In the coming weeks...

     Things have been really going well with this blog over the last few weeks. New opportunities continue to come my way and it is all very exciting to me. I have nobody to thank more than the players and coaches. From the players responding on Twitter to the coaches that are always very open with me about their team. In all honesty, this is just a blog and no player or coach really has a reason to respond to me. This is all very cool because in the end, I am still a fan.

     In this blog post I will layout a few things I have planned for the coming month before the first games of the season. I have a few ideas I want to toss out there with hopes of a few players and/or coaches joining in.

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Passing Leagues:

     In the next month or so a few teams around the state will begin hosting 7-on-7 type passing leagues. This information is hard for me to find as I basically rely on you guys to inform me. Some teams will have it on their website within a calender and if I have the time, I will sometimes go searching. Frankly, I don't have time to be doing a lot of that and need some help. I contacted coach Dave Miller of Lakes High School and he was very helpful with information of the Lakes Passing League at the end of this month. I hope to attend as many games as possible, but I can't guarantee I will be able to attend any.

     If you or your sons school is playing in a passing league, I want to know about it. You can contact me through email at Ringerland@gmail.com or on Twitter @HSFootballWA. Either way, I need to know. If you can just tell me who the school hosting the league is, I can typically do the rest. I just need to know which coach I need to get in tough with.

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Fall Camps:

     When fall camps open on August 15th, I want to be there. I would like to attend as many practices as possible and preview your school. If you are a coach, please contact me with your schedule and we can set something up. I would like to talk to the head coach for just a few minutes in person before or after the practice to get a few quotes to use here for the blog. I would obviously like to talk to any players the coach feels deserves recognition before the upcoming season. It is all up to the coach how I go about writing my preview of their team. I know what can and can't be said in terms of a preview. It is one thing to say "They will be using a 4-3 defense", it is another to go into schemes and philosophies. When we talk for a few minutes you can tell anything you want, just make sure to tell me if you don't want something posted here. I have coached football and understand how coaches heads work and would never do anything to potentially break the trust of a coach.

     If you are a player and you read/like my blog, it is simple. Pass it along to your coach. Let him know that you would like to get me out to see your team before the season starts. Do that and let me know, I will put you in the preview of your school.

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Trinity Trojans @ Bellevue Wolverines:

     August 30th can't get here soon enough, but before it does, I would like to do a big preview of the game. The Bellevue side is not that tough for me as I am very familiar with the team and have the ability to get more info if needed. The Trinity Trojans are a bit of an unknown to me though. I have noticed recently that I have gained a few followers on Twitter that are from Texas. You are the people I am going to rely on here. If there is a writer from a newspaper that does a great job covering the Trojans, I want to know. If there is a sports radio station that would be able to help me, I want to know. Who are the players I need to ask about? Who are the coaches I should contact? What are any tidbits about the team I should know? Other than the dance they do. The game is less than two months away and I plan on beginning to put the bulk of my post together in the next few weeks.

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Season Prediction Game:

     I will admit right now, prediction games is not my specialty. Sure it is easy to pick the Bellevue game each week. I can even tell you I would've correctly picked Skyline every game last year, except for Eastlake. When I did make game predictions last year, I WAS HORRIBLE! Almost a jinx for teams.I picked Juanita, Inglemoor ripped them apart. I picked Kennedy Catholic, Archbishop Murphy dominated them, even had the QB's mom record me on her video camera at the game admitting I was wrong.

     My plan for a prediction game is fairly simple. I would like to get 5-6 players willing to play along. Each week I will send an email with the 4 games of the week from leagues we all know, SPSL, KingCo, Metro, ect. I will also send out one random game each week from a league almost none of us know, 1B Northeast (8man football), 1A Caribou Trail, 2A Great Northern. One game each week will most likely be a guess, even for me. I will keep weekly standings and hopefully even allow the readers to get involved by sending in their picks.

     As far as players I am looking for. I would like to get 1 from each of these general areas. 1 from each of these areas, KingCo, Metro, Wesco, Narrows and 2 from the SPSL. Now for instance, when I say Wesco, that doesn't mean the kid needs to play in Wesco. I want him to be from that area. I would be more than happy to say get Billy Green from King's High School in north Seattle to join this game. I use the big conferences as a guide more than anything. I would like for the players to be 2013 graduates, aka. Seniors, but it is not completely necessary. This is only because I would like to use new players each season. Would I like high profile names? Of course. That doesn't mean I will only pick the high profile players though.

     If you would like to join, send me an email or talk to me via Twitter. This is a way to get your name out there as I will profile the players helping me with the game.

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College Recruiting:

     In the last few weeks I have been contacting a few college coaches attempting to secure an interview for my blog. It is a much tougher process than you may think. More often than not, I have to talk to about 10 different people before finally getting to hear anything from the coach himself. I have secured one interview and will be doing that in the next week or so. The general idea is to give these coaches a platform to speak to the players in our area about their school. I have 8-10 questions about the school, program and coach himself that I feel are good questions to help a player gauge his interest in that particular school. If you have a school you think should be part of that, let me know. I am always willing to at least consider any school, at any level and anywhere.

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Player Interviews:

     Last week I spoke with Kahlil Dawson from Graham-Kapowsin and received some great feedback from the readers. I would like to do more of these, but obviously have very limited resources. Some players can be very tough to get in contact with. I get very luck when it comes to finding players on Twitter. Sometimes I will go through one players followers in search of names I might recognize as football players. Other times I get lucky and they find me. I think one player a week is a very realistic goal. Now it is just a matter of finding the players I want.

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     Thank you for reading my blog. If you know a player that you think deserves more recognition, send me an email about them. Links to articles, highlight videos, stats are all very good starts for me. From there I will do the research I need to give that player the recognition he deserves. The best email I ever received to help promote a player had links, stories and even a coaches quote. It was very well presented and after a seeing that player, it led to me wanting to interview him, which I will be doing soon. There is no such thing as too much information on a player.

     The best way for me to grow this blog is by word of mouth. Please to pass the link along and retweet the links on Twitter as much as possible. A retweet takes about 3 seconds to do. I could name about 30 useless things I do a day that are longer than that.

5 Minutes With Graham-Kapowsin WR/DB, Kahlil Dawson

     Having never seen Kahlil Dawson live, I was very excited when I noticed he was in attendance during the WR/DB session at the Northwest Stars Camp. You can watch all the highlight videos available, but getting to see that player live is what really counts. After watching Dawson dominate the 1-on-1 portion of the session, I knew I needed to speak with him. When the session was over he had 3-4 other guys around him so I decided to contact him via twitter to see if he wanted to do a quick interview. He was more than happy to talk and this is what he had to say.


HSFootballWA: You had a very nice day yesterday. What did the coaches have to say to you afterwards?

Kahlil Dawson: All the coaches said I had a pretty good day. They told me the things I needed to work and improve on and the things that I am pretty good at already. A lot of the coaches said they are interested in me and hopefully I will get more offers based on my performance yesterday.

HSFootballWA: I would assume those coaches are looking at you as a DB more than a WR?

Kahlil Dawson: It is a mixture. Most of the coaches, since my size, they are looking at me as a DB. A lot of people see me as a versatile athlete so they could use me in the slot or the return game. Most are as a DB.

HSFootballWA: In January, you were invited to the U.S. Army All-American Combine in San Antonio, Texas. What was that experience like?

Kahlil Dawson: That was a great experience because I got to compare myself to the talent across the whole country. I got to see what people are like from the east coast and got to see more of the talent from the west coast. The whole setup was great with the hotels we were staying in and we got to talk to the all-american football players that were participating in the game. As far as the drills, I got a lot of learning in and then of course the 1-on-1 was great because I got to go against the best competition around. It was a great experience and not a lot of people can say they got to do that. I am one of the lucky few.

HSFootballWA: A couple weeks later you picked up your first offer from Wyoming, have you had a chance to speak with coach Dave Christensen?

Kahlil Dawson: Yeah, I have talked to him a lot. I am supposed to be setting up a visit or a time that I can drive up there to check out the place for myself. I have heard a lot of things about how it is a very nice area so my family and I are probably gonna take a trip there next week, unofficial to see it for ourselves.

HSFootballWA: Wyoming has been offering a lot of kids from our area recently, have you had a chance to talk with maybe D.J. May or Trent Sewell?

Kahlil Dawson: Yeah, that was something I was going to mention. They are supposed to come back in a week or two. If I go up there and see them, I will definitely talk to them. If they come back here, I will definitely discuss with them how they feel about the place and get their views on Wyoming and stuff do. So that is what I plan on doing, talking to them to see how they like the place.

HSFootballWA: So I will admit that in doing a little research on you, I jumped onto Rivals.com and one of the first things I see is a Nebraska logo. That instantly got me excited because I love my Cornhuskers. Is their interest from them?

Kahlil Dawson: They sent me one or two things in the mail. The person (from Rivals) wanted to know who I got mail from lately. At that time that was a school that I had heard from lately, but I don't think I have a chance to get an offer from there. It is a great program, but at the time I think I got one or two things in the mail so I put it out there because they had asked me a question about it.

HSFootballWA: Last season you guys started out 0-3 before getting a 10-7 win over Curtis. This season you start with a 6 hour drive to Post Falls, Idaho. What do you know about Post Falls and what do you look to accomplish?

Kahlil Dawson: From what I have heard, Post Falls has a very good program. They they have a very good, physical team, but we are very physical as well. I think we are going to surprise a lot of teams this year. We are very excited to get the opportunity to go there. We are the first class at GK (Graham-Kapowsin) to travel out of state to play.

HSFootballWA: Speaking of being the first class at GK, when I say October 5th, do you know what that means?

Kahlil Dawson: I am guessing the day we play Bethel?

HSFootballWA: That is correct. What do you think about possibly being the first class to get a victory over the Braves?


Kahlil Dawson: If that happens it would be great. It would be great for our community and our program. We don't want to be known as a class that couldn't get it done either. If we could get that done it would be great, but that is just another game for us. We are gonna go one game at a time and our focus is on Post Falls first. When the time comes to play Bethel, it will be a game you will want to watch. We are gonna be ready to go, but so will they. They've got a good team.

HSFootballWA: Last year you guys lost in the play-in round vs Bellarmine, the year before you got into state but lost to Arlington in the first round. What do those experiences do for you in terms on potentially getting to the Tacoma Dome this season?

Kahlil Dawson: Those were both learning experiences. My teammates and I have have watched the film from both of those games many times to see what we could've done better, what we did good and where we can get better so we can learn from our mistakes for the future. It is motivation because we've had teams in the past that we feel like could've gone to the dome, but we came up short.

HSFootballWA: I think you guys got a good shot this season. The SPSL is always tough and especially with Federal Way being very good again this season. Did you know you guys play four of your first five games on Thursday a night?

Kahlil Dawson: Yeah, we just got our schedule and its just something you gotta deal with.

HSFootballWA: Kahlil, it was great talking to you and we will keep in tough this season. Thank you for your time.

Kahlil Dawson: Thank you, I appreciate it.

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My Thoughts:

     This is a kid that gets it. From his game on the field to the way he speaks during an interview, he has it all. With good speed, good hands and great natural instincts, he has the ability to shutdown his side of the field. His return skills are some of the best, if not the best, in the state and cannot be ignored. His ability to read and setup his block is as good as anyone in the state. That being said, I view him as a DB. His game continues to grow and I have no doubt that he will eventually be a great college football player. Below I have posted links to highlight videos and even a video from the All-American Combine which is a must see. He really does play very well against some of the best WR's in the country.

     I will admit that my love for the Nebraska Cornhuskers may have got the best of me with one question. If you have read my blog in the past, you know it does that from time to time, but I had to ask. I know any of you would've done the same if your team had been on his list.

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Links:

Click Here For Highlights From His 2011, Junior Season

Click Here For Highlights From Part 1 Of His 2010, Sophomore Season

Click Here For Highlights From Part 2 Of His 2010, Sophomore Season

Click Here For His Army All-American Video

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     In closing, I would like to thank you for reading my blog. Check back soon for more content. You can also follow me on Twitter @HSFootballWA. You can also Click Here for my Facebook page featuring links and photo albums from stadiums I have visited around our beautiful state.

     Questions and comments are always welcomed. If you wish to keep it private between you and I, feel free to drop me a line by emailing Ringerland@gmail.com.

     I am always looking to help get your sons name out to the general public. If you feel he is being over looked, let me know. Send me an email with any available information you can give me, the more the better. Also be sure to send me a link to any videos where I can see his play. I will take care of the rest.

Late FG gives Kentlake win over Auburn...

French Field, October 13th, 2011.

The seventh ranked Kentlake Falcons(7-0, 7-0) managed to stay undefeated Thursday night with a 10-7 win over the Auburn Trojans(2-4, 2-5). While it may not have been the best win of the season, it was done in what is becoming typical Kentlake fashion... From behind. In 5 of 7 games this season, including 4 straight, the Falcons have trailed at one point in the game before eventually winning.

The games first touchdown was scored when Kentlake Quarterback, Steffin Church couldn't complete a swing pass that was ruled a backwards pass and a live ball. Auburn Cornerback, Seth Mizoguchi would pick the ball up and sprint 63 yards down the sideline for the TD.

Auburn held a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter as they looked to extend a six game winning streak over the Falcons.

With just over four and a half minutes to play in the first half, Caleb Saulo would fake a hand off and keep it himself before powering into the endzone from one yard out. The score would tie the game at seven and it would stay that way into the half.

The third quarter looked as though it end with only three punts before Kentlake Lineback, Tanner Lucas intercepted his second pass of the night. Lucas would return the Auburn 48 with 21 seconds to play in the quarter.

The Falcons would run 14 plays and eat up 6:28 of the clock before settling for a 23 yard Field Goal by Mitchell Habryle.

With almost 6 minutes still to play the Trojans would get the ball back on their own 29 and begin to drive, but an untimely false start on fourth and four would force them to punt. They Trojans would not see the ball again as the Falcons would get a big third down conversion, a Tanner Lucas 35 yard run and a victory formation.

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Scoring Plays:

1st Quarter-
Aub: Seth Mizoguchi, 63 Fumble Return (PAT Good)

2nd Quarter-
KL: Caleb Saulo, 1 Yard Run (PAT Good)

3rd Quarter-
No Scoring

4th Quarter-
KL: Mitchell Habryle, 23 Yard FG

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Notes:

- It was Kentlake's "Pink Out" to raise awarness for breast cancer. Fans wore pink, players used pink tape and towels.

- Kentlake was penalized 8 times for 50 yards.

- I would like to point out the play of Auburn Cornerback, Josh McCoy. I am not sure how many tackles McCoy finished with, but I don't think anyone had as many "Big" tackles as he did. Twice on one drive McCoy would make an openfield tackle on a Falcon ballcarrier behind the line of scrimmage.

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Up Next:

Next Thursday the Kentlake Falcons are again home, this time in a non-league game against the Emerald Ridge Jaguars of the SPSL 4A South.

Next Friday the Auburn Trojans head home to host the Kent-Meridian Royals.

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Friday night I hope to be at Pop Keeney Stadium in Bothell when the Inglemoor Vikings take on the Woodinville Falcons. If so you can follow it live on Twitter @HSFootballWA.

This week in the SPSL 4A North, October 4th, 2011...

Standings:

Team, SPSL Record, Overall Record.

Kentlake, 5-0, 5-0.
Kentwood, 3-1, 4-1.
Jefferson, 3-2, 3-2.
Auburn Riverside, 3-2, 2-2.
Kentridge, 2-2, 2-3.
Tahoma, 2-2, 2-3.
Auburn, 2-3, 2-3.
Kent-Meridian, 1-3, 1-4.
Mount Rainier, 0-5, 0-5.

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Team Capsules:

It was homecoming at French Field in Kent when the Kentlake Falcons played host to the Tahoma Bears. The 7th ranked Falcons trailed at the half but managed to pull out a 42-33 victory to stay undefeated. This week might be the biggest game of the year as the Falcons "travel" to French Field to play the Kentwood Conquerors. Last week the Conks beat Auburn 24-17 and continued a string of good play since their week two loss to Jefferson. Having seen both teams play, I expect this to be a very fast game and most of it to be on the ground. For Kentlake they must get Tanner Lucas going between the tackles and find a way to get Austin Pernell in open space where he can make some people miss. If Kentwood is going to win, they will need to be tough up front on defense and get the running game going with Matt Hubbard and Chance Kalua-Fuimaono. This should be a VERY good game.

The Jefferson Raiders are the most surprising team in the SPSL North with wins over Kent-Meridian, Kentwood and Auburn. Last season the the Raiders finished with three wins and with four games still to play this season it would appear as though they will surpass that. Last week they beat Kent-Meridian 42-30, but did give up an concerning 224 yards on the ground. This week they play host to the Auburn Riverside Ravens who have won three of their last four games. Last week the Ravens dismantled a struggling Mount Rainier team 57-14. In their two losses the Ravens have a combined 13 points, while on average scoring just over 47 points per game in their 3 wins. This could be a very good game as well.

The Kentridge Chargers have been through some ups and downs in the first five weeks. They started the season with losses to Auburn and Kentlake before winning back to back games against Kent-Meridian and Auburn Riverside. Last week they lost their non-league game to the Rogers Rams of the SPSL South. This week they travel to Mount Rainier in a game they should win. The final three games are all tough games as they are home vs Jefferson, travel to Tahoma and finish with a home game against Kentwood.

Inconsistency seems to be the name of the game for the Tahoma Bears. When they are playing well they have one of the more balanced offenses in the SPSL with Beau Riggs, Damon Funk and Zach Browne running the ball while Shane Nelson is looking for Jason Smith down field for the pass. They have good size on both sides of the line but sometimes have hard times controlling the line of scrimmage. The finaly four weeks of the season bring games the Bears should be able to win. This week they host Ken-Meridian in a game they should win by double digits.

A three game losing streak has put the Auburn Trojans in unfamiliar territory. The next two weeks don't get much easier as they are home vs Curtis in a non-league game before heading to French Field to play Kentlake. A five game losing streak would be almost fatal for the Trojans.

At 1-4, the Kent-Meridian Royals are now in spoiler mode. They finish the season with games against Tahoma, Kentwood, Auburn and Kentlake. A win against any of those teams will be a huge boost for a team looking to finish the season strong.

The Mount Rainier Rams have lost 20 straight games, dating back to a 31-10 win over Foster on September 24th of 2009. This week they play host to Kentridge, before traveling to play Spanaway Lake in a non-league contest they have a legitimate shot at winning. If they are unable to get a win this will be the second straight winless season in Des Moines.

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This Weeks Schedule:

Auburn Riverside vs. Jefferson, Federal Way Memorial Stadium, 7pm Thursday.
Curtis @ Auburn, non-league, 7pm Friday.
Kentlake vs. Kentwood, French Field, 7pm Friday.
Kent-Meridian @ Tahoma, 7pm Friday.
Kentridge vs. Mount Rainier, Highline Memorial Stadium, 7pm Friday.

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I can be followed on twitter @HSFootballWA. Please share this blog with anyone you know that enjoys high school football.

This week in the SPSL 4A South, September 19th, 2011

The SPSL South is down to one undefeated team after the Federal Way Eagles beat the Curtis Vikings 17-7 on Friday night. The Bethel Braves, Emerald Ridge Jaguars, Curtis Vikings and Puyallup Vikings are 2-1. The Rogers Rams are the only 1-2 team in the league while the Spanaway Lake Sentinels, Graham-Kapowsin Eagles and Beamer Titans are still looking for their first win.

The Federal Way Eagles made a big statement this last week in beating Curtis on the road. They are beginning to show they have one of the better defenses around having given up just over 11 points per game. This week they play a Thursday game at home vs Emerald Ridge. Head Coach John Meagher might have his most experienced team in his 14 years at the helm. He returns 9 staters on offense and 8 on defense. Should they get through Bethel next week, expect them to cruise to a SPSL South division crown.

The Bethel Braves are 2-0 in league play as their only loss came at the hands of Permian (TX) by a score of 59-44. Since then they won a high scoring game at Beamer 56-40 and dismantled Rogers last week 63-8. This week they travel to take on the Spanaway Lake Sentinels before returning home to what could be the biggest game in the SPSL South taking on the Federal Way Eagles. They also travel to Curtis later in the season.

A 28 game regular season winning streak came to an end this week when the Curtis Vikings lost to Federal Way. This week the Vikings travel to take on a struggling Graham-Kapowsin team looking for its first win. The Vikings are the 3-time defending SPSL South champions, but now they will need a little help to win a fourth.

If the Puyallup Vikings are going to win the SPSL South division it will take some help and wins in the next four weeks. This week they do play a non-league game at Kentwood, but when they get back to league play they travel to play Curtis, host Emerald Ridge before traveling to Bethel to take on the Braves. Picked to finish sixth by the coaches, they are still very much in the hunt for the top spot.

The Emerald Ridge Jaguars are a team that is still building. In 2009 they were winless and have slowly been growing ever since. They are 2-1 with wins over Beamer and Spanaway Lake. This week is a very tough test as they travel to Federal Way on Thursday night to take on the Eagles. After Federal Way they return home to host the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles in a game they could win. Then it gets as they finish the season with four games against teams with a combined 9-3 record.

At the bottom of the SPSL South are three teams that have yet to win. Some people would say the Beamer Titans and Spanaway Lake Sentinels were expected to be in that position. The Graham-Kapowsin Eagles might be a bit of a surprise to be 0-3, but they have played three very good teams. This week is no different for the Eagles as they are home vs the Curtis Vikings. Beamer and Spanaway Lake meet on the 29th of this month in a game that could be the only win for one of these teams. Beamer put up 40 points on a very good Bethel team, but only managed 13 last week against an Auburn Riverside team that could be considered not nearly as good.

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I have not been to an SPSL South game this season and that may end Thursday when Emerald Ridge plays at Federal Way. I would really like to see Federal Way so I can get a gauge on where they are compared to say Kentlake, Kentwood and some of the KingCo teams.

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If I am able to attend, you will be able to get updates from the game on twitter @HSFootballWA.

This week in the SPSL 4A North, September 19th, 2011...

Friday night the Jefferson Raiders topped the Auburn Trojans 8-7, meaning with a win on Saturday the Kentlake Falcons would take sole posession of first place in the SPSL 4A North Division. The Falcons would not only win, but they would do so convincing fashion over Mt. Rainer 55-0.

This week the Kentlake Falcons will travel to Federal Way Memorial Stadium to take on the Jefferson Raiders. I hope to do a preview of this game, although I will not be attending. The Falcons are 3-0 and have outscored opponents 134-29 to this point. They have big wins over Auburn Riverside and Mr Rainer and an eight point win over Kentridge. Jefferson will enter the game 2-1 with a loss to Tahoma in week one followed by wins at home vs Kentwood and at Auburn. If Jefferson is for real, this could be a HUGE game.

The the middle of the pack in the SPSL has some very good teams. Kentwood, Auburn and Auburn Riverside are all 2-1 with Kentridge and Tahoma at 1-2.

This week the Kentwood Conquerors play their non-leauge game at home vs Puyallup (2-1). The Conks pounded Mt. Rainer, lost to Jefferson and held off Tahoma. The running game is what gets the Conks going. They really have a three headed monster with Matt Hubbard, Chance Kalua-Fuimaono and Dane Manio. Manio is the QB and doesn't run much, but is a capable runner.

The next two weeks are big for the Auburn Trojans as they travel to Tahoma before coming home to face off against Kentwood. After that they will play their non-league game at home vs the Curtis Vikings (2-1) before traveling to Kentlake. The Trojans were held to just 7 points last week against Jefferson. The key for Auburn in their running game. Next week I hope to preview the game against Kentwood.

The Auburn Riverside Ravens will head to French Field this week to take on the Kentridge Chargers. Both teams are coming off wins, Riverside over Beamer and Kentridge over Kent-Meridian. Should Kentridge lose it was almost certainly end their chance at a North Division Title. Auburn Riverside started the season with a big loss at Kentlake. If the Ravens can get a win this week they could easily move to 3-1 as they play Mt. Rainer the following week.

The Tahoma Bears are an interesting team. I personally think they are one of the better 1-2 teams in the state. They didn't start very well against Kentwood, but were clearly the better team in the second half. They are the only team to knock off Jefferson so far. This week they are home vs Auburn before heading to play at Kentlake. The Bears are only 1-1 in league play as their first loss of the season was to South Kitsap. Should they get a win out of the next two weeks they could have a good shot at the playoffs as they finish the season with four game against teams with three combined wins.

The SPSL North has two teams that have yet to win a game, those two teams meet this week when the Kent-Meridian Royals travel to take on the Mt. Rainer Rams. One team will get a league win and the other will be looking at the possibility of a winless season.

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I hope to begin doing a weekly look at the SPSL North. The stats for my blog clearly show that I need to be giving the SPSL more time. In just barely over 24 hours the post I made from the Tahoma/Kentwood game became my most viewed post. Hours after that the week 2 look at the SPSL surpassed it.

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Please help by following me on twitter @HSFootballWA

Kentwood holds on to beat Tahoma...

French Field, September 16th, 2011.

While it may not have been the prettiest win in the history of Kentwood football, I dont think you will hear many complaints out of Covington after last weeks loss to Jefferson. The Conquerors were not perfect, especially in the second half, but didn't have to be in their 24-17 win over the Tahoma Bears on Thursday night at French Field.

The game that was a story of two halves would begin with Kentwood (2-1) recieving the games first possession. After moving the ball to about midfield they would give up two sacks and be forced the punt. Tahoma (1-2) wouldn't be able gain a first down though as Kentwood would come up with the first of many defensive stops, this one on fourth and one. The Conks would get the ball on the Tahoma 49 yardline and five plays later Senior, Matt Hubbard would keep the ball on a read play and rush 30 yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

The Bears would get the ball back and after getting a first down they looked as though they were going to be setting up for another fourth down when the referees would call a Kentwood defender for a personal foul on a hit to the head of the Tahoma reciever. Personally I thought the hit was clean, but I am all for erroring on the side of caution. It wouldn't matter though as four plays later the Bears would turn the ball over on another fourth down attempt.

The Conks would get a great pass and catch from Dane Manio to Jonathan Ohashi for 17 yards down to the Tahoma 16. On third and one from the seven Hubbard would score again but it would be brought back on a holding call. The Conks would settle for a 34 yard Field Goal from Junior, Mitchell Cox.

Tahoma again would get the ball and not be able to move, this time going three and out. The first quarter would end with a Tahoma punt returned by Conks Senior, Jesse Lovato eight yards to his own 35.

Kentwood's first drive of the second quarter would go 65 yards on just five plays, capped off by a 44 yard run by Chance Kalua-Fuimaono. This touchdown would put Kentwood ahead 17-0 as the Conquerors were seemingly in cruise control.

With just over a minute to play Tahoma would get the ball at midfield after a Kentwood punt. The Bears would march 6 plays, all through the air, down to the Kentwood one yardline where with four seconds to play before the half, the Kentwood defense would stop running back Reau Riggs for no gain. Even though they couldn't get in the endzone, you could see the Bears beginning to build some momentum.

The third quarter for Tahoma was a momentum builder for although they would not get on the scoreboard. The Bears defense would keep them in the game as Kentwood would have two possessions in the third quarter, both three and outs.

The first play of the fourth quarter would finally get Tahoma on the board when Kicker, David Stoecker would hit from 26 yards out.

Kentwood would once again go three and out giving the Bears the ball on their own 43 following the punt. On second down Bears Quarterback, Shane Nelson would find DeShon Williams for a 23 yard gain, moving the ball into Kentwood territory. After four straight running plays, Nelson would find Senior, Jason Smith on a 19 yard fade for the Tahoma touchdown. That score would bring the Bears within seven points with 7:43 to play. The momemtum was all in favor of the Bears.

Kentwood would start the drive on their own 30 and after a penalty, runs of four and one, it was quickly third and ten. This time the Conks would convert when Dane Manio hit Jarrett Retz with a 16 yard pass down the sideline. The Tahoma Defense would stay tough though and force another third and ten. This time the Conks would give the ball to Matt Hubbard who would rumble for 11 yards and another first down. Kentwood would be continue to hand the ball off and three plays later Kalua-Fuimaono would sprint in untouched from 22 yards out widening the lead to 24-10 with just under four minutes to play.

Starting on their own 35 after the kickoff went out of bounds, the Bears would begin to attack through the air. The drive would go 65 yards in 12 plays finishing when Shane Nelson found DeShon William who would dive into the endzone.

That touchdown would bring the score to 24-17 with 1:33 to play, but Kentwood would recover the onside kick. Kentwood would hand the ball to Kalua-Fuimaono twice to get a first down before lining up in the victory formation and taking a knee.

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Random Notes:

- Kentwood Junior, Mitchell Cox might be the best OL/ILB that is a Kicker in the state. The Conks do not have a kicker listed on the roster and unless I am wrong, Cox does the kicking duties.

- Kentwood might have the best gameday program in the state. They have a section with profiles of the Senior players. I would like to share a few of my favorites... Matt Hubbard, "Plans After HS: 4 year college, travel the world and marry Kim Kardashian."... Quincey Davidson who is 6'1" and 315 lbs, "You might not know... I like long walks that do not involve running with 12 cupcakes on the beach."... Devin Taylor, "You might not know... From birth, I was unable to open my eyes until I was 5 years old. I had surgery to be able to see. Then, in 3rd grade I won a vision contest."... I really don't know if any of this is true, but I got a good laugh.

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Up Next:

Next week the Kentwood Conquerors will play their only non-league game of the season at home vs the Puyallup Vikings (1-1).

Tahoma is home next week against the Auburn Trojans. This game is huge for the Bears as the following week they go back to French Field to play Kentlake. They might not be able to afford a loss next week.

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Unfortunately I will not be attending a game friday or Saturday night. If you are at a game, please tweet me the score @HSFootballWA.

Tahoma @ Kentwood Preview, Sept. 15th...

The Tahoma Bears travel to French Field to do battle with the Kentwood Conquerors. Both teams are 1-1 on the season after road losses last week, Tahoma to South Kitsap and Kentwood to Jefferson. The two teams met last season with Kentwood dominating Tahoma 49-3. I sent emails to both coaches, even had to toss in a College Football question to Coach Davis of Tahoma, I got responses from both coaches with a few interesting answers.

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Kentwood Conquerors

The Conks were picked by the coaches to finish first in the SPSL North, and they might still do that. Losing to Jefferson last week has changed the path they must take to finish at the top though. The margin for error is slim as they still must play Auburn, Kentlake and Kentridge. The Conks are very talented and very young at the same time. They do have some size but not nearly what they have had in years past.

Coach Rex Norris was nice enough to respond to my email and answered every question I asked...

WHSF: If I were a fan watching Kentwood for the first time, who are three players I would want to keep an eye out for and what can you tell me about those players?

RN: Matt Hubbard - SR running back - lot of speed - strong runner - plays in the secondary as well.
Visa Thatch - SR fullback - powerful runner - 500+ squatter - plays middle linebacker
Chasen Kalua-Fuimaono - JR running back - powerful runner - plays outside linebacker and dline

WHSF: What would you consider to be your strength on offense?

RN: We have depth in the backfield this year.

WHSF: What would you consider to be your strenght on defense?

RN: Team speed.

WHSF:What would you consider to be the 3 keys to beating Tahoma on Thursday night?

RN: Get them out of their two back set - they have a big line and really good runners.

WHSF: You are two games into your season, what things do you need to do better to be successful?

RN: Mature as a team - be more physical and expect to make plays. We can only get that with more game experience.

WHSF: What is it gonna take to get to the Tacoma Dome this season?

RN: I think it will take a lot of work and commitment by everyone in our program. We have the talent we just need to understand that it takes a lot to get to that level and it is hard to get players to understand that at ages 16-18

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Tahoma Bears

The Tahoma Bears are an interesting team. In all honesty they are a team that might be good enough to win the SPSL North. The Bears might have the most balanced offense in the SPSL. In last weeks loss they had over 500 yards of offense, including 100 yard rushing efforts from Damon Funk and Beau Riggs. Quarterback Shane Nelson was 19/35 for 217 yards and one touchdown. If the Bears can get some defense they might just have the horses to make a dent in the SPSL North.

Head Coach Tony Davis, who last season picked up his 100th career win, was nice enough to respond to my email. I will admit I let my inner Nebraska Cornhusker come out when I found out that he had played college football for the Missouri Tigers. I would also like to make a bit of a note here. Coach Davis' answer to the first question is one I normally say "Way to dodge that question", I think he answered it perfectly....


WHSF: If I were a fan watching Tahoma for the first time, who are three players I would want to keep an eye out for and what can you tell me about those players?

TD: It would be tough to limit it to three and it would go against our philosophy of team. We have the ability to be more balanced on offense than we’ve been in a while and on defense we are all about the importance of the 11 kids on the field playing as a unit and the subs on the sidelines staying locked in.

WHSF: What would you consider to be your strength on offense?

TD: This year, balance

WHSF: What would you consider to be your strength on defense?

TD: Their ability to play together

WHSF: What would you consider to be the 3 keys to beating Kentwood on Thursday night?

TD: Protect the ball, be physical, and make positive plays in the kicking game

WHSF: You are two games into your season, what things do you need to do better to be successful?

TD: Protect the football and get better each week in all areas.

WHSF: What is it gonna take to get to the Tacoma Dome this season?

TD: I’m old fashioned… We take things one week at a time. we need to get better each week. Our kids have had a good off season and have responded well to the things we’ve asked them to do.

WHSF: With the Huskies going to Nebraska in a few days, I believe you were on the Missouri team that lost 33-23 in Lincoln in 1984. If so, what do you remember about playing the Huskers in Lincoln?

TD: Loudest place I’ve ever played! Great setting for college FB. Never seen so much red in one place before in my life!

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First, I would like to thank both coaches for their time. Without coaches responding to my emails, it would make my previews very boring. I will never act like I know every player on every team, so sometimes it is nice to get a bit of a preview for myself as well.

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Game Notes and Links

- In the preseason coaches poll Kentwood was picked to finish first, Tahoma fifth.

- The last two seasons have seen Tahoma finish with a losing record back to back years for the first time since 1997-98.

- Tahoma Head Coach Tony Davis was drafted by the Seahawks in the 1985 NFL Draft.

- In 2005 the Seattle Times had a great piece about Coach Davis, read that Right Here.

- Right Here is a great piece the Kent Reporter had as a preview for Kentwood Football.

- If you don't read that preview of the Conks you are missing not only a good preview but one of the great streaks in our state. The reporter writes "... the Conquerors have never posted a losing record — not a single time in the 30 years since the doors to the school first opened."

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I will be tweeting live from French Field tonight. You can find me by searching @HSFootballWA.

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As of right now I do not plan on attending any games friday night as I have a few other things going on. If I am able to get to any games I will most likely be at Everett Memorial Stadium to see Marysville-Pilchuck @ Cascade and Snohomish @ Jackson.

To This Point, SPSL 4A South, Week 2...

The top three teams in the South Puget Sound League 4A South Division are the three you would expect to be there. The Curtis Vikings and Federal Way Eagles are both 2-0, and the Bethel Braves are one of the best 1-1 teams in the state. The other 1-1 teams are the Puyallup Vikings, Rogers Rams and Emerald Ridge Jaguars. At the bottom of the standings are three 0-2 teams with the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles, Beamer Titans and Spanaway Lake Sentinels.

This week the Federal Way Eagles travel to take on the Curtis Vikings. Both teams are 2-0 in league play meaning the winner will sit alone atop the standings with only 5 league games to play.

The Bethel Braves began the season by taking a trip down to Texas to face the Permian Panthers... Yes, those Permian Panthers. The Braves would leave with a 59-44 loss, but the experience of playing a big game can't be measured by a score. Last week the Braves defeated the Beamer Titans 56-39 to begin league play. This week they come home to face Rogers before again hitting the road against the Spanaway Lake Sentinels. At the end of the month they Braves play host to Federal Way, this game could a battle of undefeated teams. By the end of the season you should expect to see Bethel at or near the top of the standings. This team could surprise some people if they get into the state playoffs.

The Puyallup Vikings lost a second week league game to Federal Way 33-13 after dismantling Spanaway Lake 56-7. If the Vikings are gonna win the south division they are going to have to do it on the road as they travel to both Curtis and Bethel. The Vikings have good top end talent but really lack the depth needed to be successful in a league as tough as the SPSL. It will be very tough for them to get back to the state playoffs.

The Rogers Rams finished last season 9-2, unfortunately they only return three starters on offense and four on defense. The schedule is not kind to the Rams, they already went to Curtis and lost 26-20. This week they go to Bethel to face the team the coaches picked to win the division. They still have to travel to Spanaway Lake and Graham-Kapowsin with a home date vs Federal Way between the two. The Rams do have experience at the skill positions, but without good line play it will be tough for them to advance beyond the regular season.

Just two years ago the Emerald Ridge Jaguars went winless, last season they were able to break a 19 game losing streak and finished the season 2-8. Most teams wouldn't find a two win season the be much to write home about, but for the Jaguars it is progress. They have five co-head coaches and for the first time a few years not only have some talent, but even depth at a few positions. The schedule is not kind to the Jaguars as they still have to travel to Federal Way, Puyallup, Kentlake and Bethel. They do get two home games but must play Graham-Kapowsin and Curtis. They should be able to match there two win season from last year, but might have a hard time improving on it.

The Graham-Kapowsin Eagles were picked by the coaches to finish fourth in the division, if they want to do that they are going to need to find some offense. Through the first two games the Eagles have only been able to score 14 points. If they want to make a run at the playoffs it will start this week with a game at Puyallup. The schedule does treat them well as they get Curtis and Bethel both at home. They finish the season with three winable games at Beamer, vs Rogers and at Spanaway Lake.

Spanaway Lake and Beamer are both teams that appear to be headed for tough seasons. Both teams are capable of winning their non-league games, Spanaway Lake vs Mt. Rainer and Beamer vs Auburn Riverside. The two teams meet up at the end of the month at Beamer.

To This Point, SPSL 4A North, Week 2...

The South Puget Sound League North division might be one of the most surprising leagues in the state so far. After two weeks Auburn and Kentlake are each 2-0 while Kentridge, expected to finish high, is on the backside at 0-2. The north division has nine teams and in all honesty four teams that have the best shot at finishing first Auburn Trojans, Kentlake Falcons, Kentridge Chargers and Kentwood Conquerors. The Tahoma Bears are a team that could be considered in that group, but right now I am gonna say that are top of the next tier.

The Kentlake Falcons might be the best team in the SPSL North. They have a potential all state playmaker in Austin Pernell and can run the football as good as anyone in the state. They started the season with a convincing 49-7 win over Auburn Riverside, read about it right here. The Falcons followed that game up with a 30-22 win over the Kentridge Chargers. Kentlake has a VERY favorable schedule as they only leave French Field once all season when they travel to Jefferson on September 23rd. They do have three other "road" game but they are against the three other Kent schools and will be played at French Field.

It looks like it is going to be another year at the top for the Auburn Trojans. Head Coach Gordon Elliot has once again put a team together that can contend and might fly under the radar in the process as they are currently unranked. The Trojans have wins over Kentridge 32-20 and Mt. Rainer 48-7. The Trojans have a fairly tough schedule as they have to go to Tahoma and Kentlake, both games they could lose. They do get Kentwood and Curtis at home and finish the season with games they should win vs Kent-Meridian and at Auburn Riverside. Look for the Trojans to be at/or near the top of the standings at the end of the season.

The Kentwood Conquerors probably didn't expect to be 1-1 after two weeks, but that is exactly where they stand after a disappointing 24-7 loss last week against Jefferson. The Conquerors were picked by the coaches to win the North division by just a few votes, and that may still happen, but as of now they have one loss in league play and might not be able to afford another. At the end of this month the Conks will travel to Auburn and host Kentlake in back to back weeks. If they want to win the division they are gonna have to get through those two with wins. Kentwood has the talent and experience to make up for that early season loss, but the margin for error is slim. I will be previewing Tahoma @ Kentwood tomorrow and attending the game that night.

The Tahoma Bears are an interesting team, they are 1-1 after defeating Jefferson 38-31 and losing to South Kitsap 42-35 last weekend. The Bears feature a good offensice attack that last week compiled over 500 yards of offense, including two 100 yard rushers. If Tahoma wants to win the division it is going to come in the next three weeks when they travel to Kentwood, host Auburn and return to French Field to play Kentlake. If the Bears somehow manage to win those three games they will control their own destiny as they finish the season three of four games they should not lose.

After those two teams the 1-1's get a little tough to figure out. I have to put the Jefferson Raiders ahead of Auburn Riverside because of the quality of win. Jefferson lost in the opening week to Tahoma 38-31 but followed that up with a 24-7 victory over Kentwood. The next two weeks for the Raiders are going to be very tough as they travel to Auburn and play host to Kentlake. Should they win both, expect them to be near the top at seasons end as after those two they could be the favorite to win every league game from then on.

The Auburn Riverside Ravens started the season with a tough 49-7 loss to the Kentlake Falcons. They did beat up on Kent-Meridian last week 37-14 in a game that should build confidence coming into this weeks non-league game against the Beamer Titans. Following this week they get right back into league play as they travel to French Field to take on Kentridge before coming home to Mt. Rainer. The final four weeks of the season are going to make or break the Ravens as they play at Jefferson, host Tahoma, at Kentwood and finish at home vs Auburn.

The Kentridge Chargers might be one of the better 0-2 teams in the state. They have a lot of talent, but have faced two of the better teams in the SPSL in the first two weeks of the year in Auburn and Kentlake. I expect the Chargers to rebound the next two weeks when they play at Kent-Meridian and home vs Auburn Riverside. The Chargers play a non-league contest vs Rogers, before getting going to Mt. Rainer. They should be 3-2 in league play before a tough final three games against Jefferson at home, at Tahoma and home vs Kentwood. The Chargers can not afford a slip up if they are going to win the North division.

The final two teams are the Mt. Rainer Rams and the Kent-Meridian Royals. Both teams are going to have trouble winning games this season because of a lack of playmakers and depth. You wont find a coach in the league that would say either team is a push over though and they could surprise at anytime. KM does return a good portion of their offense but have yet to show they can score many points as they have scored 14 in both losses.

On tap for this week, Sept. 12th, 2011...

Well last weekend ended with a little disappointment. I was unable to attend the third game of the week, Mount Si @ Bothell. The game ended up being a great game, with Mount Si coming back to win.

This week I will only see two games. Thursday night I will be at French Field as the Tahoma Bears(1-1) travel to meet the Kentwood Conquerors(1-1) in SPSL North action.

Friday night I have some choices. Bothell is at Newport and Juanita is at Mercer Island, both good games. On the other hand, I could go see Evergreen play Bellevue Christian who just began playing football this season. I will post my plans for Friday in the next few days.

Saturday night I will not be attending any games.

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I also hope to do a report on where a few of the conferences stand so far. KingCo 3A and 4A are at the top of my list with SPSL, WesCo, Seamount and Metro just behind. If somehow I am able to get through all of those leagues, I would like to take a look at the other side of the state or the Greater St. Helens League. Hopefully I will have one or both of the KingCo reports up tomorrow.

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Mason Kelley of the Seattle Times has his weekly rankings for 4A and 3A schools up, view them here. As far as the big schools go, I consider Mason to the authority as far as rankings.

Doug Pacey of the Tacoma New Tribune has his weekly rankings up for all levels of football, view them here. Doug does a GREAT job in following the entire state of football and also has a different view than Mason when it comes to the big schools. If Mason is the authority for big schools, Doug is the all around authority. I may not agree with him on the big school, but I couldn't possibly aruge about the other levels of play.

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I think I am done predicting games. Last week I picked Kennedy Catholic, Juanita and Bothell... I went 0-3. In all honesty I think most people would've picked the games the same way I did. I guess if I get enough people wanting me to predict games I will, but as of right now it is off.

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Last Friday I accepted a position with Two Man Prodcutions, to view the website click Right Here. TMP will help me further advance my ambitions of being in sports media. TMP is the brain child of local radio host, Jonathan West of WARM 106.9. TMP has two main projects, New Music... NOW! with Jonathan West. This is a weekly internet radio show, view the webpage Right Here. To follow on twitter just search @NewMusicNowLive. The other project is a college football playoff system, this is something any fan of college football needs to take a look at. It can be found on this link Major College Football System. You can also follow on twitter by searching @MCFPS.

I hate to use this blog to advertise for something other than high school football, but this is all really good stuff. I hope all of my readers can take a few minutes to browse those links.

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I would like to welcome a new reader from France. We are really starting to cover the map.

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You can follow me on Twitter @HSFootballWA. You can also view my attempt to visit every high school stadium in out state, on Facebook at Washington State High School Football Stadiums.