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“He’s so fast, and yet he’s so strong,” Olympia coach Bill Beattie said. “He’s as strong as any big kid, that’s for sure.”
Much of Olympia’s success is built on defenders like Moiza. Opponents are often bigger, but the Bears’ linemen make up for their size disadvantage with strength and speed.
That versatility is being further utilized this season with more Olympia players going two ways, including Moiza. For the first time since 1998, Olympia is relying less on a two-platoon system.
Moiza, a senior, is one of 12 players going two ways, getting a starting nod as an offensive tackle in addition to being a third-year starter at defensive end.
Players and coaches say it has been a challenge, but the adjustment period is behind them.
The sixth-ranked Bears (6-0 overall, 4-0 4A Narrows League) go for their seventh straight win at 7 tonight when they take on Gig Harbor at Ingersoll Stadium.
Beattie implemented the two-platoon system in 1998, and it grew into a trend at Olympia because it depends on smaller, quicker defensive fronts.
Hylan Harper, a second-string running back, helped establish the prototype that year. Called upon to start on the defensive line after a teammate was injured, the 5-10, 190-pounder eventually set a school record with 16 quarterback sacks that season. He totaled 41 solo tackles, 18 behind the line of scrimmage.
Similarly, Moiza, who likes to stay low and get off the ball fast, finds an edge in his size.
“We’re not the biggest guys, but that’s a testimony to how physical we are and how intense we play,” Moiza said. “We go out there and get the job done.”
Moiza wasn’t always a defensive player, let alone a lineman. He grew up wanting to run the ball.
But once he got to high school, his stature – 5-11 and 210 pounds, similar to Harper’s – made him a perfect candidate for the Bears’ line.
He likes playing both offensive and defensive lines equally for a simple reason: “I like hitting people.”
Moiza, whose only sport at Olympia is football, has made himself a leader on the line and a coach on the field.
In fact, he’d like to coach football someday. He’s getting his feet wet by coaching the Thurston County Youth Football League’s eighth-grade Bears twice a week as part of his senior project.
Aside from Connor Wilmovsky (265 pounds) and Clayton Woodruff (255), Olympia’s linemen average about 210 pounds, and that body type is having a major impact on both sides of the ball.
“They’ve made some huge, tremendous strides,” Beattie said. “It’s been great so far.”
During the 2000s, the Bears averaged eight wins a season, but they made it past the first round of the state playoffs only three times. Often, playoff opponents featured future NCAA Division I players, typically linemen of mammoth size.
Shortly after the 2010 season, Beattie and the coaching staff approached the seniors-to-be. Coaches thought achieving success up front required athletes with a certain size, speed and grit.
That blend has worked for the Bears this season.
Olympia is allowing a league-low 8.5 points per game, and scoring an average of 31.5 points per game. The offensive line has protected quarterback Trevor Houser, who’s had a breakout senior season and already has more than 1,000 yards passing through six games. Houser had a career game in last week’s 55-10 road win at Stadium, throwing four first-half touchdown passes.
Teams have primarily run the ball against the Bears, but Beattie said he expects Gig Harbor to throw the ball 30-35 times tonight. That means Moiza and the defensive line will try to get after quarterback Garrett Gallinger.
“That’s something we’re good at,” Moiza said.
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473 mwochnick@theolympian.com
