John Proffitt Hopes His Last Season Is A Winning One

Senior John Proffitt is getting things done for the Northwest Christian boys soccer team.

It’s his final season, and he wants a better finish than last year.

Proffitt has scored a team-leading 10 goals, already has two hat tricks (three goals in a match) and is on pace to better his goals total from last season of 15.

Proffitt had hat tricks in games against Valley Christian and Northport and has helped the Crusaders to first place in the Northeast 1A/B league with a 6-0 record heading into a match at Northport on Friday. They have outscored their opponents 30-7.

“I just start on a roll I guess,” Proffitt said. “The team passes to you when you start scoring.”

Proffitt said Northwest Christian is a more experienced team with more scoring threats. All but two players are back.

Only one team from the league qualifies for state and Proffitt is counting on it being the Crusaders. They were eliminated by Wahluke in the first round of state last season.

“We’re hoping to win state,” Proffitt said. “There’s no one really that we can see that is in the way. We’re just getting better every day. We’re fully confident and we’re pretty unified as a team.”

Proffitt helps keep unity on whatever team he’s on, says John Edwards, his coach in basketball and baseball.

Edwards has coached Proffitt for six years and has seen him progress.

And grow.

“He used to be a small, short, quick guy, one of those waterbug types but he hit a big growth spurt,” Edwards said. “He really struggled with coordination as a freshman and sophomore but he’s settling into that now. He’s going to have a super senior year. Obviously we’re seeing that on the soccer field already.”

Mead frosh stands out

Mead freshman soccer player Jael Hagerott had the attention of Lewis and Clark in the Panthers’ 2-1 victory last week.

Hagerott was heavily marked the entire match and at times the Tigers put two players on her.

So the Panthers used Hagerott as a decoy the second half, coach Travis Hanson said.

And junior Janie Strait stepped up from her stopper position to join the attack.

Lakeside volleyball makes strides

Lakeside volleyball coach Kara Price has the Eagles in first place in the Great Northern League for the first time.

Price, a second-year coach, gives much of the credit to Lakeside basketball coach Lisa Schultz and her traditionally strong program.

“They have experience on the floor,” Price said of her volleyball players, many of whom also play for the basketball team. “When the pressure is on, that really helps.”

Price formerly coached at Rogers and was an assistant at Shadle Park.

Lakeside was in danger of falling behind Pullman 2-0 in games during a Sept. 28 showdown between two undefeated GNL teams. But the Eagles won the second game and ultimately held off the Greyhounds in five games.

The teams meet again, Oct. 21 in Pullman.

“If we both can play like this again, it will be anyone’s game,” said Pullman coach Drew Wendle.

Northwest Christian’s volleyball team lost at Selkirk Sept. 28 for just its second Panorama League setback in five years.

“We didn’t deserve to win,” said first-year Crusaders coach Kim Kutsch.

NWC starts three sophomores and one junior.

Two days after the Selkirk loss, the Crusaders took defending State B champion Wilbur-Creston to five games before losing the non-league match.

Over the weekend, NWC knocked Curlew (4-1) from the Panorama unbeaten ranks. The Crusaders also hosted St. George’s (4-0) on Tuesday.