Prep Football Notebook
Published 2:46 pm Thursday, October 22, 2009
‘Ridiculous’ number of injuries for Lake Stevens
Just before the season began, the Lake Stevens High School football team was stunned when projected starting running back/versatile defender Duke Dolphin suffered a season-ending knee injury. Last week three more key Lake Stevens starters (Chameron Lackey, Garek Stuart and Alex Moon) went down with serious knee injuries, and two others, Arvid Isaksen and Justin Grow, each suffered a broken foot.
Another Vikings starter (Jesse Porter) has pneumonia and might be out for the season, and leading tackler Brandon Belcher (concussion) won’t play this week, Lake Stevens coach Tom Tri said.
The Vikings have just one receiver and two offensive linemen from its Week 1 starting lineup, and probably will start six sophomores tonight against Oak Harbor.
The injury binge is “borderline ridiculous,” Tri said, adding that he’s never seen anything like it in 15 years of coaching.
Kamiak’s Dog Patch battles
The Kamiak Knights have a tradition called the Dog Patch competition, inspired by something legendary coach Frosty Westering used to do at Pacific Lutheran University.
Every spring Kamiak coaches divide players into teams of about 10, mixing seniors with juniors and sophomores. Over the course of the spring, summer and fall, the groups compete in events such as dancing, the belly flop and the tug-of-war. Teams that score the most points by the end of the football season get special awards.
“The competition’s really fun,” said Jake Sortor, Kamiak’s senior quarterback.
Sortor plays guitar and performed Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” during a Dog Patch talent show. His teammate Nate Regan, a 150-pound senior, is a two-time belly flop champ.
Tupou’s backfield debut
In Archbishop Murphy’s 14-7 Swamp Bowl victory over Cedarcrest last week at Terry Ennis Stadium, Murphy junior Tani Tupou got to try something new. For the first time in a high school game, Tupou played running back.
Usually a tight end/defensive end, the 6-foot-2, 237-pound Tupou carried the ball seven times for 28 yards.
“That was good fun,” said Tupou, whose longest gain was 14 yards. He got the chance because Murphy’s backfield had been hard hit by injuries.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
