Camp report: Lynnwood

Published 2:07 pm Friday, September 2, 2011

LYNNWOOD — The football culture is changing at Lynnwood High School and second-year coach Mike Don is leading the way.

The Royals have won just seven games since 2004, arguably a reason why, player turnouts dropped off nearly year after year.

But Don and his handpicked staff ar

e committed to bringing Lynnwood football out from the musty Western Conference 3A basement and into a more respectable light.

“These kids have had it hard,” he said. “They don’t get respect from their own school or from the league, but that’s going to change. Last year we had too many individuals and too many cliques. It’s my job to get these kids to buy in to our philosophy and goals. But last year, we had players who weren’t willing to do that.”

Whatever it is Don’s selling, the student athletes at Lynnwood are buying it in bulk. Despite going 1-9 overall in 2010, the Royals have had one of their best turnouts in recent memory this past offseason. More than 80 players came out for the team – 35 of whom are freshmen. Last year, just 12 of the team’s 55 players were ninth-graders, which made it impossible for Lynnwood to field a freshman team. This season, the Royals will have a third team for the first time in years.

“It’s completely different around here now,” 6-foot-4, 305-pound junior lineman Andrew Brasham said. “We weren’t much of a team last season. We had players who just didn’t care. It was bad.”

The first step this season was to intensify the team’s strengthening and conditioning program. Players started packing the school’s weight room early in the offseason and they’ve been doing so ever since.

Last season, Lynnwood’s smallish offensive linemen took a beating from their much bigger counterparts, who ultimately stuffed the Royals’ running game and created havoc for first-year quarterback Blake Lord.

That’s where the weight training program comes in, especially for the offensive line. Brasham, a first-team all-league selection last year as a sophomore, joins 6-foot-3, 300-pound sophomore Isaiah Holmes on the left side of the offensive line, a key section of the line that watches over its right-handed quarterback.

With his blind spot well guarded, Lord believes he’ll have more time in the pocket and a better opportunity to find his receivers.

“I see my offensive linemen in the weight room every day and I work with them every day, so I know I can trust them,” Lord said.

In his first year as a high school quarterback last season, Lord threw 17 touchdowns, but he threw just as many interceptions.

“I don’t remember how many interceptions I threw, but it was in the double digits,” Lord said.

The Royals will stick to their four-receiver spread offense. However, Don scrapped the shotgun formation from the playbook.

“We got rid of the shotgun, and I like that,” Lord said. “Sure there’s more work. I still have to make my reads, but it’s easier to find the threads, which really helps me.”

With 18 receivers listed on the roster, Lord will have a variety of targets to throw to. But his main target will likely be Morgan Skelton. The junior averaged 15.6 yards per catch in 2010.

Senior running back Corey Hoerner will be the team’s work horse on the ground. As a junior he rushed for 405 yards on 95 carries and scored four touchdowns.

“I am very confident in our backfield and our receivers,” Don said. “Corey has improved greatly and I can’t say enough about Morgan. He is a special player. He just has to realize how talented he is.”

Defensively, Don wants his unit to be more aggressive in stopping the run. Last season, the defense gave up an alarming 200 yards per game. He’s looking to sophomore linebacker David Vo, Brasham at defensive tackle and safety Skelton to run the defense.

“We need to stop worrying about making mistakes,” Don said. “We want our players to attack the ball and make plays. We have to find a way to stop the run. That killed us last season and I think we can do that.”

Gone from last season is Coleman Bryant, who rushed for more than 500 yards and scored eight touchdowns, and top receiver Colton DeGraw, who had more than 400 yards and scored six touchdowns.

The Royals open the season against Glacier Peak for second consecutive year, at 8 p.m. Sept. 2 at Edmonds Stadium. Last year, Glacier Peak defeated Lynnwood 52-20.