When Evan Balochie tells people he used to be skinny, they don’t believe him.
It’s easy to see why. As the heaviest player on the San Benito High football team—the 6-foot-2 senior offensive lineman tips the scales at an even 300 pounds—Balochie stands out among his burly teammates.
“I was always a skinny kid until middle school and my freshman and sophomore year in high school,” Balochie said. “That’s when I gained weight and grew. Fortunately, I wasn’t just growing horizontally—I was growing vertically, too.”
Balochie, who plays right and left guard, gives the Haybalers some much needed depth and versatility on the offensive line. He’s also been one of the more gritty players to come through the program in recent memory.
Balochie missed the first five games of the year due to a concussion he suffered before the season started. He also missed the entire 2013 regular season before playing in the team’s three playoff games after suffering a torn MCL and patella in his right knee.
Although Balochie has been plagued with injuries in the two years he’s been playing organized football, he’s gained a fan in longtime Balers coach Chris Cameron.
“When things have gotten tough physically for Evan, he’s never really buried his head in the sand and express the woe is me attitude,” Cameron said. “He’s had his ups and downs with injuries, and that’s always tough on a high school kid. But he just comes out fighting and working to get better. He’s been a trooper and is the ultimate embodiment of perseverance.”
San Benito (4-4 overall, 1-3 MBL Gabilan) enters Friday’s home game against Palma (8-0, 4-0) with plenty on the line. A win would virtually lock up a Central Coast Section playoff berth, while a loss would all but force the Balers to win their regular-season finale against North Salinas to get into the postseason.
Although the Balers are just 1-5 against teams with winning records, the best-case scenario has them coming out of the bye week having fixed some of the fundamental issues that have plagued them throughout the season.
“I definitely think we have a better chance (to pull off a win) against Palma this season compared to last year,” Balochie said. “Our D line has gotten even better, and we’re just hoping to build on our practice week (leading up to the Seaside game a couple of weeks ago) and get even better. Palma is good, but we know we’re just as good. We just have to go out and show it.”
As the only 300-pounder on the team, Balochie uses his weight well. He’s effective at both run and pass blocking, and plays a physical style that the position demands.
“I’d like to think I’m better than most people my size,” he said. “No matter what you weigh, you better be able to move.”
Balochie grew up playing soccer—“I could remember running up and down the field all game and not getting tired,” he said—and the footwork he displayed in that sport has transferred over to football.
“Soccer was kind of my dad’s (Eric) influence,” Balochie said. “He got me into it, and I was pretty passionate about it for a while. But I’ve always wanted to play football as badly as I do now.”
Balochie actually attended Santa Teresa High in San Jose in his freshman and sophomore years because his dad is a teacher there. However, Balochie said he didn’t enjoy his time there, knowing most of his friends were at San Benito.
Balochie didn’t play football until transferring to San Benito for his junior year, but he couldn’t wait to get on the field.
Balochie was so eager to play he tracked down Cameron to talk about playing football well before the 2013 season.
“A lot of times guys will come by and express interest and you never see them again,” Cameron said. “So I told him (after the initial meeting) to come back to me in a month because I can’t talk to them during the season. He kept coming back, jumped into our off-season program and never went away. You want all your players to have that type of hunger and drive.”
