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Youthful Bruins hope to reverse finish from last year
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By Joe Hansen, Sports Writer
Wednesday, September 03, 2008 | No comments posted.
World Photos by Lou Sennick
Knees up high, Brookings-Harbor players work through conditioning drills before the start of the season during their first week of workouts. A little later, they were hitting the yellow bumpers on the line.
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For all the returning players on Brookings-Harbor’s football team, the end to last season is one that’s stuck with them.
In overtime at Sutherlin with a playoff spot on the line, the Bruins put together a scoring drive to pull within 30-29 — and had their extra point attempt blocked.
Now those players have had 10 months to stew over the heartbreaking defeat, and they’re hungry. But the problem is there are so few of them.
Of the 44 players Brookings-Harbor had working out as of last week, 30 of them were freshmen and sophomores, since the team graduated 14 guys last year. The team does return a strong core of offensive line starters, however: seniors Mike Althof and Neil Watson, and junior Nick Longo. The line will use experience and angles to be effective, given it’s a bit undersized. Watson is the biggest, weighing in at 240 pounds, while Althof is 205, Longo is around 200 and projected starter David Parliament, a junior, is about 185 pounds.
Althof also started last year on the defensive line, where he received second-team all-league honors in the Far West League. Evan Peterson is also back in his starting role at linebacker.
Beyond that, there are going to be a lot of young guys on the field for Brookings-Harbor this season. But ask the leaders of the team what they think, and they’re quick to say this team could be better than last year’s, and should be in the playoffs.
“We’ve got a lot of young kids, but they’re young guys looking to dedicate themselves, rather than a bunch of experienced, cocky guys,” said Longo.
“What I like about the younger guys is they actually listen to coach and try to improve,” added Peterson. “That’s a good thing to see.”
Brookings-Harbor coach Jim Keys likes to give a lot of different looks on offense, using multiple sets with a focus on two-back configurations.
“We’ll probably be a little shaded toward the run side,” said Keys. “We’ve got to get yards to keep out of situations where we have to pass and the defense knows it.”
To run the offense, he’ll look to a trio of potential quarterbacks — as of last week he hadn’t made a decision between junior Russ McGrath, sophomore Eli Bruce and sophomore Bill Emme.
At running back, Keys likes the one-two punch of Peterson and sophomore Dustin Paradis. The two work well together.
“Me and Dustin, we connect,” said Peterson. “He’s more of a speed back and I’m more of a power back.”
When the Bruins do throw the ball, Keys has some options. Ridge Bachman is a 6-foot-1 junior who didn’t get into a varsity game last year but is now looking tough as an upperclassman. Fellow junior Matt Coy, who Keys said is a bit faster than Bachman, should catch a few passes this season as well.
On the defensive side of the ball, Keys typically runs 4-4 sets with plenty of changeups. As of last week, he still had plenty of holes to fill.
“We could end up playing a lot of freshmen,” he said.
With Althof and Peterson anchoring up front, Keys also likes Paradis at safety, as well as freshman safety Tyler Lueckfeld.
Brookings-Harbor didn’t play a zero-week game last week, but the squad does have a tough preseason coming up, starting with Hidden Valley on Friday. Keys was happy for the extra time to get ready, given the youth of his team.
“We need the extra week of practice,” he said. “We’re just making sure these guys are good at what they do, and they’re confident.”
The older players on the field last week at least did seem confident, and the youthful nature of the team didn’t bother them that much.
“We have the feeling that this team is better than last year,” said Watson. “We have a lot of heart, although we don’t necessarily have a lot of size. I’d rather have a bunch of guys that can work together and trust each other.”
“We’re going to win or lose as a team,” added Althof.
In overtime at Sutherlin with a playoff spot on the line, the Bruins put together a scoring drive to pull within 30-29 — and had their extra point attempt blocked.
Now those players have had 10 months to stew over the heartbreaking defeat, and they’re hungry. But the problem is there are so few of them.
Of the 44 players Brookings-Harbor had working out as of last week, 30 of them were freshmen and sophomores, since the team graduated 14 guys last year. The team does return a strong core of offensive line starters, however: seniors Mike Althof and Neil Watson, and junior Nick Longo. The line will use experience and angles to be effective, given it’s a bit undersized. Watson is the biggest, weighing in at 240 pounds, while Althof is 205, Longo is around 200 and projected starter David Parliament, a junior, is about 185 pounds.
Althof also started last year on the defensive line, where he received second-team all-league honors in the Far West League. Evan Peterson is also back in his starting role at linebacker.
Beyond that, there are going to be a lot of young guys on the field for Brookings-Harbor this season. But ask the leaders of the team what they think, and they’re quick to say this team could be better than last year’s, and should be in the playoffs.
“We’ve got a lot of young kids, but they’re young guys looking to dedicate themselves, rather than a bunch of experienced, cocky guys,” said Longo.
“What I like about the younger guys is they actually listen to coach and try to improve,” added Peterson. “That’s a good thing to see.”
Brookings-Harbor coach Jim Keys likes to give a lot of different looks on offense, using multiple sets with a focus on two-back configurations.
“We’ll probably be a little shaded toward the run side,” said Keys. “We’ve got to get yards to keep out of situations where we have to pass and the defense knows it.”
To run the offense, he’ll look to a trio of potential quarterbacks — as of last week he hadn’t made a decision between junior Russ McGrath, sophomore Eli Bruce and sophomore Bill Emme.
At running back, Keys likes the one-two punch of Peterson and sophomore Dustin Paradis. The two work well together.
“Me and Dustin, we connect,” said Peterson. “He’s more of a speed back and I’m more of a power back.”
When the Bruins do throw the ball, Keys has some options. Ridge Bachman is a 6-foot-1 junior who didn’t get into a varsity game last year but is now looking tough as an upperclassman. Fellow junior Matt Coy, who Keys said is a bit faster than Bachman, should catch a few passes this season as well.
On the defensive side of the ball, Keys typically runs 4-4 sets with plenty of changeups. As of last week, he still had plenty of holes to fill.
“We could end up playing a lot of freshmen,” he said.
With Althof and Peterson anchoring up front, Keys also likes Paradis at safety, as well as freshman safety Tyler Lueckfeld.
Brookings-Harbor didn’t play a zero-week game last week, but the squad does have a tough preseason coming up, starting with Hidden Valley on Friday. Keys was happy for the extra time to get ready, given the youth of his team.
“We need the extra week of practice,” he said. “We’re just making sure these guys are good at what they do, and they’re confident.”
The older players on the field last week at least did seem confident, and the youthful nature of the team didn’t bother them that much.
“We have the feeling that this team is better than last year,” said Watson. “We have a lot of heart, although we don’t necessarily have a lot of size. I’d rather have a bunch of guys that can work together and trust each other.”
“We’re going to win or lose as a team,” added Althof.
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