Game of the week
Naselle @ Wahkiakum, 7 pm, at Wahkiakum High School, CathlametThe Comets will begin their co-league champion title defense on the road against perhaps their biggest rival, Wahkiakum, Friday night. Better known for their basketball tussles — the annual KM Hill Cup game — Naselle will be facing a Mules team coming off a less than tremendous year, finishing 5-4 (they were a dominant 8-2 the previous year).
The Comets on the other hand finished last year 8-1 in the regular season (their only loss coming 0-7 to the other co-league champ Willapa Valley), and 1-1 in the playoffs. Their season ended with a disappointing 0-22 loss to Life Christian Academy after a blowout win at Seattle Lutheran High in week 1 of the playoffs, 42-7.
Good news for the Comets, they are returning almost their entire team from last year. The most notable change is at quarterback where junior Austin Burkhalter will be taking over for his brother Kyle who graduated last year. The Comets will however be without the services of starting running back Tony Fletcher until week three due to academic ineligibility. But according to coach Jeff Eaton, the Comets will not be in short supply at the position this week.
"We won't have a 2,000-yard running back, but I'm hoping we have three or four who gain 700 yards," he said in a recent interview, noting that brothers Nick and John Hines and Logan Scrabeck combine speed with deception and Nate Carlson can also perform at either tailback or fullback.
Ilwaco vs Winlock, 7 pm, Ilwaco High Stadium
The Fishermen begin their season Friday the same way they ended it last year — against the Winlock Cardinals. Ilwaco made easy work of their crossover game opponent last November, winning that game 48-14. That win helped the Fishermen finish their season on a high note, with a record of 3-7.
This year the Fishermen are talking about a change of team attitude, and have a team goal of reaching at least a .500 record this year. It'll be a tough chore, as their out of conference schedule (@ S. Bend, vs. Naselle, @ Evergreen Lutheran) is just about as tough as their conference games (@ Kalama, @ Columbia). But a good way to start would be to take care of business in week one at home against the Cards.
"Winning half of our games will be a lofty goal and being in the chase for a league championship is unrealistic for this year, but I am pleased with how hard the guys are working," said coach Kevin McNulty in a preseason interview. "We have 36 players who are dedicated to being a better football team."
The Fishermen offense is an area of change for the team. Gone is Eddie Knick's 4,000-plus career yards at running back, and as of week two of practice McNulty was having up to four different quarterbacks taking snaps.
"Rey Sanchez can really flick the football and can play running back," said the coach. " Justin Short has the most experience and is very athletic and can be a wide-receiver. And David Sinor is a transfer student who can also be a wide-receiver. Those three guys and freshman Matthew Wood have all taken snaps at quarterback."
As for the running backs, McNulty has a handful who he thinks can be a handful for opposing defenses. Stephen Hilton (who missed most of last season with an injury), Terry Elliott (a transfer student), Trevor Couch and Zach DeSimone will all see time at tailback.
"I'm hoping to run the football 60 percent of the time and pass 40 percent," said McNulty.
"Winning half of our games will be a lofty goal and being in the chase for a league championship is unrealistic for this year, but I am pleased with how hard the guys are working," said coach Kevin McNulty in a preseason interview. "We have 36 players who are dedicated to being a better football team."
The Fishermen offense is an area of change for the team. Gone is Eddie Knick's 4,000-plus career yards at running back, and as of week two of practice McNulty was having up to four different quarterbacks taking snaps.
"Rey Sanchez can really flick the football and can play running back," said the coach. " Justin Short has the most experience and is very athletic and can be a wide-receiver. And David Sinor is a transfer student who can also be a wide-receiver. Those three guys and freshman Matthew Wood have all taken snaps at quarterback."
As for the running backs, McNulty has a handful who he thinks can be a handful for opposing defenses. Stephen Hilton (who missed most of last season with an injury), Terry Elliott (a transfer student), Trevor Couch and Zach DeSimone will all see time at tailback.
"I'm hoping to run the football 60 percent of the time and pass 40 percent," said McNulty.
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