Beltran enjoys his share of pancakes

“It’s pretty much all work and little glory,” he said. “The offense starts with us and ends with us. We don’t need our names in the paper.”

Football is about winning, he said, so being recognized for a job well done may be nice — but not without the victory. 

The Mustang linemen are together quite a bit, Beltran said, usually at senior captain lineman Zach Brown’s home.

They eat out, usually at fast-food restaurants, but the preferred choice is always “pancakes.”

A pancake is blocking a defensive lineman so hard he falls backward. 

“We have our little competitions now and then on who can get the most pancakes,” the senior said.

For that reason, offensive linemen prefer to run-block as opposed to pass-block, he said. 

Offensive linemen gather together for their own team meetings and break each one by saying “IHOP” for pancakes. 

“We’ve been doing that for the past three years,” Beltran said. “It’s something to get the guys fired up.”

Brown is the leader of the linemen, he said, and is known for encouraging his teammates. Beltran said Brown helps him in knowing whom to block during plays. 

The linemen take their roles seriously in opening holes and protecting quarterback Thor Woerner.

“You’re passing protecting and you think the ball is gone,” Beltran said. “Then I see Thor rolling out. I have to go out and block and make sure he doesn’t get killed.”

In middle school, he was a linebacker and defensive lineman. He credits middle school coach Tom Lane for teaching him the position’s technique.

The offensive lineman said his memorable win was against Burnet.

“I have a lot of family over there,” he said. 

After every loss the past few years, Beltran said he had to endure the teasing from his Bulldog family members. And he couldn’t wait to return the favor after the Mustangs’ 40-30 win.

“It is the best feeling,” he said. “I just said, ‘Get on the phone and call aunt Gail (Widener).’”

Beltran is a powerlifter, thrower on the track team and a third baseman for the baseball team.

“They put me there because I have a strong arm and pretty fast reflexes,” he said. 

When former teammate Brandon Bible was at the regional track meet, Beltran asked him to dedicate his best throw to his younger teammate.

Bible’s best throw got him to the state track meet. 

He plans to join the Marines after graduation. 

Being a lineman, Beltran said, is about technique.

“If you have that great technique, it doesn’t matter how small you are,” he said. 

The best example was in the overtime loss to Killeen High School. During the first half, the lineman said the Mustangs were able to control the line of scrimmage by using proper technique and opening the holes for the backs. 

“When you see, especially on a run play, someone run up the middle, that means we did our jobs,” Beltran said. “That’s all the credit we need.”