Not many sports display the kind of teamwork that an 11-on-11 football game does. Players of all different shapes, sizes, age and ability are packed onto one field, intricately moving together and relying on each other for zone coverage, running off defenders and pocket protection.
This is even truer for the Snohomish County Vikings, a semi-pro team that boasts players who are 18 years old and fresh out of high school, to one man, offensive lineman Gary Smart, who is in his 50s.
Yet for coach Wes Fischer and many of his players, this team is more than just a group of varied-aged football players.
After a 41-0 loss on June 28 to the Seattle Stallions, the Vikings huddled together on the Edmonds Stadium turf and shouted something Fischer didn’t expect: “Family.”
“My goal is to see these guys grow as a team and grow as young men,” he said.
The versatile Edmonds-Woodway graduate, Chris Stokes, 25, who plays both linebacker and running back for the Vikings, used another word to describe the team: “Unity.”
For Stokes, Vikings football allows him to keep “playing with all my brothers” he said. He realized that he probably won’t ever make it to the collegiate or pro level, but the satisfaction of hitting people during a good, rough game of football hasn’t worn off.
“It’s fun… therapeutic,” said Stokes.
Coach Fischer praised the 250-pound ex-high school wrestler, using words like “all-star” and “warrior,” saying that he causes fumbles, gets interceptions, can blitz the quarterback, and even play tight end or special teams.
During their most recent game, a 49-13 loss to the Puget Sound Titans on June 12, Stokes intercepted a pass on his own 2-yard line and dashed 97 yards before being tackled a yard short of the end zone.
Another local Viking, Matt Terwilliger, a 25-year-old defensive back from Mountlake Terrace High School, said that he is enjoying every minute with the Vikings.
“It’s the funnest thing I’ve ever done,” he said. “Of all the teams I’ve been on….(this team has) a lot more camaraderie.”
Terwilliger said his main goal is to use this opportunity to improve every aspect of his game, from tackling to covering receivers.
Like Terwilliger, defensive lineman Ishmael Easton is hoping to improve his game throughout the season.
Sitting in the bleachers during practice, fans were quick to point out the 22-year-old, 285-pound Easton, also known as “Black Velvet,” as one of the Vikings’ top players.
“In a way, it’s like breathing air to everybody else,” said Easton of the importance of football in his life.
During Easton’s first tryout with the Vikings about four seasons ago, he picked up one of the biggest linemen and drove him five yards backwards before setting him back down. That’s when coach Fischer knew Easton was a special player.
“He’s just unbelievably quick,” said Fischer.
Easton, a Shorewood High School graduate, said he is grateful to be a part of the Vikings and learn from older and more experienced players. He hopes that by getting “bigger, stronger, faster” he can one day be an asset to a team at the collegiate or pro level.
Then there is EZ Jones, a lean 18-year-old wide receiver straight out of Shorecrest High School. As a smaller, speed oriented player who’s only been involved in football for two years, he said playing for the Vikings motivates him to be the best he can be.
“My main goal is to work harder than my opponent,” said Jones.
Jones, who has a brother on the Seattle Stallions, grew up watching the Vikings play and always wanted to be a part of the team.
“It’s a real honor,” he said.
At the end of practice Thursday, there weren’t any locker rooms to head to, no showers or expensive team facility to store their equipment. Instead, coach Fischer gathered all of the pads and jerseys and stored them in a long trailer that he hauls to each practice.
Players don’t get paid huge contracts. In fact, they have to pay a players fee, which only covers about a quarter of the league’s costs. They need to find their own means of travel to games.
Yet, at the end of the day, these men love to play the game. Whether it’s a young player fresh out of high school, or a seasoned veteran who’s been playing all his life, for these Vikings, brotherhood is synonymous with football.
“I teach family, country, football,” said Fischer, “you know, that kind of sequence.”
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