Knights blessed by crowded backfield

SHORELINE — Depth has surfaced as a potential stumbling block for the King’s football team this fall in every area but one.

The Knights are blessed with a crowded backfield of skilled runners to guide them through their debut season at the Class 2A ranks.

In his eight years as head coach, Jim Shapiro can’t recall having such impressive stock to choose from.

“You look at our backfield and we’re four or six deep at the varsity level,” Shapiro said. “You’ve got your bruisers, your speed kids, your good move kids. It’s a good mix. We’ve had talent in the backfield, but never this much depth.”

At the top of the list is senior speedster Victor Quan. At 5-foot-9, 165 pounds, Quan can dart through creases in the defense larger tailbacks often miss.

Despite sitting out the first part of 2003 due to injury, Quan collected close to 1,000 yards to earn first-team, all-Chinook League honors.

In Quan’s absence, sophomore Spencer Clark worked his way up the depth chart into a starting role and registered a pair of 100-yard games.

The duo will split the bulk of the handoffs this year.

“Victor’s much quicker and Spencer’s more shifty,” Shapiro said. “What Spencer lacks in full-on speed he makes up with vision. He can really see the gaps and holes. Victor’s more like a jack rabbit, bouncing all over the place with his quick feet.”

Alex Newman and fullback Devon Bryant round out the rotation. Quan sees strengths in each tailback’s style.

“Devon is the bruiser type. He’s a 6-foot, 200-pounder and can mow over some people,” Quan said. “Spencer’s just naturally gifted. He’s an athlete. He makes more cuts in five yards than anyone. The only thing I offer is some extra speed. We’re going to spread it around.”

The Knights plan to take advantage of their mixed bag of running backs and a veteran line by tweaking the offense. Shapiro stashed the up-the-gut I-formation sets of years past and inserted more motion and misdirection packages that feature three backs.

“It used to be a lot of power football, especially back in the late ’80s and toward the turn of the century,” Shapiro said. “Now it’s not that way because we don’t have the size. It’s a little more speed plays and more misdirection.”

The offensive overhaul coincides with the first quarterback change at King’s in three seasons.

Sophomore Greg Uhrich is filling the vacancy left by Chris Faidley. The 6-foot-5 left-hander has the physical tools Shapiro looks for and is already exhibiting the poise of an experienced passer.

“The kids really have high respect for him as an athlete. He’s a good leader on the basketball court and that’s already translating to the football field,” Shapiro said. “Right now he’s running the huddle like a junior or senior might be.”

Uhrich received a similar endorsement from his older brother Dan, a senior co-captain who has started on the offensive line the past two seasons.

“He’s got a great arm and he’s tall so he can see over the line,” Dan Uhrich said. “He’s real mature for a sophomore. Our team has a lot of confidence in him, extending back to last year when he ran the scout offense.”

Across the line the Knights are stocked with seniors who saw significant action last season either as starters or backups.

King’s returns Calvin Fujii and Chris Santucci at tackle and Uhrich and Brandon Ersoz at guard. Jin Wooh shifts from fullback to center and due to an excess of running backs Troy Mack has moved to tight end.

“We’re real quick,” Uhrich said of this year’s group of linemen. “We’re not too big, but pretty much everybody’s got speed. We’re working on endurance.”

Juniors Andrew Lutton and Chris Lehmann are stepping in at wideout to replace second-team all-league pick Ryan Dixon, who sustained a knee injury while playing basketball over the summer and will miss the entire season.

Unlike the backfield, the Knights are only one or two deep up front and at almost every other position. With most starters projected to go both ways, injuries could cripple the King’s lineup.

Shapiro acknowledged that staying healthy will be crucial for the Knights during their transition to the 2A level.

King’s still qualifies as a 1A school by enrollment figures, but opted up — along with two-time defending state champion Archbishop Thomas Murphy — to join the seven-team 2A/3A Cascade Conference.

The league’s five 2A teams will vie for three postseason berths. Those teams will face the top finishers from the North Cascades Conference in winner-to-state district playoff games.

Quan anticipates a tougher schedule from start to finish for the Knights, though he’s not sure what to expect from a few of their new opponents.

“Our coaches will look at lots of film, but as players we don’t know what’s coming,” he said. “That adds a little adrenaline factor.”

King’s narrowly missed out on advancing to the state playoffs for the ninth time in its final Chinook League season. Shapiro pinpointed the downfall of last year’s 5-4 team as a lack of unity — an obstacle he doesn’t expect to encounter this season.

“We were a good team last year and the kids liked each other, but the team chemistry wasn’t quite there,” Shapiro said. “This year already early on every single one of these kids loves being together. You can’t coach that.”