, a critical question surrounding the Zephyr football team was met with a resounding answer.

That prolific output was a testament to the effectiveness of their line play, one of the main concerns heading into the 2013 campaign.

However, when the bell rang to kickoff the season, the line made their presence felt in helping to guide the Zephs to a 37-21 victory over the visiting Rams.

While they may not have a player who is over six feet and tips the scale at three bills, they have a lot of moxie, according to head coach Brian Gilbert.

"We're not big, but they're scrappy and they can move," said Gilbert. "They got to their blocks and we're real happy about that.

"We made some adjustments at halftime that we were also happy about, so I think this is the start of something good for this young offensive line."

The opener was also marked by the debut of Jeff Charles as the starter at quarterback. The senior wasted no time in putting his own stamp on the evening, completing 12-for-24 for 163 yards and three touchdowns. He engineered a scoring drive on their second possession, completing three consecutive passes for 45 yards to set up Ryan Bonshak's 6-yard TD run. His command of the offense was also on display in the opener. He completed passes to eight different receivers and also ran for 24 yards. One of Charles's touchdown passes came in the face of a lot of pressure. As he rolled to his right, and with defenders in his face, he found Saquon Barkley in the corner of the end zone for a 30-yard score. His ability to maintain focus downfield as the opposition was ready to pounce showed great poise.

"It was a play that coach Gilbert and I talk about a lot," said Charles. "I have to get around the corner, and make sure I sprint out and get around and throw it on the run. But they brought pressure around the side, so I had to pull up and I saw a guy coming right in my face, so I just put it up and I knew Saquon would come down with it."

Charles also said the offensive line was instrumental in getting the win.

"They did a great job," said Charles. "They've been working so hard, working harder than anybody else on this field. I have so much confidence in them. They just opened up so many holes, protected me. They did a great job tonight."

Both Bonshak and Barkley benefited from a line that consistently opened lanes in the running game. Barkley finished the night with 118 yards and one score, while Bonshak had 23 yards and a TD. Additionally, Jacob Buskirk had 56 yards. The Zephs were never really challenged, opening up a 31-7 lead at halftime that was highlighted by a defense that didn't allow the Rams to establish any momentum. They allowed Spring-Ford just 185 yards the whole game, a large chunk of that coming late in the fourth quarter. They were also forcing turnovers, with Tyler Cyriax and Tyler Williams each grabbing an interception. Additionally, they were able to pressure Ram quarterbacks Zach DeMedio and Brandon Leacraft for most of the game, with Angel Rodriguez and Fouad Haddad recording sacks.

They also made the Ram backfield a familiar part of their night as Jacob Kerchner, Cyriax, Nick Nejad and Buskirk had tackles for losses.

"Our defense played great all night," said Gilbert. "It's coach Fairclough's motto to swarm to the ball, and we did."

Part of their strategy was to neutralize Tyler Carter who plays multiple positions on offense. They were without standout back Jarred Jones, so they keyed on Carter who can be a game breaker.

"We really put a lot of hats around No. 1 and contained him," said Gilbert.

Their final score before intermission came after Charles threw a pick six. That play gave Spring-Ford some much needed momentum and it could have been a game changer.

"I threw that and walked to the sidelines and the first thing coach Gilbert told me was 'no rear view mirror,'" said Charles. "It's now about looking forward, that was in the past, you can't worry about it, it's all ready done with.

"We came out, and our main key in that drive was just to get the momentum back, because we felt like they got the momentum on that one. We just had to keep driving down field and keep pushing it and that's what we did."

Gilbert said that Charles has the experience to weather adversity during a game.

"That's one thing that I know that I'm going to get in Jeff Charles; he's cool under pressure, and he's been here before," said Gilbert. "I know that that didn't faze him, throwing that pick, and he was going to take us down the field."

The final play of that scoring drive was a 38-yard field goal by Conor Ilgenfritz, who also connected on four PATs. Gilbert said they were able to execute their game plan as intended.

"We ran the ball well on the ground and we passed when we had to, and we were efficient in the passing game. Jeff did a good job for his first start."

The Zephs begin league play this week against Liberty High School at BASD.