Hawks opening up the offense

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE

The Mountlake Terrace football team is loosening up its offense.

The return of several potential playmakers in the backfield prompted Hawks head coach Tony Umayam to rethink his approach to the offense. The goal is to move players around, create space and just open things up.

“We’re going to be creative in our motions and try to put guys in situations where we get our athletes the ball in space,” Umayam said. “It’s a different offense than what we’ve run in the past. It’s more wide open and a fun offense for the players.”

Umayam is especially glad to have senior flanker Billy Lectenberg and junior running back Casey Ellersick back in the fold. Ellersick was injured in the first game of the year and missed the rest of the season, while Lectenberg also was sidelined for some key games.

“It’s nice to get Billy back. He was our main guy last year,” Umayam said. “We’re going to move him around quite a bit. We’re just trying to be creative in getting the ball to Billy.”

Lectenberg won’t be the sole focus on the Mountlake Terrace offense. Ellersick figures to play a major role as will senior Percy Anyimah, who Umayam said might be the fastest player on the team.

Junior Brandyn Eckhart is the likely starter at quarterback. Eckhart did see limited action last season after starter Tony Ellersick was injured.

The 5-foot-9, 170-pound signal caller put in a lot of work in the summer to prepare for the season.

“He’s done all the steps in the offseason,” Anyimah said. “All that stuff is going to pay off and it’s showing right now. It’s paying off as far as his mechanics and his reads. They’re all coming together nicely.”

Much will be riding on Eckhart’s performance this season. Eckhart demonstrated his ability to lead the Hawks in the one start he had last year. Eckhart managed the game well, Umayam said.

“We expect him to make correct decisions,” Umayam added. “Not every ball needs to be the home run but take what the defense gives us. … He’s a pretty good athlete. He just needs to make the right decision on where to go with the football.”

“We have some pretty good athletes that are good with the football. Brandon just needs to distribute to the right guy.”

Umayam isn’t too concerned about Eckhart’s size, though he may be well the smallest quarterback in the league.

“We’re doing a few things to try and help him out with that,” Umayam said. “We’re just being creative with what we’re doing with the offense.”

Eckhart’s size coupled with his speed should enable him to be an elusive target in the backfield.

“He’s got the speed,” said senior lineman Derrik Larsen. “If he gets rushed, he can run away from defenders when he needs to.”

Senior Paul Clingan is the top returning wide receiver. Clingan, however, missed some of the practices because of a high-level baseball tournament and won’t be available until the second week of the regular season. Another potential target for Eckhart is newcomer Jacob Champoux, a basketball player who is showing plenty of talent as a wide receiver.

“He’s been a nice surprise for us,” Umayam said.

Mountlake Terrace hopes to have a balanced offense with different players assuming different roles.

“It’s a good mix. We have a lot of weapons,” Larsen said. “It keeps the defense on their guard. They can’t strategize against one person.”

While the Hawks have plenty of experience in the skill positions, the offensive line has seen an influx of new talent. The lone returning starter is Larsen. He said it is a challenge working with new players but they are starting to come together.

“We’re more experienced in the skill positions than we are up front,” Umayam said.

“We’ve got good guys,” Larsen added. “They might not have played (varsity) last year. They’re coming along, getting the timing down, getting the technique. We’ve got some pretty good size.”

The defensive line also mirrors the offensive line. To compensate, Umayam is placing an emphasis on speed.

“We’re going to try to put more speed on the field on defense and just become a more athletic defense,” he said. “Because if you can’t get to the spot, it really doesn’t matter how big you are if you can’t get to where you need to be to make the play.”

Another concern is related to Mountlake Terrace’s relatively low overall numbers. As a result, up to seven players may be going both ways. The Hawks can ill afford a repeat of last year when player after player went down with serious injuries.

“We don’t have big numbers, so we’re going to have to be very well-prepared and conditioned to play a full football game both ways,” Umayam said. “We need to stay healthy.”