EVERETT — Dozens of the greatest athletes who ever wore a Cascade High School football uniform will reunite tonight.
They will do it because the coach who helped mold their lives wanted to recognize their success and give them a reason to reconnect. But the former coach won’t be there to enjoy the celebration he inspired.
Terry Ennis, who coached Cascade for 11 remarkably successful seasons from 1988-1998, came up with the idea in July to honor the best Bruins players who competed between 1989 and 1999. At a 4th of July party at his home on Camano Island, Ennis asked current Cascade coach Jake Huizinga to assemble a committee to select a Bruins Team of the ’90s. (The team includes players who competed in 1989 and graduated in 1990.)
But last month, just after the committee had finished picking the team, Ennis died of cancer.
Following some uncertainty, the committee decided to continue and honor one of Ennis’ final wishes. This evening it will publicly unveil Cascade’s Team of the ’90s before Cascade plays host to Arlington 7 p.m. at Everett Memorial Stadium. The entire list of former Cascade stars will appear Saturday in The Herald.
Selecting the Team of the ’90s was “an enjoyable process, and I think we put together a good group of kids. It’s a diverse group,” said Joe Ennis, Terry Ennis’ son, who played football for Cascade and graduated in 1990.
Tonight’s ceremony will be bittersweet for many of Terry Ennis’ friends and former players.
“I really wish that he would be around to see it,” Joe Ennis said.
Initially, Terry Ennis’ death put doubt into the minds of selection committee members: Should they wait to announce the Team of the ’90s until next year, or abandon the idea altogether?
Without a doubt, Terry Ennis would have wanted the process to move forward, Joe Ennis said: “This is what he would have wanted. He didn’t want to be an interruption to anybody.”
The selection committee included Huizinga, Joe Ennis, former Cascade assistant coach Craig Bekins, former Cascade freshman team coach Mike Therrell, former Bruins quarterback Josh Heron and retired Cascade counselor Don Jensen. They considered players’ all-league and all-state honors, and graduating from Cascade was a requirement.
The committee also got feedback from Terry Ennis, who coached Cascade to 103 victories, 10 Western Conference championships, 10 state playoff appearances and one state title.
Committee members were flattered to help compile the historic squad.
“I thought it was a great idea — a suggestion like that from Terry I thought needed to be honored,” said Huizinga, who in 1991 became an assistant under Ennis.
Despite getting input from various people close to the program, this is Ennis’ list, said Therrell.
“This is the last thing Terry asked us to do, so we’re doing it,” Therrell said. “One thing I learned is that you don’t tell coach Ennis no.”
People instantly think of Ennis when they recall Cascade’s ’90s football dominance, but this project was Ennis’ way to put the spotlight back on the incredible players who made it all happen on the field, Bekins said.
Many players on the Team of the ’90s flew in from all over the country, Huizinga said. They’ll have a chance to catch up with each other and share memories of their high school days, when they became part of an Ennis-led dynasty.
Why were those Cascade teams all so good? Huizinga has a theory.
“It came right down to Terry and his demanding spirit, and (instilling) a sense of urgency and a sense of ‘I can win’ with the coaches and the players,” said Huizinga. “We all worked hard toward a common goal. It got to a point where the kids refused to lose.”
By picking the Cascade Team of the ’90s, Huizinga and the other selection committee members refused to let one of Ennis’ last wishes fade away.
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