Edmonds-Woodway Football Looks to New Blood

Optimism was high surrounding the Edmonds-Woodway football program heading into the 2010 season. Ranked in the top 10 in the state, the Warriors were hoping to ride star running back Zack Berg deep into the state tournament.

Unfortunately, the season went a bit sideways for the Warriors. After beginning the year 6-1, Edmonds-Woodway stumbled down the stretch, losing three straight games, including an upset loss to Redmond. A year later and with Berg now playing at Wyoming, the Warriors are hoping to surprise people and return to the state tournament for the first time since 2007.

Edmonds-Woodway returns about half of their starting unit from last year, minus some notable names. Gone is Berg and his 1,400 rushing yards, as well as quarterback Tyler Brudevold. But head coach John Gradwohl is optimistic the players stepping in can full those voids.

“The guys that are stepping up have been a pleasant surprise," Gradwohl said. "I’m very excited about the group that’s coming up."

Part of that group will be three new offensive lineman, joining holdovers right guard Jayson Peterson and left guard Jack McCole. Gradwohl said the group has come together well over the off-season and should have no problem translating to games.

"The biggest thing with those guys is how those guys get along and how they mesh," Gradwohl said. "They’re goofy, but they’re a great group of kids.”

Behind the offensive line will be a new quarterback coming out of a group of three (Gradwohl had not yet named a starter when we spoke). The coach has high hopes for whichever one takes over, as well as his returning running back, Desmond Young. Young showed flashes of his ability in 2010, gaining 405 yards on just 35 carries with seven touchdowns. In a blowout win over Cascade in which Berg sat for much of the game, Young exploded for 222 yards and three touchdowns.

“We don’t have a Zack Berg coming up," Gradwohl said. "We have a good tailback, but he won’t be a Zack Berg tailback. He’s going to have his own style and have his own strengths and weakness, but we feel pretty good about the running backs we have coming back.”

On defense, the Warriors will be losing a few starters, but returning plenty of players who received significant playing time last year. Team captains Robbie Wilcox (linebacker), Sam Song (D-Line) and Jayson Peterson (D-Line) all return for the Warriors, as well as some first-time starter, but experienced players. Because of Edmonds-Woodway's occasional struggles on the defensive end, many underclassmen received significant playing time last year.

“We played a lot of guys on defense last year," Gradwohl said. "So we’ve got a lot of kids returning who maybe weren’t starters, but played a lot.”

Defense was a concern for the Warriors in 2010.While a significant amount of players are returning, they are returning from a squad that struggled mightily at times in 2010, surrendering at least 24 points - and as many as 51 - in six of its final seven games in 2010.

Gradwohl said he thinks the problem has been fixed. The Warriors were susceptible to big plays on certain run schemes last year, but Gradwohl and his staff feel they have spent the offseason fixing this.

“Last year, whether it was through our presentation of the defense or our progression of how we taught the defense, we struggled with a couple of aspects of the game, the sweep and counter," Gradwohl said. "As a coaching staff, we spent four months in the offseason, reviewing, one, is what we’re doing sound and right, two, how can the coaches present it in a progressive way that makes sense and is easy to the kids. Our goal is to put a kid in position to be successful and I don’t feel we did as good of a job as we could have, mostly in clarity.”

The 2011 season will come down to how many of the new players on the Edmonds-Woodway roster perform. Gradwohl said the success of the team will come down to living up to potential and how much the players remember the disappointments of last year...and maybe a little luck.

“Hopefully it makes them hungry, like, well that wasn’t good enough, not being satisfied," Gradwohl said of the 2010 finish. "You’re hoping that’s what they got out of that, was, hey, one, we’re a better team than we demonstrated, two, we should get to the next level. Whether you win the state championship or not, who’s to say, but you want to go as far as your team is good and one more if you can. If you can steal one, that’s even better.”

Edmonds-Woodway opens the season at home against Monroe on September 2 at 7 pm.