EVERETT — As the 2008 Summer Olympics drew to a close two weeks ago, many Americans tuned into the 11:30 p.m. broadcast of the men’s basketball final to watch Team USA — dubbed the “Redeem Team,” by one too many pundits — hold off the Gasol brothers to defeat Spain in the gold medal game.
There’s a different redeem team in South Everett this season, one without quite as much hype, but garnering some publicity all the same.
They practice just east of their stadium which bears the name of their deceased former coach, under the tutelage of a new coach who also boasts a state-championship pedigree.
There are the usual signs of high school football: the conditioning, the coaches barking, and the guy who catches the ball with one hand, earning him the nickname “Hollywood.”
But there’s also an edge to this team, something percolating just beneath the surface that drives these players, probably more than they’ve ever driven themselves before.
Most people already know what happened to the Archbishop Murphy Wildcats in 2007: How the program lost its head coach Terry Ennis, who dies on the eve of its third game, and how an expired physical certificate forced them to forfeit their perfect season heading into their first-round state tournament game.
There’s a feeling that this season is partly about redemption, both for their former coach and last year’s senior class that had their chance at a state title taken away.
“That was a difficult experience and the seniors who realized they would never get to play again — that really devastated them,” said Murphy coach Dave Ward. “I met those seniors and congratulated them on their courage and their ability to deal with difficulty and these guys learned from those seniors last year that high school football is a special experience. You only get so many games and so many chances and that can be taken away from you whether it’s an issue or a violation of rules. There’s a lot at stake every game and you don’t want it to be your last, so you want to play well and I think they’ve learned from that and we’ll see if they can turn it into action.”
Ward, who coached at Oak Harbor for 17 years, was still with the Wildcats last year when the drama unfolded at Murphy. He said he’s only recently been caught up on all the details of how last season ended, but he doesn’t really use what happened last year to inspire his new team.
“I don’t bring that up to be honest,” he said. “If they want to use for themselves, that’s fine — that’s not one of my motivations.”
Offensive line coach Jeff Schmidt was with the program last year and certainly remembers the disappointment.
“(It was difficult) for us to work so hard on the field and for it to be taken away in a room environment where the kids don’t even get a chance to say who’s good and who’s not and who gets to win and who doesn’t,” Schmidt said. “The kids have worked real hard in the offseason to prove on the field what they knew from last year … they definitely remember that their season ended based on paperwork instead of blocking, tackling and running.”
Senior tight end/outside linebacker JJ Quinlan said this year’s team wants to win not just for themselves, but also for last year’s senior class that never got the chance.
“There’s a big chip on the shoulder, especially (this season’s) senior class because we were close to the seniors that graduated last year,” Quinlan said, adding that several members of last year’s senior class pulled him aside to encourage him. “They said, ‘JJ you better win state for us — we live through you guys and get it for us — we’ll be there every step of the way for you.’ And that’s really touched me — that made me want it that much more to win for two guys, not just one.”
That could put a lot of pressure on this year’s team, but Quinlan doesn’t think that will be too much of a problem.
“Some people could have turned that into pressure, but we turned that into energy to get better, faster and stronger,” he said. “That just gave us one more goal to get. Coach Ennis always told us to bounce back from adversity and that’s adversity and we’re back now.”
Senior J.D. Melton said last year’s disappointment caused him to “work his butt off” in preparation for 2008.
“I think a chip (on the shoulder) is an understatement for us,” he said. “It’s going to be a good feeling to get back out there and play and show everyone that they can’t get us down like that. All the adversity we went through last year, it’s going to be positive this year and we’re going to do the best we can one game at a time.”
The Wildcats don’t have too much time to dwell on last season, however, as they open play Sept. 5 against 2006 2A state champion Lynden.
“We come out with an excellent opponent in that first game and that’s good for us,” Ward said. “That creates a level of tension that we need in these practices leading up that first game.”
Ward knows he’s exchanged one premier program for another and that expectations run high at Murphy.
“This group of seniors has lost very few games since they were in youth football,” he said. “There’s an expectation with these athletes that they’re going to do well when they take the field, there’s an intensity and a level of play that they aspire to that’s just quality. Their goal is to do as well as last year or better and there’s no doubt in their mind that if we get the chemistry we need, if we get the leadership out of the seniors that’s positive and we develop that teamwork and closeness that we can do some great things. That has yet to be seen, how they’re going to come together.”
But Melton doesn’t thank that will be a problem as Murphy’s own redeem team embarks on its new season they hope will end in early December with their third state title.
“The chemistry is there, it’s just the new offense we’re getting kind of used to,” he said. “I think the hard work is there, the coaching is there, I think it’s just time. Time will tell how good we’re going to be.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
