Joey Copeland plays smart, hard for EVHS

Adam Fisher breaks into a smile when he talks about East Valley senior lineman Joey Copeland.

“This is my 13th year here, so I’ve had quite a few young men come through,” the East Valley head football coach said. “He’s one of the top three kids to come through our program.

“Don’t get me wrong – we’ve had more talented football players come through, but Joey is one of those kids who gets the max out of his talent, he absolutely gets what we’re doing, he asks questions if he doesn’t understand and he uses his skills to be a leader. He’s not the biggest, he’s not the strongest, he’s not the fastest guy out there, but he’s a guy you can count on to get the job done.”

Copeland started his sophomore season on the East Valley junior varsity, but by the end of the regular season he was in the lineup, filling in for injured starters as the Knights bounced back from five losses in their first six games to march to the state Class 2A semifinals.

“That season was really special,” Copeland said. “It was fun – it was what I like to call ‘smash mouth football.’ Everyone knew we were going to just line up and run the football and they still could not stop us. We had so much confidence: We knew going into every game that we were going to win. I’m glad I could be a part of that finish.”

It’s a finish he wants to help his teammates replicate this year.

Yes, he says. The situation is different this year. But the lessons learned in 2010 can be applied now.

In 2010, the Knights started off playing error-prone football and the season turned when Fisher made wholesale changes, installing sophomores as starters at quarterback and running back and making a number of personnel changes.

This year the changes to the East Valley lineup have been necessary for different reasons. Senior quarterback Taylor Watkins, who stepped in as a sophomore to lead the team to the state semifinals, is out with a knee injury. Starting tailback Adam Talley, who ran for almost 250 yards in the first two games of the season, left the team.

The running game still piles up yards and wide receiver J.T. Phelan moved from wide receiver to take over as starting quarterback.

“This year we got off to a really good start,” he said. “We just hit a rough spot to lose our last two games, including that heartbreaker last week against West Valley. What we learned as sophomores is that as long as there’s a chance, there’s hope. We need some help from West Valley now, but we can still get into the playoffs. Once you get in, anything can happen.

“I have a lot of confidence in the guys who’ve stepped in. J.T. was the starter quarterback on the JV when I was a sophomore and he’s done a great job. What I’ve learned is that, no matter who’s in the lineup, you have to do your job. If you don’t do your own job, it doesn’t matter who’s in there with you.”

This week’s challenge is to shake off the loss last week to rival West Valley. The Eagles kicked a 19-yard field goal as time expired to take a 30-27 victory at East Valley.

“That was such a fun game to be a part of,” Copeland said. “Yes, it hurts to lose a game like that, but I am proud to have been able to contribute to such an exciting game.

“It takes me a while to get over a loss, especially a loss like that one. Usually, it takes me the whole weekend to get to a place where I can put it behind me and put all my focus on our next game. You want to make sure it’s behind you by the time you get to practice on Monday and are with your teammates. Especially if you’re a senior and a leader.”

This week that focus has been on Pullman, a team riding a four-game winning streak into Friday night’s game on the Palouse.

To reach the playoffs, East Valley needed to beat the Greyhounds Friday night and have West Valley do the same at home against Pullman in the regular season finale.

“It’s a little strange suddenly finding yourself rooting for West Valley,” Copeland said with a laugh. “But they are our neighbors and we have a lot of respect for them.”

Monday starts the final week of the regular season, and Copeland said he’s looking forward to an emotional game with Deer Park.

“No matter what happens with the playoffs, this is going to be the last game for the seniors on our home field,” he said. “If we get into the playoffs, we won’t be playing a home game, so this is it – our last home game – and we want to make it a memorable finish.

“While I think it would be a lot of fun to go on and play football in college, I’m pretty sure this is going to be the end of my football career and I want to finish it by going as far as we can in the playoffs. I’m feeling that sense of urgency that comes with my career coming to an end. I think all of the seniors are feeling that right now.”

Fisher already has ranked Copeland’s career as a complete football player among the top three Knights to play under his tenure as head coach, ranking him with former fullback and linebacker Ross Brunelle, who currently coaches linebackers at Trinity University in San Antonio and former lineman Nate Guthrie, who is now playing his senior season as a starting offensive lineman at Whitworth University.

“He’s not just a complete football player, he’s a complete human being,” Fisher said. “His parents did a remarkable job raising him.”

 Copeland, himself, is quick to credit his parents and his coaches for his success.

“I’m just grateful to my parents and to the coaches who have worked with me,” he said. “I owe them all so much.”