LC’s Kugler makes shift for team

As coach Tom Yearout was preparing this summer for the upcoming Lewis and Clark High School football season, he faced a dilemma.

Although he had his starting senior quarterback Michael Kugler returning, Yearout was thinking of making a change at the position, and he knew it wouldn’t be easy.

“You’re never sure when it’s a switch that’s somewhat in the spotlight,” said Yearout. “This was not easy for Michael.

“When we first talked about it in the summer, we weren’t sure we were going to do it. When I talked to him and told him there was a possibility that it could happen, I told him our team chemistry would depend largely on how he responded.

“We’re very thankful with how he approached the change.”

Kugler, who had played quarterback his first three seasons at LC, had prepared to be the guy under center for his final season of Tiger football. Instead, he found himself switched to wide receiver, but Kugler quickly shrugged off the disappointment.

“At first, there was a bit of disappointment, but I’ve always been a team guy,” Kugler said. “It was different at first, but I knew I wasn’t the starter, so I just decided to take the shot I get, and I’m going at it the best I can, so I could see the field and contribute to the team … Our sophomore quarterback has stepped up and done a really good job. It’s worked out fine. I like it out there.”

Kugler stepped up and not only starts at the wide receiver spot but has helped sophomore quarterback Taylor Eglet in leading the Tiger offense.

“This summer during 7 on 7’s and summer camp, he would ask me what we would do in certain situations,” said Kugler. “I would fill him in, give him tips and help him along, as well as doing my part and doing what I needed to do.”

“We as coaches know his unselfishness has earned him the utmost respect from his teammates,” Yearout said. “That’s very apparent.

“We were just talking the other day how nice it is in this day and age to see a young man react the way he has. We were talking about it because he was still helping our sophomore quarterback with some things still coming up on film, which as a coach is all you can ask for. He puts the team ahead of himself.”

Surprisingly enough, the switch from quarterback to receiver has been fairly seamless for Kugler.

“It wasn’t that big of a transition,” Kugler said. “I had always worked with receivers being a quarterback, so I knew all the routes and how to adjust routes based on all the defenses.

“It wasn’t that big of a change in that I knew what was going and what I needed to do to be successful in that position.”

The one aspect of playing receiver Kugler did have to make an adjustment was learning to deliver hits rather than taking them.

“At LC we run the football quite a bit, and a lot of our running game not only relies on the line, but a lot of them bounce outside and require the wide receiver to block downfield,” Kugler said. “I’d never really done that before, so just learning how to get into guys and block was probably the toughest thing.”

“We’ve asked him to do an awful lot in terms of blocking in our quick passing game and our outside running game,” Yearout said. “He’s thrown a lot of key blocks for Matt Henry-Proost.

“For our outside running game, he’s become essential and one of our best blocking wide receivers. It’s an unsung role which he approaches every day with great intensity. He goes hard every single play.”

Kugler’s unselfish play is a big reason the 5-3 Tigers are getting ready to play at Pasco Friday night at 7 p.m. in a play-in playoff game.

“How he responded to this really set the tone for our chemistry for the season, which has been great,” Yearout said. “You always worry about a quarterback issue dividing a team, and he’s the one who made sure that didn’t happen.”