by WES FERGUSON
Last spring when Lehman’s football coaches penciled in their 2012 depth chart, the linebacking corps was not supposed to be a strength of the defense.
The Lobos were forced to regroup after saying goodbye to a pair of standouts in Charles Williams, a 2011 unanimous all-district selection who signed with Mary Hardin-Baylor, and Ethan Martin, a dependable two-way starter.
To cobble together a new starting trio, Lehman’s defense poached two athletes from the other side of the ball – explosive fullback A.J. Armonta and speedy tight end Nick Tamez – and they promoted backup Ben Mitchell, who had seen limited playing time as a junior behind Williams and Martin.
The moves are already paying off for Lehman. The Lobos are relying on the defense’s ability to make big plays and cause turnovers to give them a fighting chance heading into district action, while the offense makes strides under new head coach Todd Raymond’s spread scheme.
“We’re all working our tails off and doing our best for the team,” Mitchell said.
Through three games, Tamez has led the way with 22 tackles, tied with free safety Tyler Hyss for most on the team, while Armonta (19 tackles, one sack) is running loose to pressure the quarterback. With those two patrolling the outside, the blue-collar play of Mitchell (19 tackles, one interception) has been more than sufficient to clog the middle of the field.
Defensive coordinator Toby Spivey said he’s been “very surprised” by the linebackers’ level of play to start the season, heading into a Sept. 28 showdown with Hays.
“Going in, we thought it was going to be very hard to replace the guys that we lost, but these guys have really stepped up to the challenge,” Spivey said. “They have proved they’re ready, and we haven’t missed a beat.”
The three seniors have taken different roads to their leadership positions on the defense.
Of the three, Armonta contributed the most to the team as a junior. The fullback delivered more than a few helmet-rattling blocks last year, helping pave the way for star tailback Levi Medley’s breakout season. Armonta’s moment in the spotlight came when he threw a pass and ran for a touchdown from the quarterback position in a late drive against New Braunfels Canyon.
But Armonta’s temper got the best of him at times. His season hit a low point during a one-game suspension when the Lobos were in the thick of district play, and after the last game of the season he moved to Lockhart, not returning to Lehman until mid-April.
“I got suspended for a game because of my attitude, but I have straightened up,” Armonta said. “Coming back here with a new coach and the new way things are run around here, it has been life-changing. My mentality and the way I think about football are all different.”
Lehman’s coaches say Armonta is learning to channel his intensity into a positive force for the defense. In the first game against Cedar Ridge, he led the team with 10.5 tackles and pressured the Raiders’ quarterback into throwing an interception to Mitchell.
“Since A.J.’s been back, he has been more focused on football and more focused on school with his grades,” Spivey said. “He’s very intelligent, and it’s gratifying that he finally gets it. He’s able to control those emotions with the right attitude, and he’s becoming the leader that we all knew he could be.”
Armonta still hasn’t shed his reputation as a wild man on the roster, though. His teammates say he can be a hothead on the field, but to head coach Todd Raymond, that can be a good thing under the right circumstances.
“He plays with a real high motor,” Raymond said. “He walks on the edge a little bit, but that’s what gives him his edge, football-wise. We have to rein him back sometimes and say, ‘Hey, you stepped over the line. Bring it back. I like what you’re trying to do, but bring it back a little bit.’”
Coaches describe Ben Mitchell as more of an old-school, blue collar “Mike” linebacker. Fitting with his workmanlike approach to football, he spent the summer laboring at a sheet metal shop in Manor, returning to Lehman High School in the evenings to put in workouts with his teammates.
“This ain’t Taco Bell. This is full-on, hard labor,” Raymond said. “He’d come in my office after working all day and just melt into the chair. It says a lot about a kid’s character when they’ll have a job like that and continue to do what we ask them to do (in summer workouts).
“He’s an interesting kid because he’s around all these adults at work, and he talks and acts like one of the workers,” Raymond continued. “He talks to you sometimes like you’re a peer, and you have to remind him, ‘hey, there are boundaries.’ But that’s just because of the work he’s had to do. He’s a seasoned worker, and he’s got a tremendous work ethic.”
Mitchell said he is not the quickest or most athletic player on the field, but he has toughened up for his senior campaign, training in mixed martial arts, improving his quickness and adding 40 pounds to his max bench press.
“Last year when I’d get on the field, I had a hard time fighting off the blocks, and now I can extend or rip and do what I’ve been taught to do,” he said. “It helps that I am as strong as I am to fight them off. And being faster helps when beating people to the edge to make tackles and dropping back (into pass coverage).”
He also worked with the quarterbacks and receivers this summer to develop a surer hand. It showed when he picked off the pass against Cedar Ridge.
“Normally, I probably would have dropped it,” he said. “It’s cool I got an interception. Everybody talks about it for a day, and then it’s back to work.”
Like Raymond said, working is what Mitchell does best.
“I’m not real bulky, I’m not real fast, I’m not real strong, so I have to work really hard,” he said. “It’s how I grew up; you’ve got to work, work, work for everything you want.”
Tamez distinguishes himself with his speed. A regional qualifier in track, he is the fastest member of the Lobo defense. He’s also one of the quietest, unless his teammates need him to be a little louder, Spivey said.
“His speed allows him to do some amazing things,” Spivey said. “He’s learning more and more every day how to control that speed, so he’s in the right place at the right time to make tackles. With his personality, you never know when he’s going to get you. He’s the kind of guy that when all else fails, if one of the leaders is down, he’s the one who recognizes that and gets everybody going. It’s always at the right time with Nick. He seems to sense when everybody needs a little pick-me-up.”
Tamez said he’s glad the coaches moved him from tight end.
“I can use my speed a little more at linebacker,” he said. “I like to hit more. You can set the tone of the game off one hit.”
Not only can Tamez hit, according to his teammate Armonta, he can hit hard.
“Don’t let his quietness fool you,” Armonta said. “He will knock your head off, I promise you that.”
