Washington Sports Network Blog

So letter of intent day has come and gone. What do you guys think? Here is a rundown of Football, if we missed any (big or small) let us know.

Football:

Eisenhower:
Joe Fuerst – CWU
Seth Kline – Air Force
Ryan Watson – Eastern Oregon Univ

Wenatchee:
Mike Marboe – Idaho
Jacob Sealby – WSU walk on
Lucas Sealby – WSU walk on

Southridge:
Brent Anderson – WSU walk on

Pasco:
Marques Avery – Army

Hanford:
Dylan Dikes – Southern Virginia Univ

Walla-Walla:
Zach Summerlin – Air Force

Ellensburg:
Eathan Sterkle – CWU

Unconfirmed, but the new Big Nine 3A appears to be: Kennewick, Kamiakin, Southridge, Pasco, Hanford, West Valley, Sunnyside, and Eastmont. What do you guys think of that?

I think, if it ends up in that configuration, that is great for all involved.

It seems like a balanced league that will be competitive for all. The biggest shocker of all this to me, is that Pasco once one of the largest High Schools in the State of Washington, has less students than Chiawana the school which was created out of it.

It also splits 2 rivalries such as Richland/Pasco, and Eastmont/Wenatchee along classification lines. It also divides the 2 Pasco schools before they have a chance to get their rivalry off the ground. Though their will still be room in the Football schedule to include those teams playing each other if they so choose.

Coach of the Year: Scott Biglin, Kamiakin – Revamped offense, made it to playoffs in 1st year, I’d say that’s pretty good!
MVP: Jacob Sealby, Senior RB/LB Wenatchee – Biggest game changer in the league on both sides of the ball, just ask Pasco!
MVP Offense: Joe Fuerst, Senior RB Eisenhower – Best combo of speed and power in the league
MVP Defense: Austin Graves, Senior LB/DL Southridge – An absolute beast on the defensive side of the ball

All-Offense Team:
QB: Dylan Signorelli, Senior, Moses Lake – Hutch had more yards, but Signorelli had accuracy and mobility
RB: Jacob Sealby, Senior, Wenatchee – see above
RB: Joe Fuerst, Senior, Eisenhower – see above
WR: Tim White, Junior, Kamiakin – route running, quickness, speed, D-1 potential
WR: Antonio Martinez, Senior, Eisenhower – under appreciated WR, good hands, play-maker
WR: Drew Loftus, Junior, Kennewick – great athlete, deceptive speed, game changing ability, multi-sport D-1 potential
OL: Mike Marboe, Senior, Wenatchee - earth mover, headed to Idaho next year
OL: Brent Anderson, Senior, Southridge – hard working, blocks til you submit
OL: Alec Martin, Junior, Wenatchee – look for even bigger things next year, stood out on a stellar line
OL: Zach Sumerlin, Senior, Walla-Walla – man-child, size and power to get it done
OL: Abel Soto, Senior, Eisenhower – opened holes for Fuerst, can’t question his heart

Special Teams

Gunner: Lucas Sealby, Senior, Wenatchee – caused havoc on kickoffs and more!
Return Man: Israel Manzo, Sophomore, Sunnyside – Most exciting return we saw live (game winner vs. Davis!)
P: Enrique Espinoza, Senior, Eastmont – Athletic versatile player
K: Angel Guerra, Junior, Wenatchee – Great kicks all year long

All-Defense Team

DL: Austin Graves, Senior, Southridge – see above
DL: CJ McCray, Sophomore, Davis – most athletic DL we saw all year
DL: Broderick Hirai, Senior, Southridge – impressed us every time we saw him
DL: Ryan Watson, Senior, Eisenhower – Big part of Ike’s success this year
LB: Seth Kline, Senior, Eisenhower – “guided missile”, next level motor and intensity
LB: Jacob Sealby, Senior, Wenatchee – see above
LB: Matt Minnich, Senior, Kamiakin – followed in the tradition of great Kamiakin LBs
DB: Aaron Flippo, Senior, Walla-Walla – helped shut down opposing passing attacks
DB: Dallin Brimley, Senior, Kennewick – nose for the ball, instincts to match
DB: James Akers, Senior, Eisenhower – athletic, gritty play all year long
DB: Leo Cueller, Senior, Sunnyside – another kid with a nose for the ball, always in the right place at the right time

Back in the blog saddle as we head out to the big game today between Ferris and Eisenhower. This should be an interesting game. For one thing its being played on a Saturday, which will be new for Eisenhower and the second time for Ferris (played a Saturday game against Kamiakin last week).

Don’t know much about Ferris? Check out Saxon Sports which has a ton of information on the program and the results this year.

With Skyline of the Greater St. Helens League advancing last night with a big win over Auburn, the winner of today’s game will play them somewhere over in Eastern Washington.

This is the 3rd year in a row advancing to the quarterfinal for Ferris, and only the 2nd time EVER for Eisenhower. Ferris lost last year in the Semifinals to Skyline, so playoff experience is definitely on their side.

On paper Eisenhower is the most balanced in all facets of the game (Passing, Running, and Defense). Ferris gets the nod offensively, by a hair, with the deft passing of WSU bound Halliday and the sure hands of WR Jason Bates.

Eisenhower, with RB Joe Fuerst, QB James Lopez, and WR’s Martinez and Morioka should be able to match the Saxons step for step.

Defensively Eisenhower has definitely been overlooked, with LB Seth Kline delivering blows, Abel Soto, Issac Serate and James Akers stepping up big time as well.

My personal prediction: Eisenhower 31 Ferris 28 in a back and forth battle…

Until next time….

-ZT

It’s been a while since I updated the blog here on WSN. We’ve been busy covering games, getting coach interviews, working on websites, and working on some BIG things we hope to announce soon!

We will be heading to Spokane this Friday to cover 2 games that feature the GSL vs. the Big Nine: Sunnyside vs. Mt. Spokane and Southridge vs. Mead.

Talking to people and perusing other boards (gasp!) it seems the thinking from GSL folks is that they will all roll (except some who favor Wenatchee), the Big Nine folks seem to think that they will roll. This is perfectly normal as we are familiar with our respective conferences and know little to nothing about the TRUE evaluation of the other conferences teams.

We hope, at some point to expand our coverage to Spokane and the GSL (and other conferences too!) but this year we were exclusively Big Nine for Football. Thus we feel we can speak about those teams with some level of confidence.

Here is my quick analysis of the teams remaining from the Big Nine:

Eisenhower: I like this team alot. Joe Fuerst (pronounced “First”) is probably the best back in the conference. Seth Kline is THE best LB in the conference. They have a serviceable QB, a good WR, and backup RB’s. They play physical and with intensity. They play with a little bit of swagga to say the least.

Wenatchee: Another very good team, I’d say the deepest in the Big Nine with a D-1 center in Mike Marboe, top tier RB Jacob Sealby (and just as capable backup Blair Dorn), QB Cam Hoey is mobile and has a good arm, and twin Lucas Sealby is a monster on Special Teams and Defense. They run a disciplined system, all fakes are carried out, receivers block down-field. Nothing will stand in their way except themselves.

Coming later today…Southridge, Kamiakin, and Walla-Walla breakdowns…

We have some exciting things planned this year. Each week we will feature at least 1 Big Nine game as our WSN Game of the Week. The Game of the Week will be taped live using multiple cameras and our broadcast team of Manny Malito & Gerry Mercado.

The Big Nine Game of the Week will then be re-broadcast on by Monday or Tuesday of each week right here on WSN! The games are available for free! So come on back and check out our coverage. You may also purchase a copy of our coverage in the WSN Store.

Then starting next week we will bring you our weekly video recap show on Wednesday AND upcoming week video preview on Friday (**editors note: we are working ’round the clock to get as much stuff up as possible we may miss a few deadlines along the way, bear with us). If that weren’t enough check out Manny Malito’s internet radio show “The Pride” on Tuesdays & Thursdays for extra in-depth analysis of HS sports.

Then browse the blogs, forums, photo galleries and video vault for the most comprehensive Big Nine coverage around!

It’s all here on WashingtonSportsNetwork.com!

I’ll give a quick preview on each set of games in the Big Nine:

Wenatchee @ Eastmont:
Starting off the season with a nice rivalry game always ups the ante. Anything can happen and emotions will be running high. Strange things happen in any opener and don’t forget these are high school kids. That being said I think Wenatchee has too many horses and should run wild. Look for Blair Dorn to have a big game. Our pick: Wenatchee

Davis @ Eisenhower:
My insider on the Pirates likes what they have for the future. Sebastian Hunt is a man-child and Michell Vinsant is a quality back. That being said Eisenhower has the human missile in standout linebacker Seth Kline. Again another anything-goes crosstown rival game. My feeling is that this one will be closer than people think. our Pick: Slight nod to Ike.

Sunnyside @ Hanford:
Chance Graff and the Sunnyside Griz look to knock off the Hanford Falcons. Hanford has a pretty solid squad this year, plus playing at home can tip the scales. Players to watch for Hanford include Cameron Wagar & RJ Harris.Our pick: Hanford.

Southridge @ Kamiakin:
Southridge comes in ranked in most state top 10 polls coming off a stellar but disappointing season in the end. Kamiakin has a brand new coach in Scott Biglin who will spread the ball more than under Craig Beverlin. Kamiakin has the weapons to move the ball, including playmaker Tim White. Southridge will be playing a majority of Seniors on both sides of the ball. Could be a coming out party for Suns QB Stephen Garcia who has been waiting in the wings. The Suns are stout up front which should be the difference. Our Pick: Southridge

Chiawana @ Moses Lake:
The Riverhawks era begins under coach Graff and his collection of Sophmores & Juniors. That being said he’s got some pretty good ones in Zamora, Vincent, and QB son Luc. It’s always tough to play in Moses Lake. Coach Kitrell has handed the reigns over to long-time assistant Todd Griffith. Don’t expect much to change, and the Chiefs have a number of players including LB Colton Messer, QB Signorelli & WR Mitchell Hill. Our pick: ML

Richland @ Pasco:
This will be another great week 1 matchup. The Bombers lost some key peices from last year but return strong-armed QB Hayden Hilty who will sit behind big Nik Tulberg and throw it around. Garrett Gallinger anchors the D for the Bombers. Pasco is loaded with athletes and is my sleeper pick in the Big Nine. Game-breakers for Pasco include Wilborn, Avery, Lamb, and Chris Williams, add to that Nick Price at TE and you can see what I am talking about. New QB Josh Morris will have a number of options. Our pick: Pasco

Hermiston @ Walla Walla:
News out of camp that Walla-Walla athlete Gary Winston did not turn out does nothing to dampen the spirits of the Walla-Walla squad looking to make its mark on the Big Nine. Consensus all-conference pick Zach Sumerlin anchors both sides of the ball and Colton Arias should have a great season at WR/DB. Hermiston comes in picked by many to win their conference. Led by QB Faafiaula Ena the Bulldogs will be a tough matchup. We should have done our homework. Our Pick: Hermiston

Selah @ West Valley (Yakima):
Another rivalry game pits these neighboring schools against one another. For West Valley Slate Diessner and Garrett Gano were all-conference on the defensive side of the ball last year. For Selah dual-headed QB position sees Trent Douglass and Camdon Ashby sharing time. Our Pick: Selah

Kennewick @ South Kitsap (Saturday, Qwest Field, Seattle):
What an exciting way to open the season for the Lions. South Kitsap returns a nice cast of players including their QB & #1 receiver. The last time these 2 teams met Coach Templeton was a freshman and the Lions ended up winning on their way to Kingbowl 7. Look for the Lions to control the trenches up front and try to get the ball to standout WR Drew Loftus. Nerves and excitement may take over early in a venue like Qwest Field. Our Pick: Kennewick

The tough thing about picking a top 20 players list (especially in a league with 15 teams) is that players often get overlooked.  Also, new players transfer in or out, JV players move up to Varsity, Freshman become Sophomores and (gulp) new Freshman arrive.

That being the case we will be updating our list each week with new rankings.

Here are some players in the Big Nine that did not make our top 20 list, but are players to certainly keep an eye on:

Devan Homer LB Kennewick
Travis Sharp DL Kennewick
Nik Tulenberg OL Richland
Stephen Garcia QB Southridge
KC Hooper LB Kennewick
Joe Fuerst RB Eisenhower
Luc Graff QB/LB Chiawana
RJ Harris OL Hanford
Johnny Allen ath Kamiakin
Brodrick Hirai DC Southridge
Colton Arias WR Walla-Walla
Slate Diessner db West Valley (Yak)
Eathan Bugg ol Eastmont
Garrett Gallinger ol Richland
Garret Gano dl West Valley (Yak)
Sebastian Hunt dl Davis
Alec Martin TE Wenatchee
Dylan Sigorelli k Moses Lake
Mitch Hill wr Moses Lake
Blair Dorn RB Wenatchee
Dalyn Palmer RB Southridge
David Tremble WR Davis
CJ McCray DT Davis
Corey Hutchinson QB Kamiakin
Chance Graff OL Sunnyside
Matt Minnich LB Kamiakin
Cameron Wagar RB Hanford
Dom Davis RB Kamiakin

The Tacoma News tribune named its preseason list of Football players and 3 Big Nine players made the list: Mike Marboe of Wenatchee, Seth Kline of Eisenhower and Miquiyah Zamora of Chiawana.  Zamora is the only Sophomore on the list…

To see the full list click here…

We’ve posted the rest of our preseason Top 20 Big Nine Players list.  Head on over here to check it out, then come back and let us know what you think.  We will be posting a new top 10 list each week after seeing them in action.