Free State senior Chase Houk (66) looks over to his quarterback for instructions during practice on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016.

Before one of the Free State High football games last year, co-offensive coordinator Brett Romme shared a post he saw on Twitter with his offensive linemen.

It was called the “Linemen’s Creed” and it had a message that stuck with senior left tackle Chase Houk. In fact, he thinks back to it before each game.

“It just says that we know that we don’t get any glory, but our reward is seeing that win at the end of the night,” Houk said. “That’s what we strive for.”

Houk leads by example on the offensive line, helping the Firebirds take a 5-2 record into the City Showdown, which starts at 7 p.m. Friday at FSHS. Each day, he’s the first one to walk out to the practice field, along with senior Drew Wise. He had the same daily presence in the weight room during the offseason.

Senior quarterback Dallas Crittenden remembers Houk was one of the first teammates to introduce himself when Crittenden was the new kid and transferred from Topeka Hayden in the spring.

“I’ll go to war with him any day because of how he gives the extra effort with everything on the team,” Crittenden said. “He’ll do anything for us.”

The 6-foot, 265-pound Houk, a second-team all-Sunflower League selection last season, stands out among most offensive linemen because of his tenacity. Covering Crittenden’s blindside, Houk doesn’t just block — he punishes defenders.

It was a natural transition to the varsity lineup last year and he’s only become more comfortable. Throughout his 12-year playing career from youth football to senior year, Houk has lined up on the offensive line.

“Fundamentally he’s good, but he’s a tough guy,” Free State coach Bob Lisher said. “He’s going to hit you. He’s not going to lean on you, he’s going to hit you.”

Houk was expected to earn a starting spot on the offensive line during his sophomore year, but he broke his left foot in three different places during the team’s first practice with pads — ending his year.

Along with the frustration of a season-ending injury, it cost him a chance to play on the offensive line alongside his brother, Coleman, who started at center.

“I know my parents, my whole family wanted to see that,” Houk said. “I kind of felt like I was letting them down, but I know I wasn’t. They assured me of that. It would’ve been great. I really loved watching him.”

Rehabbing from his broken foot, Houk spent his time in the weight room working on his upper body strength. That included a lot of time on the bench press.

When he returned to the field, he put it on himself to become one of the team’s leaders. When senior Jay Dineen moved to the offensive line for the first time in his life, Houk was there to offer support in games.

This season, Houk helped junior right tackle Spencer Roe learn the playbook after transferring from Perry-Lecompton.

“I remember last year, a couple of games where I just had to tell (Dineen) what to do every play,” Houk said with a smile. “Other than that, he’s got it down now.”

Similar to the creed that he recalls before games, he’s just willing to do whatever it takes to help his team win games. On a four-game winning streak, Houk said the team “isn’t content” because they haven’t played their best.

The offensive line does the grunt work without much of the glory. Houk continues to show up first for practice and he helps the defense by lining up with the scout team offense.

“He pushes everybody to do the best that they can do,” Crittenden said. “That’s just a leadership thing.”