GNL story lines

Seniors dominated the landscape last year, which is why East Valley has to be considered the favorite. The Knights were 1-5 after opening the league with a pair of losses. That’s when coach Adam Fisher promoted a pair of sophomores to the starting lineup, quarterback Taylor Watkins and running back Adam Talley. The Knights proceeded to win their last four league games to make the playoffs. Then they made a run all the way to the state semifinals.

Outlook

Veteran Clarkston coach Dave Curtis said, “You know, I don’t know.”

A word of caution to the Knights: The last couple of years a defending champion (Colville and West Valley) seemed to have the horses to repeat, only to fall flat. Technically Clarkston is the defending champion but it seems like everyone in the league had two losses (OK, three had two and the other three had three, which coaches predict could happen again). “The middle of the pack you can roll the dice,” Fisher said, the same thing Curtis said. If last year was crazy, in 2009, there was a six-way tie, so the only certain thing in the GNL is uncertainty.

Senioritis

Consecutive years of senior-dominated teams and balance are a good thing.

“That’s the sign of pretty strong programs,” DP coach Keith Stamps said. “As coaches, if we don’t have good senior numbers, we get nervous. You sustain a program with juniors and seniors.” Pullman coach Craig McCormick said. “The league graduated a number of dominant players, so the whole league is a real mystery that way, too.”

Quick kicks

The Bantams were the top seed into the playoffs while EV and DP had play-in games. The Knights beat Ellensburg and the Stags fell to Othello. … The official first-round game saw EV knock off Clarkston. The Bantams won the league match. … Talley had 646 yards in four postseason games. … Medical Lake will again play an independent schedule because of safety concerns.

Honors

Not a lot of first-team all-league talent returns and three are on special teams. In addition to Talley as kicker, there’s Cheney punter John Gingrich and kick returner Eric Igbinoba. … The only offensive player back is DP running back Jason Jorgensen, who was also a first-team defensive back. … The only other defensive returnee is Pullman lineman Trevor Edwards. … WV lost Austin Flynn, a first-team all-league wide receiver as a sophomore last year, to University. … Talley was a second-team running back, with Cheney’s Zach Mitchell at receiver and Pullman’s Scott Fleener and WV’s Keith Goulding on the line. … Defense has a number of second-teamers back: Pullman’s Joel Paul on the line; linebackers Dallis Jones of Clarkston, Calvin Bowers of WV and Dylan Miller of DP; and in the secondary, Pullman’s Simon Schaefer, EV’s David Rich and DP’s Dalton Hanson.

1. East Valley

2. Deer Park

3. Cheney

4. West Valley

5. Clarkston

6. Pullman