Prep football season promises to have a different feel on the North Olympic Peninsula this fall.
With four new head coaches, seven of nine schools in newly constituted leagues and two moving down a classification, the area gridiron landscape will be quite different in 2010.
Perhaps no shift is more dramatic than the one experienced in Port Angeles.
The Roughriders not only welcomed their third new head coach (Tom Wahl) in as many years when camp began Wednesday, they also began a new era as a Class 2A institution.
Just five years ago, the Riders were a 4A team competing in the hyper-competitive Narrows League.
Now they are playing in the same league as archrival Sequim (Olympic League), something that hasn’t happened in years.
Of course, the Riders’ new situation is just the beginning.
Sequim will compete in its fourth different league in five seasons, meaning the road to a seventh straight playoff trip will have a different tenor once again.
That, of course, includes an end-of-season game at rival Port Angeles that could have more on the line than just bragging rights.
“That should spice things up even more,” said Sequim coach Erik Wiker, whose teams are 27-0 in October during his six years in the Dungeness Valley.
Like the Riders, Quilcene also moved down a classification to 1B and re-joined old rivals Clallam Bay, Neah Bay and Crescent as an eight-man team in the newly formed Northwest Football League.
The new alignment will include nine teams, with Muckleshoot, Evergreen Lutheran, Lummi, Highland Christian and Lopez also competing for four playoff spots.
Forks begins the season with its third head coach in five years.
Former NFL lineman Andrew Peterson took the reins last week after Ron Hurn abruptly resigned because of scheduling conflicts with his new job.
Port Townsend will also have a new coach leading its program, with Tom Webster beginning what promises to be a long year for him.
The four-year defensive coordinator is also the Redskins’ head boys basketball and baseball coach.
Chimacum head coach Shawn Meacham, meanwhile, is looking to guide the Cowboys to their first playoff berth in five years.
The PDN will release its annual football preview the same day the season begins, Sept. 3.
Here are some preview capsules to tide you over until then:
2A Port Angeles
• League: Olympic
• Coach: Tom Wahl (first year)
• Last year: 0-7 in Olympic/Cascade League (eighth), 0-10 overall; missed playoffs
• First game: Sept. 3 at Chief Sealth
• Team story line: New coach Tom Wahl promised to bring pride back to the program, no easy task considering its recent history.
The Riders haven’t won a game since October 2008, and just finished off their worst decade (29-67) in school history.
With a new offense (spread shotgun), new coach and new league the Riders promise to have a different look this fall.
Wahl hopes that will translate into some wins.
2A Sequim
• League: Olympic
• Coach: Erik Wiker (seventh year, 53-14 overall)
• Last year: 7-0 in Nisqually/Olympic League (first), 10-2 overall; 1-1 in 2A state playoffs.
• First game: Sept. 3 at Forks
• Team story line: The Wolves’ ability to reload will truly be tested this fall.
A total of 13 seniors — including four of five offensive linemen — are gone from a team that won the school’s first state playoff game last year.
The team isn’t entirely without weapons, however, with prolific quarterback Drew Rickerson returning as well as disruptive defensive presences Isaac Yamamoto and Frank Catelli.
Whether that will be enough to keep the Wolves’ string of six straight playoff appearances alive is anyone’s guess, especially given the unknown that is the Olympic League.
1A Port Townsend
• League: 1A Nisqually
• Coach: Tom Webster (first year)
• Last year: 5-2 in 1A Nisqually League (tied for second), 7-4 overall; eliminated in preliminary state playoffs
• First game: Sept. 3 at Coupeville
• Team story line: After “raising the bar” the past two years, new coach Tom Webster gets to start over.
Star quarterback Eric Thomas and wide receiver Cameron Robinson departed last spring, along with 11 other seniors.
Making things even more difficult for Webster: The Redskins didn’t field a junior varsity team last year or a middle school squad the past two.
1A Chimacum
• League: 1A Nisqually
• Coach: Shawn Meacham (second year, 5-5 overall)
• Last year: 3-4 in 1A Nisqually League (tied for fifth), 5-5 overall; missed playoffs
• First game: Sept. 3 at Kingston
• Team story line: The Cowboys turned some heads in Shawn Meacham’s first season.
After winning just two games between 2007-08, the Cowboys came within a win of the playoffs.
With several key players returning this fall, including top passer Mason Moug and leading rushers Austin McConnell and Devin Manix, another step forward looks possible.
1A Forks
• League: SWL-Evergreen Division
• Coach: Andrew Peterson (first year)
• Last year: 4-3 in Evergreen (fourth), 5-4 overall; missed playoffs
• First game: Sept. 3 vs. Sequim
• Team story line: A sudden coaching change means the Spartans will have a different head coach for the third time in five years.
Peterson is no stranger to Forks, however, having served as an assistant coach in recent seasons.
While several key players from 2009 are no longer around — including leading tacklers Colby Gagnon and Fernando Hernandez — the Spartans do bring back top runner Luke Brown.
1B Quilcene
• League: Northwest Football League
• Coach: Alan Reimann (third year, 0-6 overall)
• Last year: Did not field a varsity team
• First game: Sept. 10 at Highland Christian
• Getting started: Not only are the Rangers re-entering varsity play, but they are also doing so as an eight-man squad.
The drop to 1B could be a boon for a program that hasn’t produced a varsity win since 2007.
Adding former NOL rivals Clallam Bay, Neah Bay and Crescent to the schedule should produce some excitement.
1B Crescent
• League: Northwest Football League
• Coach: Tim Rooney (fifth year, 14-27 overall)
• Last year: 3-2 in North (third), 7-4 overall; eliminated in state preliminary playoffs
• First game: Sept. 11 vs. Clallam Bay
• Team story line: Time for Tim Rooney’s Loggers to reload.
Most of the leading contributors from last year’s playoff team have departed, including record-breaking runner Dylen Heaward.
With just one senior on the roster, the Loggers will be young.
1B Neah Bay
• League: Northwest Football League
• Coach: Tony McCaulley (third year, 20-5 overall)
• Last year: 5-0 in North (first), 12-1 overall; 1-1 in 1B state playoffs
• First game: Sept. 3 at Lummi
• Team story line: The Red Devils have done a lot of winning in the Tony McCaulley era.
With eight seniors graduating from last year’s state semifinal team, they will have to do so with a relatively young group.
“I think we’re going to be just fine,” McCaulley said. “We did lose quite a few seniors last year, but I have some experienced freshmen and some good seniors coming back.”
1B Clallam Bay
• League: Northwest Football League
• Coach: Cal Ritter (first year)
• Last year: 0-5 in North (fifth), 0-7 overall; missed playoffs
• First game: Sept. 11 at Crescent
• Team story line: The once-proud Bruins football program has fallen on hard times in recent years.
Low numbers led to a 1-15 showing during the past two years.
It will be up to new head coach Cal Ritter, also the boys basketball coach, to turn it around.
