An offensive line that has fun together and works hard together plays well together.
That’s how Brett Parsons sees it — and he would know.
Parsons is the starting right tackle on the unbeaten Marysville-Pilchuck High School football team. Along with the Tomahawks’ other O-linemen, Parsons (6-foot-2, 300 pounds) has helped M-P to a 9-0 record for the second straight season.
Parsons, a senior co-captain, and junior tight end Jarrett Finau are the only returning starters on the offensive line from 2008. But the new starters (senior right guard JJ Gamalinda, senior center Dan Hinckley, senior left guard Kyle Bossom and junior left tackle Zach Schumann) jelled quickly and have dominated all fall. They will be crucial, as usual, when Wesco North champion M-P (9-0) plays Graham-Kapowsin (6-3) in a Class 4A quad-district playoff game Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Snohomish Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The Tomahawks’ linemen, guided by veteran M-P assistant coach Scott Stokes, have helped the team pile up remarkable rushing totals. Leading the backfield, of course, is senior Austin Denton (1,919 yards and 24 touchdowns), followed by senior AJ Kvangnes (679 yards, seven TDs) and senior quarterback Zack Hanson (339 yards, eight TDs).
One reason the linemen perform so well, Parsons said, is they genuinely like each other.
“We get along probably the best out of (any group on the team),” he said. “I think, personally, that the linemen need to get along in order for the team to do good.”
Another major factor in the line success for M-P, ranked ninth in this week’s Associated Press Class 4A state poll, is Stokes, the long-time coach. Once the team’s head coach and currently an assistant, Stokes mainly works with offensive linemen.
“He knows his stuff,” Parsons said. “Every single week it’s something new, and running our offense — you never know what the defense is going to throw at us.”
A few M-P foes put eight defenders near the line of scrimmage, others went with just four. The Tomahawks have overpowered those defensive schemes, and everything in between.
“Coach Stokes does a great job with those guys, getting them ready for all kinds of different stunts and fronts and blitzes,” M-P head coach Brandon Carson said. “They’re a real heady group. They’re pretty smart kids and they pick things up real fast, which is helpful.”
M-P feels at home in Snohomish
Since its home stadium in Marysville doesn’t have an artificial surface, M-P can’t play host to Saturday’s quad-district playoff game, coach Carson said. So, at least for a day, the Tomahawks will call Snohomish High’s Veterans Memorial Stadium home.
M-P didn’t want to play at Everett Memorial Stadium, where it lost a playoff game to Issaquah last year.
“We just haven’t had very good luck at Everett Memorial the last few years,” Carson said. “Our captains chose to play (at Veterans Memorial). I let them decide and that’s where they wanted to play.”
If all goes well and planned renovations proceed, M-P will have artificial turf at its true home, Quil Ceda Stadium, by next fall, Carson said.
Historic moment for Hawks
The Mountlake Terrace Hawks’ already-historic season is about to reach a new pinnacle. On Saturday, Wesco South No. 2 seed Terrace (6-3) plays the first postseason game in the program’s half-century of existence. The Hawks, coached by Tony Umayam, play host to Narrows League No. 3 seed Central Kitsap (6-3) in a 4A quad-district clash at 1 p.m. at Edmonds Stadium. In addition to trying for its first-ever football state-tournament berth, Terrace will go for its first seven-win season since 1972, Umayam said.
“The mood around the school is very upbeat,” Umayam said. “(Students and teachers) have been excited about the team since the early part of the season, but now there is a heightened sense of school pride as a result of what this team has accomplished.”
Terrace might be without starting outside linebacker Max Wicklander. He broke multiple bones in his hand in last week’s win over Kamiak.
Stanwood versus No. 1
The Stanwood Spartans’ reward for winning the Stilly Cup and clinching the Wesco North’s No. 3 seed is a 4A quad-district playoff game tonight at unbeaten Bothell (9-0). The Cougars are ranked No. 1 in the state in 4A.
Stanwood (4-5) has allowed more points (231) than it has scored (194) this season, while Bothell has outscored foes 376-44.
Stanwood is in the playoffs for the first time since 2004, when it lost 14-7 to Kentwood. Bothell is making its eighth straight postseason appearance.
Quick slants
Jackson’s already-potent offense got another boost last week. Speedy receiver John Wilde (506 yards, four TDs, 28.1 yard average in 2008) returned and made several catches in the fourth-ranked T-Wolves’ win over Cascade. Wilde, a junior, broke his wrist in Jackson’s season-opening win at Stanwood. He wore a protective brace last week and will wear it the rest of the season, Jackson coach Joel Vincent said. … Is this real life or is Thomas Vincent in a video game? Through nine games, the King’s High School QB has amazing stats: 1,942 yards passing with 28 TDs, and 1,306 yards rushing with 17 scores. That’s 45 touchdowns in nine games. Vincent has a talented, senior-loaded O-line and is “the strongest kid on our team pound for pound,” King’s coach Jim Shapiro said. Though he is just a junior, Vincent (5-11, 175 pounds) has received recruiting interest from the University of Oregon and the University of Washington, Shapiro said. … The Glacier Peak Football Booster Club will provide a rooter bus for fans who want to see Glacier Peak (7-2) play Peninsula (8-1) in the 3A playoffs Saturday in Gig Harbor. The bus leaves Glacier Peak High at 3:30 p.m. The cost is $5 per person. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Roy Anderson Field.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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