GOOD THINGS ARE happening in Port Townsend.
So far this season, the football team has a 28-13 win over 2A Granite Falls and a 41-0 drubbing of Coupeville.
That’s only two games, but it was evident at the Coupeville game at Memorial Field that the Redskins have taken a huge step since last season.
They’re bigger, stronger, faster, more experienced and better.
The expectations are higher, too.
Last year, Port Townsend was coming off two consecutive winless seasons, so every win was a step in the right direction. Even some of the losses were signs of improvement.
This season, the Redskins should compete with Eatonville and Cascade Christian for the Nisqually League Division 1 title. Port Townsend has the have the fortune of facing both at home, Eatonville on Saturday night and Cascade Christian next month.
Perhaps the best example of the heightened expectations came after a 24-yard run by Coupeville’s fill-in quarterback Josh Bayne midway through the second quarter, Port Townsend already holding a 21-0 lead.
As the Redskins’ bench shifted down the sideline nearer to where the ball was, three Port Townsend cheerleaders said in succession to the passing players, “Tighten up that defense.”
Part of the Redskins’ transformation from league doormats to contenders has come from a combination of nature and hard work.
During the preseason, coach Nick Snyder raved about the time that most of his players spent in the weight room since the end of the 2012 season.
They look stronger and more athletic this year, but they’re also taller, which is what happens when a sophomore- and junior-laden team grows into a one filled with juniors and seniors.
Those upperclassmen are motivated by the winless 2010 and 2011 seasons.
“You got seven seniors out here that have been through with each other thick and thin, and it’s just our chemistry, it brings it to another level when you play,” senior quarterback Jacob King said after Friday’s win over Coupeville.
But the Redskins are more than a motivated bunch relying on heart and out-working their opponents.
They’re loaded with talent.
King, Matt Cain and Tim Russell are so effective running the ball in Port Townsend’s Wing-T offense, that there aren’t many touches available for other skilled players like Skyler Coppenrath, Liam Anderson and David Sua.
There’s more talent on the way, too, as a pair of potential starters Layne Zack and Wesley Wheeler have yet to even play this year.
Those players operate behind an offensive line seems significantly bigger than in 2012.
In two games, the Redskins have run for 855 yards and averaged 10.8 yard per carry.
King has 308 yards rushing and six touchdowns, Russell has 202 yards and Cain has 185.
On defense, Coppenrath leads a relentless pass rush that includes Tyler Manthe, Colby Martin, Keegan Khile and Alex Reierson.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-4173525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
