Camp report: Edmonds-Woodway

Published 10:52 pm Thursday, September 1, 2011

EDMONDS — The Edmonds-Woodway football team is sporting a bit of a new look this season.

Graduation opened up a number of spots in the starting lineup.

But it wasn’t until last week that coach John Gradwohl settled on a new quarterback. Junior Matt Cuzzetto will be under center when the Warriors host Monroe in a non-conference opener on Sept. 2.

Cuzzetto started at safety last season as a sophomore and his overall experience gave him the edge among the four individual vying for the starting position.

“It was really tough,” Gradwohl said of his decision. “I just think it probably was his confidence, being a returning starter. … He’s got a high football IQ. He’s a pretty good passer. He can run with the ball. He’s just an all-around athlete.”

This was the first time in a number of years that the Warriors came into the preseason without a clear idea of who would be starting at quarterback.

The competition among the four candidates was spirited, according to Gradwohl.

“Obviously, they all had to share snaps. That was not good for any of them,” he added. “They were all very close in talent. They all have different strengths.”

The four quarterbacks saw action during an Aug. 26 scrimmage and Gradwohl liked what he saw from all of them.

Senior co-captain Robbie Willcock viewed the battle among the four quarterbacks as a positive for the team.

“It was great. We had all those guys going for it,” he said. “They are making each other better.”

Two familiar faces will join Cuzzetto in the backfield – running backs Desmond Young and Mark Coutee. The two played last year but figure to have more prominent roles this season.

Young, in particular, brings somewhat of a different skill set to the running back position than some of his predecessors – speed.

The Warriors plan to take full advantage of Young’s fleetness.

“It’s exciting to see him run,” Willcock said. “We’ll run a lot more sweeps and utilize his strengths.”

The offensive line might need to be a little quicker on their feet but otherwise the coaches didn’t change their approach with the linemen.

“You want to control the line of scrimmage,” Gradwohl said.

Senior Spiral Horn returns at wide receiver and should be among Cuzzetto’s top targets.

Horn also brings speed to the lineup.

“I believe his hands definitely have improved along with his protection of the ball,” senior co-captain/linemen Sam Song said.

Horn should be stronger this season since he spent a lot of time in the weight room during the offseason, Willcock noted.

“He’s still crazy fast,” said Willcock. “I see him as a big playmaker down the field.”

Gradwohl saw plenty of positives from the offense during the scrimmage.

“They (running backs) ran really well,” Gradwohl said. “They’re good backs. We have some good receivers. If we mix it up, I think we can have a lot of success.”

Gradwohl saw good play from the offensive and defensive lines. Senior co-captain Jayson Peterson, a second-team, all-league selection, anchors the offensive line and Song, a first-team, all-league pick, does the same for the defensive line. Song also may see some time on offense.

The Edmonds-Woodway defense returns a number of standouts including Horn and Cuzzetto in the secondary and Willcock at linebacker.

E-W has three league contests before opening league play against Mariner.

“To us a game is a game. We don’t want to lose,” Peterson said. “If we come out and win those three games, we’ll get some momentum going into the league games.”

The Warriors likely will have six or seven individuals playing both offense and defense but it won’t be all the time.

“We’ve got some depth,” Gradwohl said. “We want to be at our best in the fourth quarter. That’s hard to do when kids are playing both ways.”