Clark: Getting a leg up

Updated: May 9, 2012 9:42AM

Enrique Zamora won’t lie to you. The Clark senior likes having the football in his hands.

Really, who doesn’t?

But the problem is, Zamora is a 301-pound offensive and defensive lineman. The only time his type gets his hands on the ball is when something goes wrong and someone fumbles. And even then, it’s not very pretty; usually a scramble on the Friday night turf.

But Zamora is not your average lineman. He’s fairly quick and agile, he’s got good hands, a great arm, and one heck of a leg. And the leg is why Zamora also serves as the Pioneers’ punter.

He’s a crushing lineman on both sides of the ball, but when it’s fourth-and-long, Zamora trades his blocking duties for a punting assignment.

“Just to be able to get the ball in your hands a few times a game, it actually feels good,” Zamora said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Wait, there’s more.

“And one of the best parts about punting is after you punt the ball, you get to go down and make a tackle and try to see if you can stop the guy from bringing it back,” Zamora said.

In other words, he gets to hit someone.

“It’s a big rush,” he said.

Zamora earned the punting job last season when one of the team’s coaches asked if anyone could punt. Zamora said he could. The coach didn’t believe him, but Zamora quickly proved him wrong.

“I like to think we’ve got the largest punter in the state,” Clark coach Tim Gault said. “And he’s good. It’s not just a freak thing. He’s one of the best athletes in the school. He was on the swim team, for God’s sake. And he plays baseball.”

Zamora was a member of the swim team through his sophomore year. Then he wanted to try his hand at basketball and played that during the winter last season. He’s one of the Pioneers’ best pitchers, too, during the spring season.

And, really, his most important role on the football team is as a lineman. He’s a beast on the offensive side, and Gault knows it.

“Every chance we get, we’re going to run behind him,” Gault said. “When he steps off the bus, we all walk right behind him like little penguins. We’ll pull him outside and run plays. We ran a screen with him the other day.”

Zamora said that’s all well and good, but if he has to play on a line, he prefers it to be on the defensive side.

“I’ve never really been a blocking guy; I always used to hate it,” Zamora said. “But I’ve come to realize that with the size I have and the technique I have, it’s probably my best position. But the best part of the game is on the defensive line, having fun and flying around, getting through linemen and knocking somebody out. That’s a blast.”

Coach

Tim Gault

Record

At school: 0-0 (first year)

Overall: 30-41 (eighth year)

Last season

Lost 28-6 to Andrean in the first round of the sectional

Key returnees

OL/DL Enrique Zamora

QB Jerald Morgan

DL Matt Yates

DB Carlos Rodriguez

DB Matt Ramirez

Key Losses

RB Cameron Copeland

LB/OL Dominic Williams

College prospects

OL/DL Enrique Zamora

Season outlook

Coach Tim Gault returns to the football sidelines after last heading up the River Forest program from 2000 to 2004. He inherits a team from Dave Verta, who is now focusing on his athletics director’s duties, that is a mixed bag of experience and youth. The offensive and defensive lines are solid behind the leadership and size of the 6-foot-2, 301-pound Enrique Zamora. But the Pioneers must replace an experienced and solid running back in Cameron Copeland. Gault has liked what he’s seen so far from junior Eugene Walls in the backfield. At quarterback, Jerald Morgan returns, but Gault said Adam Crnkovic and Xavier Dean also are in the mix. Gault is implementing a multiple-spread offense and utilizing play action, a change from last season when the Pioneers gave it to Copeland and took advantage of the team’s size. Defensively, Clark returns a number of key players, and Gault has been impressed with the tackling, an area of emphasis for the Pioneers over the past few years.

Postseason

Class 4A Sectional 9 (East Chicago, Roosevelt, West Side, Griffith, Hammond, Clark, Morton, Highland)

Schedule

Aug. 19 at Whiting

Aug. 26 Calumet

Sept. 2 at Morton

Sept. 9 Lew Wallace

Sept. 16 East Chicago

Sept. 23 Bowman Academy

Sept. 30 at Gavit

Oct. 8 Evansville Central

Oct. 14 at Hammond

HISTORY LESSON

Season Record

2001 3-7, 3-3

2002 4-6, 3-3

2003 4-6, 3-4

2004 0-10, 0-7

2005 3-7, 2-5

2006 4-6, 3-4

2007 8-4, 1-2

2008 6-5, 1-2

2009 8-2, 2-1

2010 6-4, 2-1

Sectional titles: None

Roster

Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Pos.

Jerald Morgan 6-1 198 12 QB/LB

Matt Croft 5-10 175 11 DE

Daniel Villagomez 5-8 155 9 DB

Carlos Rodriguez 6-0 151 12 WR/DB

Anton Mayfield 5-7 139 11 WR/DB

Zack Korba 5-7 163 11 FB/LB

Matt Yates 6-2 195 12 OL/LB

Enrique Zomora 6-2 301 12 OL/DL

Rodney Badgett 5-5 125 9 RB/DB

Maurice Dawkins 5-5 125 9 RB/DB

Josh Tapper 6-1 272 12 OL/DL

Omar Arroya 5-6 171 12 LB

Denzel Mayo 5-11 150 9 DE

Travante Wallace 5-11 183 9 RB/DE

Patrick Murphy 6-6 206 9 TE

Mario Casas 5-11 216 9 OL/DL

Chris Diaz 5-4 101 9 DB

Juan Padilla 6-0 288 10 OL

Rene Zomora 5-8 234 9 OL

David Gomez 5-8 135 9 OL

Kris Barrera 6-0 285 11 OL/DL

Adam Crnkovic 6-1 195 12 QB/LB

Rogaciano Reynoso 5-10 170 11 K

Eugene Walls 5-5 165 11 RB/LB

Jesus Cabello 5-8 221 11 TE/DL

Chris Santa 5-9 251 10 OL/DL

Danny Klus 5-11 139 11 DB

Leo Corral 5-8 217 10 DL

Richard Ramirez 5-3 133 10 DB

Pedro Carrillo 5-7 188 9 DL

Anthony Baucomb 5-7 149 10 WR/DB

Matthew Ramirez 5-10 162 10 WR/DB

Beto Morales 5-8 152 10 DL

Misael Gudino 5-10 162 12 RB/DB

Xavier Dean 5-11 165 11 WR/DB

Jeff Humphrey 6-1 162 9 DE

Anthony Sanchez 5-5 121 11 WR/DB

Justin Martinez 5-10 144 9 QB

Alvaro Corro 5-8 207 11 LB

Jesse Salazar 5-8 152 10 DL

Eric Nelson 5-9 238 12 OL/DL

Jon Perez 5-8 232 11 FB/DL

Jose Uvalle 5-5 180 11 DL

Eric Martinez 5-10 235 12 LB/DL

Kevin Dybel 5-10 195 11 DL

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