Joey DeVries has quickly become comfortable in the middle of Warren’s offensive line in his first season as a varsity starter.

The way the Blue Devils have been churning out yards on the ground since an 0-2 start, it’s apparent the senior center has discovered a secret to success.

“You just have to hit them hard,” DeVries said. “That’s what it comes down to at the end of the day. You can do a lot of things with footwork and film, but if you don’t hit somebody and he gets in the backfield, it doesn’t really matter.”

That level of simplicity is befitting of an offensive lineman who is more likely to deflect praise than openly accept it. But DeVries had big shoes to fill this season, succeeding Kole Weinberg, and like so many solid starters for the Blue Devils, he has earned the success he’s experiencing, spending many years in the school’s feeder program and then moving up the depth chart.

“He is the steady leader of the offensive line,” Warren coach Bryan McNulty said. “He’s just a hard-nosed Warren football player. He came up in our system and is the real deal. He had to wait his turn, but he does everything for us up there.”

The 6-foot, 240-pound DeVries is firing on all cylinders, using a combination of strength and guile to turn a question mark into a surefire exclamation point.

“It was little nerve-wracking at the start of the season, and it’s a tough thought to be taking over,” he said. “But at the end of the day, you have to do it for the guys next to you. It’s not what you feel, but it’s about what you have to do to help the team.”

DeVries is doing that by kick-starting a no-nonsense rushing attack that led Warren to a 21-17 North Suburban Conference road win against Lake Zurich on Friday.

“They knew what was coming and knew everything we had in our playbook,” DeVries said. “But at the end of the day, when we have guys like me up front and running backs who run as hard as they do, there aren’t many people that can stop us. As long as we play together as a team and are physical, we’re a problem for the defense.”

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That was the case against the Bears, especially in the second half. Warren (3-2, 3-0) took more than eight minutes off the clock on the first drive of the third quarter. Although the Blue Devils were eventually turned away on downs deep in Lake Zurich territory, their statement was made.

DeVries and his teammates on the offensive line paved the way for touchdowns on the next two possessions to flip Lake Zurich’s 17-7 halftime lead into a Warren win, one that will go a long way toward determining the conference title.

The tandem of sophomore Aaron Stewart and senior Donovan McNeal finished with more than 230 rushing yards combined. McNeal’s 62-yard fourth-down touchdown run with 4:45 remaining sealed the deal.

“With running backs like those two, as long as you give them a chance, that’s all they really need,” DeVries said. “On that last score, we got him (McNeal) the first 5 yards, and he broke the rest.”

McNeal has watched DeVries’ ascension up close. McNeal not only runs behind him on offense but also butts heads with him in practice while playing linebacker.

“He and I go head up every play every time we scrimmage each other, and he’s stepped up big-time,” McNeal said.

Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.