Bill Berry Plays BIG Role For Beggs

Bill Berry is not your typical lineman. In fact, he is half the size of the players he lines up against.

Thursday, July 28th 2011, 5:21 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Nov 9, 2009 12:49 AM CDT

Class 2A Playoff Coverage on Oklahoma Sports
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- Bill Berry Plays BIG Role (11/9)
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- View the full playoff bracket
- Oklahoma Sports High School Football Discussion

Curt Hill
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

BEGGS, Oklahoma -- If Bob Craig saw one of his players at a horse race, he wouldn’t be surprised.

“We're so small, we joke around that we need to let our kids go early on Saturdays so they can go to Remington Park and race in the third race like jockeys do,” Craig said.

In order tounderstand what Craig is talking about, look no further than Bill Berry - a 140-pound nose guard and offensive guard.

Surprised? So is everyone else.

“They never believe me,” Berry said when asked what people say when he tells them that he is a lineman. "They're like ‘You’re too small, how are you a lineman?’"

Berry says it’s tough going up against players twice his size, but he uses his small stature as an advantage.

“It's very difficult if you get high,” Berry said. “The lower you are, the better. You can push them anywhere you want to and take out there knees if you want.”

The senior also makes up for his lack of size with something the Demons build their team around - speed.

“We've always like speed,” Craig said. “We believe that speed can give you a lot things. Obviously, we would like a big guy that's fast, but we don't have many of those.”

"I remember one game last year when the big guys we're like ‘You guys are too fast, slow down. Help us out here.’ They didn't like us going top speed every play."

While speed and leverage allow Berry to hold his own in the trenches, the main reason he's able to succeed has nothing to do with physical skills.

“I don't care how big you are, it's that story about how big your heart is,” Craig said. “His consistency says he has a heart. We never have to worry about his effort. It's going to be there the same way, the same speed, every snap.

Berry’s snaps will soon come to end, but Craig knows his hard-working characteristics will continue in the future...even if he's a jockey.

“If I need a lawyer in ten years and he's a lawyer, I'm calling him because I can trust him,” Craig said. “If I need brain surgery and he's a brain surgeon there's no doubt who I'm calling. We've been through so many battles together. I can trust him.”