Rick O'Brien: Pennsbury's Denman leads list of Southeast Pa.'s top offensive linemen

Resuming our position-by-position rankings, this week we rank the top offensive linemen in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

We turned this list into a top 15 because of the high number of players involved. It is based on, among other things, strength, technique, footwork, smarts, ability to dominate regularly, and potential to excel at the next level.

Please note that some quality two-way linemen, such as Malvern Prep's Connor Mahoney and Plymouth Whitemarsh's Kavon Johnson, will get their due when we run through the area's best defensive playmakers.

1. J.J. Denman, Pennsbury, senior, 6-foot-6, 310 pounds, center. Denman, moving to center after playing guard and tackle last season, is the muscle behind the Falcons' ground-and-pound attack.

The run-blocking stalwart, who last weekend switched his college commitment from Penn State to Wisconsin, has bench-pressed 360 pounds, squatted 455, and power-cleaned 315.

2. Frank Taylor, Archbishop Wood, senior, 6-4, 290, tackle. Running behind Taylor, a two-way beast who has committed to Boston College, the Vikings are averaging 43.3 points.

3. Mike Mooney, Malvern Prep, senior, 6-5, 255, tackle. The two-way play of Mooney, bound for Virginia, will be key in the Friars' bid for the Inter-Ac League crown.

4. Chris Muller, Boyertown, senior, 6-6, 295, tackle. Muller, an ever-improving Rutgers recruit, excels at clearing space for running backs Jon Neiman and Max Marcus.

5. Brandon Arcidiacono, Archbishop Wood, senior, 6-5, 250, center. Athletic and fast, Arcidiacono, who will join Muller at Rutgers, is expected to be even better when he fills out physically.

6. Mike McGlinchey, Penn Charter, junior, 6-8, 275, tackle. A major force on both sides of the ball, McGlinchey, tough and ornery, has scholarship offers from Boston College and Virginia.

7. Madison O'Connor, Pottsgrove, 6-6, 305, junior, tackle. O'Connor has attracted recruiting interest from the likes of Penn State, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh.

8. Jack Willenbrock, Downingtown East, senior, 6-3, 260, tackle. In Friday's 44-14 win over Downingtown West, the Virginia Tech recruit helped the Cougars total 375 yards of offense.

9. Nick Arcidiacono, Archbishop Wood, junior, 6-2, 230, guard. The up-and-comer will no doubt follow brothers Brandon and Mark, a redshirt sophomore guard at Penn State, into the Division I-A ranks.

10. Fred Santarelli, Hill School, senior, 6-6, 298, tackle. Santarelli, ticketed for Towson, has made his mark on the left side by opening holes for Kwame Larbi and protecting quarterback Grant Smith.

11. Max Perisse, West Chester Henderson, senior, 6-5, 240, tackle. Perisse, a two-way stalwart, has helped the Warriors average 30.8 points and 260 yards rushing.

12. Dan Burtch, West Chester Rustin, senior, 6-3, 270, tackle. A virtual clone of ex-Rustin lineman Chase Hoyt, now at Maine, Burtch is receiving interest from Division I-AA programs.

13. Eric Condron, Father Judge, senior, 6-1, 245, center. Slowed by injury last season, the Crusaders captain has been a brute as a center and defensive tackle.

14. Elijah Wilkinson, Downingtown West, junior, 6-4, 305, tackle. In a spread/wing-T scheme, Wilkinson has opened up holes for fullback Zach Barr and speedy tailback Donte Harrell.

15. Derrick Carter, Glen Mills, 6-2, 275, senior, tackle. A powerful blocker for explosive tailback George Walker, Carter has bench-pressed 275 pounds and been clocked at 4.8 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

Thirty others to watch, listed alphabetically: John Bell, Neshaminy, senior; Chuck Boddy, Germantown Academy, senior; Eric Bonenberger, Pottsgrove, senior; Tyler Bowman, Unionville, senior; John Bradford, Malvern Prep, senior; Connor Breslin, Marple Newtown, senior; James Brown, Ridley, senior; Angel Carlo, Abington, junior; Carmen Cervella, Cardinal O'Hara, junior; John Ciurlino, Springfield (Delco), senior; Dom DiGalbo, Monsignor Bonner, senior; Colin Egan, Bishop Shanahan, senior; John Guest, Garnet Valley, senior; Colby Johnson, Souderton, junior; Peter Kelly, St. Joseph's Prep, senior; Connor Kerrigan, La Salle, senior; Ryan Lunney, Plymouth Whitemarsh, junior; Evan Mao, Upper Dublin, senior; Chris McMonagle, Archbishop Ryan, senior; Kwame Miller, Germantown, senior; Lou Moeller, Haverford School, senior; Tom Murtha, Monsignor Bonner, senior; Steve Noel, Roman Catholic, senior; Dylan Pepper, Pennsbury, senior; Tom Phelan, West Chester East, senior; P.J. Plummer, Strath Haven, senior; Matt Ruggear, Academy Park, senior; T.J. Smink, North Penn, senior; Tom Trampe, Council Rock South, senior; Dan Wasylenko, La Salle, senior; James Worthington, Pennridge, senior.

Extra points. The start time of Friday's Suburban One League National Conference clash between Council Rock South (7-1, 4-1) and host Abington (8-0, 5-0) has been moved up to 6 p.m. . . . Downingtown East junior Kyle Lauletta has completed 79 of 134 passes for 1,234 yards and 16 touchdowns. His brother Trey, who passed for 1,302 yards and 16 TDs last season for the Cougars, is a backup QB at Bucknell. . . . With punts of 33 and 30 yards, Downingtown East's Eddie Kozlowski, also a backup QB, twice pinned Downingtown West at the 1-yard line in the first half Friday. . . . Harriton junior QB Pat Moriarty (1,591 passing yards, 17 TDs) sat out Friday's 49-0 loss to Central League rival Ridley because of an injured ankle. . . . Central Bucks South's Dan Brown has rushed for 1,027 yards and scored 24 TDs. . . . Avon Grove's J.T. Blyden, a 5-10, 185-pound sophomore, has carried 187 times for 1,020 yards and seven scores. . . . With tailback Tim Wade nursing an ankle injury suffered early in the game, junior Jared Herrmann filled in and rushed for 102 yards in La Salle's 41-7 win over Archbishop Ryan on Friday.