Revamped Saxons don’t miss step

Jared Karstetter caught a touchdown pass in his sophomore varsity football debut last year during the Emerald City Kickoff Classic in Seattle’s Qwest Field. Although playing regularly all season, he didn’t have another TD, deferring to senior teammates.

Those seniors, who produced 83 percent of Ferris’ scoring, are gone. As a result, expectations were few – except among the Saxons – that they would contend again this year.

Jog down the roster and notice that as many as 17 players this year are juniors or younger, including three more sophomores. Look further and see that the staff has changed. New head coach Jim Sharkey and seven new assistants join six holdovers.

Among changes are three new defensive coaches: James Fisher, who assisted when Pat Pfeifer coached Ferris from 1984-94, and former Washington State University players Matt Elisara and Paul Sorensen (Sorensen was previously at Lewis and Clark).

With key players graduated and a new staff in place it might have been reasoned there would be a transition period.

At first blush, however, nothing appears changed. The Ferris Saxons, who went 15-5 over the past two football seasons, are off to a 4-0 start, including a 24-17 overtime win over East Valley in the second week of the season after trailing 10-0 at the half.

Eight players who saw action last year, four as sophomores, haven’t missed a beat. One of them, Karstetter, has already doubled his catch total (26), tripled his yardage (344) and has five touchdowns.

Were players or coaches surprised that Ferris, though picked to finish eighth in league, would have continued success?

“Yes and no,” said Sharkey, who came to Ferris from Battle Ground. “I figured we’d be competitive and coming back against EV was important. After that the kids gained confidence.”

“No one knew what to expect,” Karstetter admitted. “But we knew we’d be pretty good. We still had good position players back.”

Sharkey couldn’t say what impact, if any, his arrival has made. Karstetter said “Either way I think it would have worked out.”

Assistant coach Gary Van Velson, a member of three Ferris staffs, including Sharkey’s predecessors, Pfeifer and Clarence Hough, offers a perspective.

“The thing I’ve seen is a continual building on the past,” he said. “It hasn’t had to be the rebuilding of a program. We’ve been able to add on.”

Sharkey, he said, brings new energy, enthusiasm and perspective which can be an asset to any sport.

“Things were in place for Clarence from Pat and things were well in place with Clarence,” Van Velson said. “It made Jim’s transition easier than he thought.”

An added emphasis in the weight room and conditioning didn’t hurt, said Ferris activities coordinator Mike Syron, who has continued to serve as a freshman coach. He also pointed out that more players are being asked to go both ways.

“Every kid in the program learns offense and defense,” he said. “I think that’s huge.”

Sharkey said the main ingredient in Ferris’ early success, including the comeback win over EV and third straight victory over rival Lewis and Clark, is the athleticism of its young players. He said that, unlike at Battle Ground, he has a lineup of filled with kids who have speed.

“When you have very athletic kids who can run, it can keep you in games,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of kids who will wow you on a college level, but overall, the team speed is pretty good.”

Ferris’ line, which was expected to be a question mark, has been strong on both sides of the ball. And players like Pat Parham, linebacker Erick Cheadle and two-way star McKenzie Murphy on defense have stood out.

“Once again, they’re pretty quick,” said Sharkey. “We put them in motion a lot and they make some plays.”

In hindsight, it should have come as no surprise that Ferris is contending again.