Power Of Positive Thinking Colville’s Emmil Has Instilled Winning Attitude That Pays Off

An inkling of what Frontier League teams could expect this season from Colville’s football team may have been last year’s victory over then-unbeaten Post Falls.

Brady Noble, a fixture at linebacker beginning as a sophomore, wasn’t around to savor the victory.

“I went out at halftime with a migraine-like headache and didn’t even see us win,” Noble said. “That’s the only half I’ve missed in three years.”

If the team could prevail with its 5-foot-11, 230-pound all-league player missing, how good might it be with a more mature Noble back plugging up the middle.

Noble and several other players who have stayed the course for three years are home for a Friday rematch with Post Falls, enjoying the benefits of their labor.

“This is a class where more than a few players have stuck together,” said coach Ken Emmil. “These are the kind of guys who are program builders, not just team builders.”

The Indians are 3-1 overall and 2-0 in league. Among those wins was their first over Cheney in 32 years and last week’s 31-28 comeback victory over West Valley from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit.

Noble saw it coming.

“When we were sophomores we had a lot of young kids playing varsity and most didn’t think we could win,” he said.

A core of them - linemen Paul Smith, Nick Easter, Glenn Vaagen, Mike Franks and Richie Lowry, receiver-linebackers Josh Salina and Justin Fox, rushers Cailen McCurdy and Noble - stuck together. As they matured and melded with newcomers, like quarterback Jimmy Day, Colville’s confidence soared.

“We knew we were going to do well,” said Noble. “Our whole offense came back. We’re only missing one or two guys. Our defense had the tools. We decided to do what we had to do.”

And that is set about winning a league championship, something Emmil has been preaching about for two years.

“Last year I said we would win it,” Emmil said prior to the season. “My philosophy is if someone is going to lose let me know because I’m not going to play the game.”

That kind of talk may have seemed bold coming from a coach whose team won just 16 of 63 games in seven previous seasons and was 1-5 last year in league.

But two end-of-season Frontier losses were by one and two points to Riverside and Clarkston. And Emmil is ever the optimist.

“We go out every game to win,” Emmil continued. “If you ask me, we will win nine times.”

This year his confidence appears well-justified.

“For the first time since I’ve been here, the players think they’re going to win. If the pressure seems on, it is,” Emmil said. “There are expectations now for them and in the past there have been none.”

So far the team has responded just fine. Its only loss this year came in overtime to Chewelah, currently unbeaten and a State A semifinalist last season.

McCurdy has rushed for 380 yards in four games and is averaging 10 yards per carry in the Frontier. Noble, adjusting to running back, had 108 yards on eight carries and scored twice against WV.

Day has passed for 150 yards per game and eight touchdowns in his first full season at quarterback.

Emmil is realistic enough to point out that two Frontier wins do not a champion make.

“Although I’m confident in the guys, we need to be realistic,” he said. “We’ve not been world beaters before.”

Still, going from an 0-9 season seven years ago trying to find positives for a community and team that had no belief in itself, to one in which the team is a Frontier playoff contender, has been gratifying.

“There’s a lot more to a program than wins and losses,” said Emmil. “Sooner or later all will even out if you’re doing the right things.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo