Much of the quest for athletic success has little to do with physical prowess.

Mind over matter – or at least having the confidence that can provide that extra edge – often is just as important as size, strength or quickness

Rarely is that confidence born in defeat, but that’s where Hampden Academy’s march to the Pine Tree Conference Class B football semifinals began.

In particular, the Broncos have used stellar offensive line play to average a rousing 364.2 rushing yards per game since their last loss – five wins ago.

Yet that late-season surge may never have materialized but for the traces of potential gleaned from an otherwise lopsided 51-12 loss to powerful Winslow in Week 4.

“We lost, but we rushed for more than 200 yards,” said Joel Ranger, one of five senior starters along Hampden’s front line. “We pulled it together after we played Winslow. We thought, ‘hey, we can actually do this.’ ”

Since then, they surely have – in five games that essentially were must-wins for a team languishing at 1-3 after the first month of the season.

Ranger, Tyler Furrough, Matt York, Luke Rancourt and Mike Butler have been the catalysts along the line as Hampden has turned its season around.

“It’s a mix of everything,” said Furrough. “We’re not really the biggest guys, but we average pretty decent size, we’re all strong, and we’ve played together forever.”

Harry McCluskey, who brought four decades of coaching experience in Texas and Colorado to the Hampden sidelines in 2005, has seen growth in both the mind and the matter of his trench warriors.

“They don’t just make the block, they keep trying to get more, that’s the first thing,” said the Broncos’ head man. “The second thing that’s good about them is they’re quick. Not all of them are lightning fast, but they’re all fairly quick and can move, so they can do some things with that.

“The other thing is they’re all seniors who have some experience. They believe they can move the ball against anybody, and they’ve developed into one of the best lines I’ve ever had.”

It’s that kind of support from McCluskey and his staff that has produced an added boost of confidence to the guys on the front line.

“He’s brought a lot to the team,” said Ranger. “We really like playing for him. Practices are hard, but we have fun during practice.

“He’s really taught us to play old-school, smash-mouth football,” added Rancourt, “but at the same time he teaches us to play smart.”

Smart and smash-mouth aren’t often used in the same sentence, but it’s that combination along the line of scrimmage that has resulted in big yardage for senior fullback Kyle Ross and senior tailback Bob Seger. Ross was sidelined by illness early in the season, but once he returned for the Winslow game it didn’t take him long to see the opportunities in front of him.

“These guys open the holes perfectly,” said Ross, who gained 181 yards in Hampden’s 30-24 win over Belfast in the quartefinals. “In the last game, I had time to wait and wait for lanes to open up. They did a perfect job.”

Friday’s game at Gardiner marks the team’s biggest test since its winning streak began. Not only is Gardiner undefeated, but the Broncos will be without Seger, who suffered a broken foot against Belfast.

“We’re playing a tough team this week,” said McCluskey, “but the bottom line is if these kids go out and take care of business, they’ve got a shot to beat anybody.”

Ernie Clark may be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or eclark@bangordailynews.net