Garfield-Palouse Coach Brings Love Of Pass To Vikings
Marc Maiuri is hunting for strong-armed quarterbacks, sure-handed receivers and a way to make football fun at Garfield-Palouse.
It appears he is nearing his limit.
There are more than pheasants flying in Whitman County.
The Gar-Pal coach went through the DeSales High program and graduated from Central Washington just ahead of Seahawks quarterback Jon Kitna.
His plan: fill the fall air with footballs.
“We’re probably averaging 10 to 15 carries a game and throw about 50 a game,” the second-year coach said. “That’s what I’ve been around. It’s exciting to me.”
It’s exciting to a lot of people, but few can execute at the high school level, especially B-11.
Maiuri had good fortune to arrive with a strong sophomore class, so he started right in, spreading the field and flinging the football.
“That was the system I brought in. I was going to mold our team to the best fit possible,” Maiuri said. “I was just very fortunate to have a very talented 6-4 quarterback.”
That would be junior Jason Fox, who has completed 89 of 166 passes for 1,278 yards and 11 touchdowns with six interceptions.
“Jason has a lot of potential, a lot of physical tools,” Maiuri said. “He doesn’t realize what a special gift he has. His potential to move on to the next level is very realistic … if that’s something he wants to do. His God-given tools don’t come along that often.”
Fox put up gaudy numbers in last year’s 2-7 season - 1,800 yards, including a state-best 484-yard game, though he completed just 125 of 300 passes.
Classmate and No. 1 receiver Mitch Kriebel is on the other end of the spectrum.
“Ask lot of people if they remember him from last season and they’ll say no,” Maiuri said. “He put a lot of work in in the off-season. He really wants to be a football player. He’s the most athletic kid in our school.”
Kriebel has six touchdowns and more than 700 yards receiving.
The Vikings (2-2) may be a year away from real success. They still need a couple of things to happen before they can say they’ve really arrived.
First, they could use a good ol’ fashioned, come-from-behind, validate-the-system, beat-a-contender win. Second, the system has to be successful without a horse like Fox as the headliner.
“We have some problems when we play from behind,” Maiuri said. “They’re almost there as far as believing. I’m not so sure about school and the rest of the community… . The only thing to cure that is bottom-line success. We have to put some wins on the board.”
Maiuri also thinks he has a quarterback in the wings.
“Now we have a freshman, Kevin Jordan, who has done an excellent job in JV games,” he said. “He does some very good things in the pocket, his pocket presence is very good. He doesn’t have the (physical) stature of Jason, but his leadership and composure is very good at that age.”
Maiuri knows something about the intangibles. After playing at DeSales, he went to Walla Walla CC for two years before transferring to Central. He played offensive guard, protecting Kitna, who was a year behind him.
“He’s probably the most competitive player I’ve ever played with,” Maiuri said. “He’s just a leader wherever he goes.”
Those kind of friends are great motivators, another plus for G-P Air.
News and notes
Hanford, which lost a non-league game to Prosser 44-7 two weeks ago, beat the Mustangs 27-21 in overtime in a Mid-Valley League game last weekend. Prosser’s last regular-season loss had been to Selah in September of 1990, a string of 79 non-playoff games. Hanford coach Greg Sevigny said, “There were a lot of tears after the game. We waited a long time for that win. Give Prosser credit; they showed true class and handled the loss well.”
O’Dea now owns the state’s longest regular-season winning streak at 49 games… . Ingraham’s losing streak is 23… . Roosevelt, which suspended 26 players as a result of the theft of equipment from the University of Washington, forfeited last weekend’s game to Inglemoor and this weekend’s homecoming game against Garfield. The students are accused of possessing, but not stealing, property from the Huskies football and soccer teams… . The Huskies have received a commitment from 6-1, 175-pound wide receiver Justin Robbins of River Ridge in Lacy.
Walla Walla has risen to the top of the Big Nine with a 42-21 win over Richland, which opened the season with victories over favorites Pasco and Kamiakin. The Blue Devils took a 20-0 lead and kept the Bombers at bay with a 20:59-2:01 edge in time of possession in the second half. They also had 75 offensive plays to 33 for Richland and a 22-4 advantage in first downs.
This sidebar appeared with the story: PREP FOOTBALL Big games * The Northeast B-11 title is on the line when No. 2 Ritzville (2-0, 4-0) visits No. 4 Reardan (2-0, 4-0) Friday at 7 p.m. * The newest GSL rivalry resumes with Mead (3-1, 3-1) and Mt. Spokane (2-1, 2-2) at Albi Stadium on Friday at 8:30. Upstart Mt. Spokane won the first meeting last year. * The lead in the Northeast A is on the line when Kettle Falls (1-0, 3-1) visits No. 6 Colfax (1-0, 4-0) Friday at 7 p.m. * It could be a track meet when No. 5 Sprague-Harrington (4-0) goes to Hunters to face Columbia (2-1, 3-1) in a key Northeast B-8 game at 3 p.m. Friday.