Plenty of changes as prep football practice begins Wednesday

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, August 14, 2018

High school football is back.

Wednesday, the first day of fall practice for prep football teams across the state, marks the official beginning of the 2018 season.

However, poor air quality because of British Columbia wildfires could impact Wednesday’s season-opening practices for some local teams. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association said Tuesday that “athletic administrators should consult with their local health departments regarding the safety of outdoor activities” and that “scheduling and participation are at the discretion” of the individual school district officials.

“It may affect our practice schedule,” Monroe coach Michael Bumpus said via text. “I’m relying on our trainer to give us the OK or not. It’s pretty much an hour-by-hour situation.”

“We will practice,” Edmonds-Woodway coach John Gradwohl said via text. “How hard will depend on air quality.”

Games begin in a little more than two weeks, with all local teams set to kick off the regular season either Aug. 30 or 31. All other fall sports begin practice Monday.

The new prep football season brings some notable changes, including a handful of new head coaches in Snohomish County.

Jordan Sieh, a 2006 Cascade graduate who spent the past seven seasons on his alma mater’s coaching staff, replaces Shane Keck as head coach of the Bruins.

David Coldiron, who has more than 20 years of experience coaching high school and community college football, is the new head coach at Everett. He replaces Doug Trainor, who helped turn around a struggling program and guided the Seagulls to a combined 17 wins in his three seasons at the helm.

Joey Hammer, a 1998 Snohomish graduate who spent the past three seasons on Monroe’s coaching staff, returns to his alma mater to become just the Panthers’ fourth head coach in the past 56 seasons. He replaces Kai Smalley, who coached Snohomish for the past five seasons.

Former Auburn Riverside head coach Bryant Thomas takes over at Kamiak and replaces longtime coach Dan Mack, who guided the Knights for the previous 20 seasons.

Brandon Davis replaces Tim Dennis as Granite Falls’ head coach.

This season also features two new leagues for local football teams at the Class 2A and 1A levels.

For its 2A football programs, the Northwest Conference is debuting a two-tiered system in an effort to improve competitive balance and help struggling teams. Archbishop Murphy and Lakewood will play in the district’s upper “Sky” division, along with Burlington-Edison, Lynden and Sedro-Woolley.

Mountlake Terrace and Cedarcrest will compete in the lower “Lake” division with Anacortes, Bellingham, Blaine and Sehome.

At the 1A level, former Cascade Conference members Cedar Park Christian, Granite Falls, King’s, South Whidbey and Sultan will compete with Coupeville in the new North Sound Conference. The six-team all-1A league was formed this past winter after the Cascade Conference disbanded.

Another difference this season is that seeding for the state football playoffs will be determined by committees, instead of the traditional draw format of years past, which matched teams based on district seeds.

Teams will still qualify for the state playoffs through their respective districts. But after the field of state-playoff teams is set, three 12-person committees will determine the brackets by seeding the teams based on their performances throughout the season.