MILL CREEK – Football used to be about as much fun as a root canal for Jake Gelakoska.
Elizabeth Armstrong / The Herald
He dreaded practice, hated it. Until the age of 12, he often cried on the drive to youth-football workouts.
But today, Gelakoska gives no hint of having anything but intense passion for the game that once made him cringe. Standing just a hair less than 6 feet, 4 inches and blessed with a rocket arm, Jackson High School’s junior quarterback has an inviting perma-smile these days.
“It’s kind of funny how things have changed,” Gelakoska said last week after practice. “Now (football is) what I work out for, what I live for.”
Based on what he’s achieved so far, Gelakoska has plenty to look forward to. After making a head-turning varsity debut for Jackson as a sophomore last season (201 yards and three touchdowns in a victory over eventual Wesco South co-champion Edmonds-Woodway), this fall Gelakoska has been even better. Through eight games, he has thrown for 1,705 yards, 16 TDs and just five interceptions.
Gelakoska’s performance has helped Jackson (5-3 Wesco South and overall) remain in the hunt for a Class 4A postseason berth. The Timberwolves can clinch the South No. 2 seed in a key battle against Everett (5-3, 5-3) Friday at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Entering the season, Jackson appeared to wield an unusually dynamic offense with Gelakoska, receivers Kawika Emsley-Pai and Kevin Salkey, and running back Travis Snider. But when the highly regarded Snider gave up football to focus on baseball, uncertainty hovered over the Timberwolves. It quickly became clear that Gelakoska needed to step up.
“He came to the understanding that more of the weight of the offense was going to be on his shoulders,” Jackson coach Joel Vincent said. “There was not one single complaint. He said ‘Alright. Let’s get it done.’”
Gelakoska’s actions have matched his attitude. He has completed 52 percent of his passes, showing an ability to make short-, medium- and long-range throws, and he has passed for multiple TDs in six of eight games. Though he’s still a junior, Gelakoska possesses a blend of size (200 pounds) and speed (4.56 seconds in the 40-yard dash) rarely seen at the prep level.
“He’s blessed with all the tools,” Vincent said. ” … He has a big, strong arm and an innate, instinctive ability to sense the rush.”
Vincent likened Gelakoska, who also starts at safety, to a hybrid between former Jackson QB Jason Morris (4.4 speed) and Kamiak alum Gary Rogers, a 6-5 pocket passer currently at Washington State University. College coaches have already bombarded Vincent with questions about Gelakoska, and that trend will spike exponentially if the Timberwolves’ signal caller continues his current success. Several Pacific-10 Conference (Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State) and Big Sky Conference schools have shown interest, Vincent said.
Gelakoska shrugs off the attention with refreshing modesty. He said he wants to play in college, probably for “Whoever will take me, I guess.”
Jackson’s receiving corps will take Gelakoska any day. Emsley-Pai, a junior who has known Gelakoska since age 6, is the team’s leading receiver with 47 catches for 690 yards and five TDs. “He’s really become mature and a good leader out there,” said Emsley-Pai, who used to play QB on a youth team with Gelakoska, a former running back. “And I don’t know where he got that arm.”
“It’s definitely a pleasure playing with him,” Jackson senior wideout Salkey (26 catches, 399 yards, five TDs) said of his quarterback. “His confidence is way up. He’s able to make decisions comfortably.”
By next season, Vincent wants Gelakoska to improve his leadership, pre-snap analysis and touch. Regarding the latter skill, sometimes Gelakoska cranks up the velocity too much when a high-arcing, soft throw is more appropriate.
When Gelakoska loads up, receivers better be ready for a bullet. “They’re usually always a tight spiral, and he delivers it hard,” Jackson senior tight end Ryan Brown (five receptions, 46 yards) said, “so you gotta make the catch and get upfield.”
Even when he throws a rare interception or a teammate drops a pass, Gelakoska never gets down.
“Nothing seems to ruffle him, to get him off balance,” Vincent said. “He kind of takes life as it comes.”
Right now, life is good.
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