Last Day to Get Full Season Picks on Betty Spooner’s CFB Pick’em Pool -- 09/02/2010, 10:47 am

With the college season a-l-m-o-s-t ready to start, today is probably the last day to sign up for the Betty Spooner School of THE Dance college football pick’em contest on ESPN.com.  It’s fun, easy, simple & free.

2010 Slate in Brief -- 09/02/2010, 9:30 am

Without looking past Mount Baker at all, here’s a brief look at the rest of the teams on the 2010 schedule in scheduled order.  It’s looking like a pretty tough slog ahead, five straight road games, playing an unfamiliar team picked to win their 2A league, and a familiar foe postured as elite and confident program.  Regardless, could be worse, right?

Sequim – Sat., Sept. 11 at Sequim

For a long time, Sequim football was a non-factor in the state beyond Sequim.  In Class 3A and its antecedent AA, Sequim made just one state playoff appearance in 1978, and lost.

In last 5 years or so, Sequim has come on.  They’ve made the 2A playoffs for the past 4 years, and last year won their first ever playoff game, 34-32 over a very good Burlington-Edison team.  The Wolves then lost 31-0 to Lynden in the quarters.  This year, Sequim is picked to finish first in the Olympic League.

And they say the Olympic League football race is between two teams: Sequim and North Kitsap. At least that was the result of voting Wednesday in the Olympic League coaches poll.

The Wolves have won league titles in five of the last six years. North Kitsap, one of the more consistent football programs in the county, is dropping down from Class 3A to 2A.

That was enough to convince league coaches those two are the favorites. Sequim edged NK by four points. North Mason and Olympic, if the coaches are correct, will take the third and fourth playoff spots. Bremerton, is the league’s lone Class 3A team.

Friday Harbor – At FH on Sept. 17, at Meridian Oct. 8

Not much to find online about the Wolverines yet.  They went 3-7 last year.

Lynden Christian – At LC Sept. 24, at Meridian Oct. 15

The word has been in the preseason that numbers at LC, Meridian, and Nooksack have all been down this year.  Once again, we’ll rely on Joe Sunnen’s practice visit.

Even after finishing last season with a 3-7 record Lynden Christian coach Dan Kaemingk found plenty to cheer about. For starters he couldn’t have been more pleased with the Lyncs’ effort late in the season after enduring more injuries and tough luck than he can remember during his 20 years of coaching.

Three days into fall practice, and following a productive summer, Kaemingk has found even more reasons to be optimistic about the Lyncs this season. After losing several key players it might be easy for Lynden Christian to head into 2010 with modest expectations, but after talking with Kaemingk on Friday, Aug. 20, it’s clear the Lyncs have other plans.

“We have a real nice group,” Kaemingk said. “I think we’re going to get real good leadership out of this senior class so we’re excited about that. We return a fair number of kids who played quite a bit last year so we’re excited about that. We’ve had a real good time with these kids.”

One the biggest changes will be at quarterback where Joey Spoelstra takes over for graduated three-year starter Daniel Ten Broek. Spoelstra hasn’t played quarterback since middle school, but Kaemingk thinks he can handle the new position. And if you’re looking for someone to cheer for on Friday nights, there might not be a better candidate than Spoelstra.

The move of Spoelstra from TE to QB is a big one.  Spoelstra is among the 3-4 best athletes in the conference.  Does the move to QB limit his ability to make things happen in space, or does having the ball in his hands every play maximize Spoelstra’s overall athleticism?

In non-league, LC has Sehome and Lakewood.

Nooksack – At NV Oct. 1, at Meridian Oct. 22

As the team of the new decade, Nooksack has gone 20-5 in the last two years and bows only to Lynden in the NWC.

Here’s a Northwest Conference football pop quiz question for you: Can you name the team with second most wins over the last two seasons?

The answer might surprise you.

Few teams in the NWC have enjoyed a more successful run over the last two years than Nooksack Valley. And by few I mean just one and that’s Lynden which has won back-to-back Class 2A state titles.

The Pioneers have gone 20-5 over the last two seasons. They reached the Class 1A state quarterfinals in 2008 and followed that up with a trip to the Tacoma Dome and the state semifinals last season. There’s no doubt it was a special stretch for Nooksack Valley and its fans.

The Pioneers return all their skill guys, save the fullback and wide receiver who graduated.  But, all but one of their linemen have turned over.  Big deal?  Perhaps, as some have called the 2009 NV line the best 1A squad in the state last year.

Still, Pioneer coach Rob Myrhe told KPUG this week that they have kids that have “been there before.”

“We want those kids to think of themselves as as an elite program, and we want kids coming into our program… to only remember that we are one of those elite programs.  We want them to think like that and to act like that in practice and perform like that.”

In non-league, Nooksack plays #2 ranked Cascade Christian this Saturday in Seattle, and LaConner the following week.

Know Thy Opponent: Mount Baker -- 09/02/2010, 7:56 am

Ah, the seal has broken.  Let the rich nectar of the 2010 season pour forth.

With no 2010 film to watch and our last first hand experience against them 5 years ago, we don’t know as much about these Mt. Baker Mountaineers as one would want to know.  In 2009, the Mounties finished 5-5, losing to Archbishop Murphy 28-0 in the District 1 state qualifier game.  They swept the 2A Bellingham schools, but lost by 3 points to Nooksack, and a combined 7-77 deficit in losses to Blaine and Lynden.  Baker started last season offensively in Twins and two-back looks, but through the course of the season showed more and more of their more accustomed Wing’ed-T.

What we do know is that Baker returns two key seniors, QB Zak Lepper and WR Logan Packard, which leads one to believe that they are going to stretch the field with vertical passing.  Packard is the defending state 2A 110m AND 300m hurdles champion.  This Packard runs better than any other you might see in a Barrett-Jackson auction.  Lepper’s passing stats last year weren’t stellar—80 of 186 for 880 yds., 6TDs and 14INTs—but he’ll be a year older.  Between those talents at hand and the fact that Baker’s three leading rushers from last year all graduated, seems that we can expect the Mountaineers to throw the ball substantially more than, say, the 1997 team that threw less than 4 times a game.

Doug Pacey checked in at Baker practices on Aug. 21, the team’s first day in pads.

“One thing we’ve really tried to emphasize is being a whole team,” senior Logan Packard said. “It’s kind of a family sort of thing. Last year there were times when we weren’t really all together and that held us back a little bit. This year it’s a completely different thing. We’re all working to pick up the freshman and sophomores and let them know that they are part of this team.”

Not only is that a good thing to hear, but it also sounds like the Mountaineers are going to need some younger players to play big roles and contribute this season.

Mount Baker returns a nice mix of skill players and linemen, but there are still some holes to fill. The Mountaineers strapped on the pads for the first time this season on Saturday, Aug. 21 and after the morning practice I talked with coach Ron Lepper about the team.

“We have a couple of starters back on offense and a couple back on defense,” Lepper said. “We’re young and don’t have a lot of varsity experience in some areas so we have to kind of grow up in a hurry.”

“I can remember when I was a freshman and I always felt a little ostracized,” senior Zak Lepper said. “We don’t want that to happen with this group. We want this to be a team. We want everyone to have fun and be excited to be out here. We want them to feel like they are a part of something.”

To that end the group has already done a number of team related activities such as a recent trip to the lake and a trip to a Wenatchee AppleSox game while they were away at summer camp.

It hasn’t been an easy road to the playoffs for Baker since we parted ways with them in 2006, they heading to 2A and we to 1A.  From the beginning, Baker has been among the smallest schools 2A, and the 2010-2012 realignment made it official, with Baker as THE smallest 2A school.  Furthermore, sitting in the NWC 2A and District 1 2A puts Lynden, Burlington, Archbishop Murphy, and the occasional Blaine, Bellingham and Anacortes in the way of reaching the round of 16 state playoffs.  If a NWC 2A team finishes as the bottom seed, congratulations, you get to play Cascade #1 Archbishop Murphy in the state qualifier game.  All that to say, don’t read too much into a lack of 2A playoff action for Baker.

Since 1974, Meridian leads the series 28-20 against Mt. Baker.

Something new for this year, I’m going to pick a song for game preview posts and such.  This week, the Supersuckers, “Supersuckers Drive By Blues”

Spokesman-Review Looks at Andrei Lintz -- 08/30/2010, 10:49 pm

The Spokesman-Review profiles Meridian alumnus and current WSU Cougar tight-end Andrei Lintz prior to the season opener.

Given that only 189 miles separates Tallin, Estonia and St. Petersburg, Russia, college football coaches might want to start making stops at both on recruiting trips.

You never know when you might find the next Michael Roos or Andrei Lintz.

Lintz, 6-5, 247 pounds, was born in St. Petersburg, but emigrated with his mother and brother when he was 6. He came to Pullman from Meridian High in Bellingham, where he first starred on the soccer pitch and basketball court before earning all-state honors as a senior punter and defensive end. He also played tight end at Meridian, the position he’s played all three years at WSU.

And he knows who Roos is.

“When they recruited me, (the coaches) were like, ‘oh ya, Michael Roos,’ “ Lintz said. “He makes the most money, I think, of any left tackle in the NFL.”

Hands Across The Water—Pizzas for Peace -- 08/30/2010, 10:13 am

In this heartwarming tale of ecumenism, Kathryn shares this story of how one Nooksack player’s quest for fundraising ended in a demonstration of familial unity with a Meridian coach.

Apparently, Matt [Judy, nephew of Bob & Pam Ames] was supposed to sell 35 of these fundraiser cards and didn’t sell any… But I guess a [Nooksack] coach said that if he sold ONE to my dad, he was totally off the hook… Dad says that Matt has to let us score just one touchdown on Nooksack in return. I’m just stoked about the free Papa Murphys pizza :)

Really, short of Dutch Mothers Bakery opening a new location at the corner of Laurel & Old Guide, what could be a more poignant sign of peace amid the internecine conflict that typically defines Whatcom County football?

TNT Picks Trojans #7 in Preseason Poll -- 08/30/2010, 9:59 am

In the TNT’s annual preseason rankings, the humble and soon to be humbled Trojans are picked #7.

CLASS 1A
1. Connell
2. Cascade Christian
3. King’s
4. Chelan
5. Montesano
6. Cashmere
7. Meridian
8. Royal
9. Nooksack Valley
10. Onalaska

Read more: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/preps/2010/08/29/football-2010-preseason-top-10-rankings/#ixzz0y6qYSpZn

The Fair Must Go On -- 08/27/2010, 9:30 pm

A new photo gallery posted of two-a-days.  This year’s version of the County Fair festival o’ fun featured fresh functions.

Herald Takes the Macro Lens to Practice, Somehow Makes Raptor Bait Look Large -- 08/27/2010, 11:40 am

This is a few days old now, but I’m freshly back from a quick vacation.  Joe Sunnen made it out to the Fields of Troy to check in on the few players not yet borne off on wings of rapacious raptors.

“I’ve been worried about the raptors and turkey vultures circling overhead,” Ames said. “I’m afraid they’re going to steal some more of our players. We already thought we lost two linemen. Then we got a call the other day after someone spotted two children in a nest in Chilliwack, B.C. It turned out those were our guys.”

College Football Pick ‘Em Group on ESPN.com -- 08/19/2010, 3:09 pm

If you feel like playing a fun & easy weekly college football pick ‘em game, join my group on ESPN.com, “Betty Spooner’s School of THE Dance.”  Each week, you pick the winners of 10 games and then rank each one, 1 to 10, on your “certainty” of the outcome.

Five Questions for the NWC -- 08/18/2010, 9:36 am

Joe Sunnen at the Herald opens up the papers 2010 coverage with a Five Questions article.  Our opener with Mount Baker gets a nod as one of the two best local games of Week One.  But Joe also gets the award for the first Fredo’s Kiss of the season:

1. CAN THE NORTHWEST CONFERENCE KEEP ITS CHAMPIONSHIP STREAK INTACT?

It’s pretty amazing when you stop to think about it, but at least one team from NWC has played for a state championship in each of the past 10 seasons. The only time that list didn’t include a team from Whatcom County was in 2007 when Burlington-Edison reached the 2A title game.

So which team from the area is going to play for the ultimate prize this season, or does the dominance come to end?

Nobody likes to have a target put on them before the season begins, but if you have to pick one team from Whatcom County that has a real shot at a title this year it’s likely Bob Ames’ Lilliputians from Laurel.

I knew it was you, Joe. You broke my heart.

I know it was you, Joe. You broke my heart!

Some unfortunate injuries late in the season made things tough on Meridian last year, and it lost in the first round of the Class 1A State Tournament.

Now much of that group is back and they are a talented bunch. It always takes a little bit of luck to win a state title, but it also takes a lot of ability, and Meridian looks to have that coming into the season.