Crusaders' most experienced group with three starters back is helping the rest of the offense make big strides in preseason.

PERRY TWP.  Ask any football coach, and not a one will turn down the chance to return an experienced offensive line. So when you ask Central Catholic coach Jeff Lindesmith how much having three returning starters up front helps things, his answer isn't a surprise.

"It helps your whole offense get off to a better start," Lindesmith said prior to Tuesday's two-a-day practice. "First of all, if you have a little bit of experience back there, they understand the physicality that it takes when you go into camp. ... I think the holes are there, so you can spend a little bit more time on the smaller things, like reading blocks because the kids understand where they're blocking and the angles they're taking. So you can develop some skill kids a little quicker that way."

One of the three returnees - Miller Davies - is actually flipping sides from where he played as a junior a year earlier. Instead of lining up at left tackle, he will be on the right side.

Davies will line up next to another returning starter, right guard Joe Fuchs. Left guard Nolan Goehring is also back after starting at that spot a year ago.

That's three line starters back off of a state championship team. On a team with several other spots breaking in new starters, the knowledge the line isn't necessarily one of those is welcomed news for Central Catholic.

It's not just that the line leads the team in experience, but it also leads the team in other ways as well.

"I think this line can be pretty good," Lindesmith said. "The one thing I would probably say about this offensive line so far is they're vocal leaders and they're guys that, they practice and they understand what's going on and they get after the skill guys. It's just a good group to lead so far and they understand that."

The other two spots on the line - center and left tackle - remain a camp competition. Alex Hadid and Logan Barnes have battled it out for center, while Joey Benedict and Storm Sutton have done the same at the left tackle spot.

Those two spots - as well as the play of the line as a whole - is one of the things Lindesmith is most interested in seeing when Central Catholic holds its first scrimmage of the preseason Saturday at home against Hillsdale. The scrimmage is one of two tune-ups the team will have before kicking the regular season off at Bellevue on Aug. 25.

Lindesmith has already seen the benefits of having an experienced offensive line returning earlier in his admittedly brief four-year stint as the Crusaders' head coach. His first year after replacing Lowell Klinefelter at the helm, in 2014, among the many areas where Central Catholic boasted healthy numbers in returning starters was on the line.

Not surprisingly, that 2014 team was the one which started the run of state championship-game appearances for the Crusaders, a run which is now at three consecutive. Lindesmith believes this line has a chance to help them potentially make it four in a row because of what they can do for the team as a whole.

"Your offensive and defensive lines can really set the tone for how the game's played," Lindesmith said. "I think our older kids understand that as they go, we go. We didn't have a ton of sustainable drives last year where we had 12- or 13-play drives taking clock up and taking pressure off our defense. We talked a lot about that with this group where we'd like to do that if we can. It's just going to make some of our younger skill kids and our defense relax a little bit more. It all works hand-in-hand."

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE