The Bellevue Wolverines are no strangers to the Glacier Peak Grizzlies. The two football teams play Friday night for the fourth time in five seasons, with the previous three meetings all going in the Wolverines’ favor.
Bellevue won 28-17 in a playoff game in 2011, 47-7 in a playoff game in 2013, and 30-0 in a regular-season contest last season.
Glacier Peak head coach Rory Rosenbach, whose team is tied for seventh in this week’s Class 3A Associated Press state poll, said he likes the idea of getting another shot at No. 2 Bellevue during the regular season.
“This year and last year, we’re playing in Week 5,” Rosenbach said. “It’s a non-league game. It’s like, ‘Guys, you aren’t playing for your lives right now. It’s not the playoffs.’ For us, it’s a great measuring stick. It’s an opportunity to go against a really good football team and see where we are and what we need to get better at. Obviously we’re going to get after them with everything we’ve got, but at the same time we’ve got to go play next week.”
Of all the Glacier Peak teams that have played Bellevue, this year’s group might be best equipped to compete with the Wolverines. The Grizzlies are as deep as they have been in several seasons, and Rosenbach said this might be the fastest team he’s had in his eight seasons at GP.
“I think we can go out and compete with them,” Rosenbach said. “They are certainly an incredibly talented group of guys, but I think we are too. Speed-wise, I think we are much better suited to deal with them both offensively and defensively than we have been in years past.”
Then he added, “we might think we’re pretty good, but we’ll find out how good we are on Friday.”
Glacier Peak (4-0) has yet to be challenged this season, winning by scores of 42-25, 57-7, 49-14 and 45-0. The lack of a close game means the Grizzlies are healthy and rested, but it also means they haven’t had to play a full four quarters this season. That will have to change if Glacier Peak hopes to pull off an upset, Rosenbach said.
A defensive effort like the one the Grizzlies produced a year ago could go a long way toward reaching that goal. Rosenbach said Bellevue was unable to move the ball consistently last season, building its lead on a handful of big plays in the first half.
“We were really happy with how we played on defense,” he said. “I’m sure (Bellevue) doesn’t want to hear it, but we felt like we shut down the Wing-T. We sold out to shut down the Wing-T and we did a pretty good job of it. We just have to do a better job of tackling athletes in space and that’s where it gets tricky.”
Bellevue enters this year’s game with as much uncertainty as it’s had in several seasons. The Wolverines lost to Eastside Catholic in last year’s Class 3A state championship, ending their streak of six straight titles, and they lost their season opener this season — albeit to Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman, which is ranked No. 1 in the country in the USA Today Super 25 rankings.
In addition to the adversity the Wolverines have faced on the field, they are dealing with some lingering off-the-field issues as well. Head coach Butch Goncharoff was suspended for the first two games of the season after the team self-reported rules violations to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. And the WIAA recently hired two former federal prosecutors to investigate allegations of academic impropriety in the Bellevue program in the wake of a story by the Seattle Times.
“We all have an opinion,” Rosenbach said of the investigation. “There is a lot of people that are really happy and a lot of people that don’t think it’s anything. For me, if they do the investigation and those things come back and there is some wrongdoing, then I think there needs to be some very strict sanctions placed. We’re talking about all the way up to the top. If what is being is said is true, then they’ve done a great disservice to those young men and that community, which I don’t know if it’s true or not, maybe it is maybe it isn’t.”
Rosenbach said his opinion of the Wolverines’ long-term success could change if Bellevue is found to have committed some of the alleged violations.
“I know this, they’re really, really good football coaches and I know they teach technique and they teach fundamentals and an aggressive style of play that not many people can duplicate,” he said. “They’re exceptional at what they do. If it comes out that it has been with a little bit of extra help, that may be a disappointment to a lot of people because I’ve watched what they do for a long time and they do a great job.”
Rosenbach said the off-the-field issues shouldn’t be a distraction for the Wolverines on Friday — or this season, for that matter.
“I think those (coaches) will do a good job of keeping their kids focused,” Rosenbach said. “I’m sure they’ve got some stuff on their minds that they’re dealing with. … but I think they’ll do a good job of keeping their kids thinking about what they can control and that’s what is in-house. That’s taking care of their school work and taking care of football and not worrying about outside influences.”
As for Rosenbach’s players, they aren’t thinking about anything but beating Bellevue.
“I think our kids understand the big picture,” Rosenbach said. “This is a Week 5 football game. This is a non-league game. It’s a great measuring stick for us to see where you are against the best. That being said, they want this game pretty bad.
“They’ve been looking forward to it for a long time.”
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
