Bonney Lake Football Ready for Championship Run

Chad Barrett knows a thing or two about state championships.

The Bonney Lake head football coach won a trio while a defensive coordinator at Skyline High School before joining the Panthers in 2009. And what he sees out of his players heading into the 2011 season leaves him no doubt that they can compete for one this season.

“These kids work extremely hard and they’re doing a damn good job and they are pushing each other and they’re communicating and they’re leading each other and they’re helping each other, coaching each other," Barrett said. "When you start to see that, things start to progress at a much higher pace.”

Bonney Lake is coming off of a successful 2010 season that ended in disappointing fashion with two lopsided losses to league-foe Lakes and Meadowdale. The Panthers ended up 7-3, but missed out on the state tournament round-of-16 after surrendering 93 combined points in those final two games.

While those results were far from what the Panthers expected after winning seven of their first eight games, Barrett said the team learned something from those losses.

“It’s just about becoming a championship program," Barrett said. "I think the biggest thing is, you get in those situations and it’s not who you play, it’s really playing up to your potential. I think that’s the biggest thing the kids learned, you can compete against anybody, but you’ve got to play at that level every game and every play.”

Barrett will be dealing with a multitude of new starters on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Panthers graduated their top four wide receivers and their starting running backs. The biggest hit came in the form of wide receiver Austin Marshall, who set school records in 2010, catching 65 passes for 1161 yards and 16 TD's.

“That’s what high school football is, you lose kids, but there’s no let down," Barrett said. "You’ve got to continue and the next guys step in.”

The new running back tandem will be senior Joey Surber and junior E.J. Harris. The pair is expected to trade snaps in Bonney Lake's one-back, no huddle offense and each provides a different style for the Panthers offense.

Still manning the quarterback position will be junior Chris Brown. Brown had a breakout sophomore season, throwing for 2316 yards and 28 touchdowns against only eight interceptions in 2010. Even with an entirely new group of wide receivers, Brown's 64 percent completion rate in 2010 indicates that the Panthers aerial attack will remain a concern for opponents.

Bonney Lake returns five starters from the defense that finished first in the SPSL 3A before the late-season meltdown. The Panthers gave up a miniscule 10.8 points per game in the first eight games of 2010, four times holding opponents to seven points or less. Barrett said he expects the defense to return to its early-season 2010 form and avoid any blowouts.

“I think overall we’ve really improved defensively and we were a damn good defense last year," Barrett said. "But when you face the good teams in those games, we had some let down. But I think that’s where we’ve taken that next step is having the defense play to that level every game.”

Beyond the talent he has on the field, Barrett is stressing the message of consistency this year. Barrett said he believes his team has the talent to win the state championship, as long as they can learn to play at a high level on every play of every game.

“Any program, you’ve got good players, everyone’s got talent," Barrett said. "It’s just how you utilize it, how you work and how much they come together as a group…the championship teams, you watch those teams that are in the semi’s and finals every year, they are consistently at the top for a reason. One, is hard work and they’ve been there. Two, is when they get to a big game, they play at that high level every play. We never had the most talented team at Skyline, but what separated us is that.”

Bonney Lake will be facing stiff competition in the SPSL in the forms of stacked Lakes and resurgent Peninsula. Despite the difficult task of even getting through its own league, Barrett has his team eyeing the championship trophy at the end of the year.

“That’s what we strive for every day," Chris Brown said. "That’s our goal, we break on fourteen weeks every day. Fourteen weeks is the state championship.”