CATHOLIC FOOTBALL: Gilbert born, raised on Knights football
Lineman Ariyn Gilbert goes through blocking drills during practice this week at Montgomery Catholic. The Knights face Andalusia for the Class 4A, Region 2 regular season title on Friday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
The Southeastern Conference’s slogan, “It just means more,” could just as easily describe Ariyn Gilbert’s connection to Catholic’s football team.
“It’s perfect for him,” Catholic coach Kirk Johnson said. “It’s more than a football game, it hangs on his back.
“Gilbert is a Catholic man, the last of six children. His father has watched Montgomery Catholic go from when his oldest son was here and we prayed to God we could win one football game to we can’t get (area teams to schedule) a game locally. So he’s been raised in that.”
Gilbert grew up watching Catholic football, studying the transformation of a team that went through seven consecutive losing seasons, then spent the last seven years winning eight or more games each season. He watched his brother Aidan and a future brother-in-law suffer loss after loss on Friday nights.
“That was back when Catholic was everyone’s homecoming game,” Gilbert said. “They’ve been able to tell me how it was back then and how far we’ve come. I remember going to the games -- I wasn’t paying too much attention, I was too busy playing football back behind the softball field with my friends -- but I always remembered asking after the game if we won and the answer usually was ‘no.’ It never really bothered me until I was in middle school and kept hearing that ‘no’ a lot and was getting tired of it.”
By the time he got to middle school, he was ready to put on a jersey and play for the Knights.
“I was always a little kid,” Gilbert said. “I had a thought in my brain that I was going to be a wide receiver. It left me pretty quickly in the first practice when I got put on the O-line.”
Last year, fielding the best offense Catholic has ever had, the Knights went through a 13-1 season averaging 49.4 points per game. This year, with three new members on the offensive line, the Knights have been even better, averaging 58.1 points per game over the first nine games.
“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Coach Jimbo (Chappell),” Gilbert said. “He really just put us through everything and tested us to find out who the best five are. Spring was a big test for us to see how we would work together. The offseason was a big building period to be able to know what our strengths are, what our weaknesses are. We haven’t perfected it but we’re definitely getting there.”
Gilbert, who plays left tackle, and senior Chaise St. Julien, who plays right guard, are the two returning starters. Junior left guard Carson Franklin, sophomore center Aaron Taylor and freshman right tackle Daniel Burns are the replacements for Trent Taylor, Garrett Harden and Will Driver, stepping in and picking up where the Knights left off last season.
“I think Ariyn Gilbert is a great leader for our O-line,” running back Jeremiah Cobb said. “He’s worked his butt off and took after the O-line from last year and just keeps working. We had some problems in the spring but Ariyn Gilbert and a couple of other guys really stepped up on the O-line and got to work.”
“They tick off Gilbert,” Johnson noted. “It was (in the past) more watch what I do and you won’t get in trouble, but now it’s been more of a vocal leader. He’s become more outspoken in his position group.”
The 6-foot, 235-pound junior said a lot of that leadership comes from confidence built through experience.
“Last year, I think one of my downfalls was my (lack of) confidence,” Gilbert said. “I feel like my confidence level through the offseason has just shot through the roof and it allows me to play, knowing that I have the ability to beat the man across from me every play. And I feel like -- or I hope so -- that is rubbing off on the other four O-linemen and it all works out.”
The guy that always considered himself a wide receiver is secure in his role as an offensive lineman, even if most of the fans never notice his work.
“I’ve just kind of come to enjoy it,” he said. “It’s a personal victory in my head when I make the right block and see whoever’s running the ball go behind me and score on the play. And I know Coach Jimbo is watching on the sideline and he knows. He’ll congratulate me and we’ll have a big celebration on the sideline.”
This week, Gilbert and his offensive line teammates will face their biggest challenge of the season, going up against a physical Andalusia defense that leads a 9-0 team in a region title match against the Knights at home.
“I’m excited to be able to test myself,” Gilbert said. “It’s a great opportunity.”