Optimism is buzz word

There is a virus that infects the first day of high school football practice.

Call it the optimism bug.

And even Wednesday’s non-stop rain couldn’t dampen the fever.

“We had a little mini-camp in July, but there is just something about August 17,” said the Greater Spokane League’s only new head coach, Grady Emmerson, taking over from Jay Jordan at North Central. “I had trouble getting to sleep last night looking forward to today and I know the kids did as well. They couldn’t wait to get started. They want to play and they want to win.”

But the fever can also have side effects, the most common of which is heightened expectations.

Last season Mead was the favorite to take the GSL crown. But first injuries and then losses mounted up, leaving the Panthers outside the playoffs with a 5-5 overall record.

As rain poured outside his classroom window, coach Sean Carty acknowledged his team would probably be one of the favorites again – WashingtonPrep.com’s preseason poll has Mead ranked fifth in State 4A. And he expects the lessons learned last year to contribute to this year’s success.

“This team saw first hand what can happen if you lose a couple guys,” Carty said. “This senior group has had a lot of success and they’ve worked hard. Because of that, they have high expectations.”

To meet those expectations, the Panthers have set a series of goals.

“At the Cougar camp this summer we came up with 11 goals or steps we are trying to meet,” Carty said. “Things like win the first season-opening game since 1998, win the GSL opener for the first time since I’ve been here, things like that. I know it is a cliché to say we are taking it one week at a time, but they are trying to take it one step at a time.”

Ferris, ranked eighth in the same poll, is another one of this year’s favorites, a step head coach Clarence Hough embraces.

“We’ve got enough kids coming back, they’re bigger, stronger, more experienced so our expectations are that we should compete for the league championship,” said Hough after ducking into a shed to avoid the rain. “I think our kids will handle it fine. I know they understand that these things don’t happen by accident. They happen by hard work and preparation. I don’t think there are a whole lot of egos on this team, most of them are willing to put the group first.”

Quarterback Caleb Rath, entering his third year as the Saxon starter, saw a different group on the first day this year than he’s seen in the past.

“The expectations are greater than we’ve had in the past, coming off a good season with a lot of players returning,” the senior said. “A lot of people are going to expect us to do well so we have to deal with that. We definitely have a lot more confidence than we’ve had the past couple seasons. Two years ago we didn’t know what to expect, now we do.”

The defending GSL champion Gonzaga Prep Bullpups, coming off a 12-2 state 4A semifinal season, aren’t sure what to expect after losing 16 starters. So head coach Dave Carson wasn’t surprised his team struggled early in its first practice.

“We pressed them early to see how they would handle it,” he said standing in a light drizzle next to the school’s nearly complete field, “and they didn’t respond very well. So we had a talk between sessions and the second half was much better.”

One returning Bullpup is senior defensive back/running back Connor Hare, who understands that last year is gone and so are the seniors who played such a big part in Prep’s success.

“We’re a lot different team from last year, we lost all those seniors so a bunch of younger guys will have to step up,” he said. “But last year will be good for us because now we know what we can accomplish if we trust in what we do.”

East Valley, ranked fifth in 3A, also enjoyed success last year – a 9-4 overall record and a state quarterfinal appearance – and most expect it to carry over, despite the loss of Emmerson, who served as defensive coordinator last year. With his departure, EV’s coaching staff added some new faces.

Head coach Adam Fisher added his dad, Ed, who coached South Kitsap to the 1994 state title, to the staff full time. Also, former Eastern Washington coach Dick Zornes came aboard to coach the offensive line.

Between the two, EV picked up more than 60 years of coaching experience.

There were more changes outside the GSL as the torch continues to pass between coaches of storied Northeast B-11 football programs.

Over the past two years, four coaches, with two state titles each, have made way for their replacements. One of those, Lind-Ritzville’s Greg Whitmore doesn’t expect any change in the way the Northeast B competes and succeeds.

“In my opinion, and I can show proof,” said Whitmore, “we’ve had the toughest league top to bottom, year in and year out.”

Indeed, the last three State B-11 champions (and four of the last five, twice in finals against league foes) have been Northeast B-11 teams.

Lind-Ritzville, Reardan, Davenport and Liberty have combined for 14 of 17 title appearances and 9 of 10 state titles the league has produced in 31 seasons.

Whitmore, 13 years his assistant and offensive coordinator, follows the legendary Mike Lynch, who retired after completing last year’s 13-0 season by the Broncos.

Though facing a rebuilding year following the graduation of 11 seniors, most of them starters, he liked what he saw of Wednesday’s first practice.

“It started raining like crazy, but we needed that, too,” he said. “Actually I was pretty pleased. The conditioning wasn’t bad and we just need to get better every day.”

Last year, former assistants Rick Johnson at Liberty and Eric Nikkola at Reardan followed their mentors – Rod Fletcher and Dan Graham, respectively – and had playoff seasons.

Whitmore is new this year. Davenport, where Skip Pauls won two titles, and Republic, a state semifinalist last year, will have new coaches as well.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” Whitmore said. “The kids in these programs have learned how to win and expect to win. You’ve got DeSales and Wahkiakum, but as far as balance this league is always the toughest.”

That was echoed by Almira/Coulee-Hartline coach Brandon Walsh whose Warriors will leave the league to play B-8 football.

“It’s been so tough for us to compete,” he said of a program whose turnouts have been about half of Ritzville’s. “This will be a good change for us. In the short term it will help get kids more fired up about football. In the long term we will be able to be more competitive.”