Meadowdale returns plenty of talent

LYNNWOOD — The Meadowdale football team could not have asked for a tougher opponent to start the 2004 season.

Perennial Western Conference South Division powerhouse Kamiak handed Meadowdale one of its three league losses last year.

The opportunity to avenge the heartbreaking 27-24 overtime defeat is providing plenty of fire in the belly for the Mavericks.

Meadowdale has not beaten Kamiak in the four years senior co-captain Travis Anderson has been at the school and the standout running back would like nothing better to open the season with a victory tonight at Goddard Stadium.

“We’re all trying as hard as we can getting ready for this game,” said Anderson. “It’s going to be a pivotal game.”

Everything in practice is geared toward preparing for the Knights, added co-captain Jeremy Harbison.

“We’re really psyched about it,” the senior lineman said. “It’s good that our first game is going to be one of the toughest ones, we’re feeling. So we’re giving it our all.”

Meadowdale returns plenty of experience in the backfield and on its offensive and defensive lines.

The lone newcomer in the backfield is senior quarterback Demetri Huffman, who takes over for second-team, all-league quarterback Eric Marty.

Meadowdale coach Mark Stewart expects a smooth transition, noting that although Huffman has never started a varsity game he does have some experience playing the position. Huffman was a cornerback last season.

“D is a great athlete,” Stewart said. “It’ll be a little bit of an adjustment, but I think he’ll be fine once he’s out there and get things done.”

Huffman has plenty of firepower in the backfield, with Anderson, senior running back Justin Lucero and senior wide receiver Jake Linton.

“Our skill positions are definitely a strength,” Stewart said. “That’s always good because you don’t see balls on the ground.”

Hoffman is fitting right in and taking charge.

“He’s bringing the guys together,” Anderson said.

The senior quarterback brings mobility to the backfield along with a strong arm. If the line does its job, then Hoffman should have no trouble executing the offense.

“We just give him enough time to do his thing and he does it,” said Harbison. “We’re really confident in him. He’s one of the quickest guys on our team and he can throw on a dime.

“So even if it comes to the point where he has to move around, he can throw on the run. He makes good decisions.”

Meadowdale’s lines also are stacked with returners. Four out of the five offensive linemen are seniors and the defensive line is composed entirely of seniors.

“We’ve got the experience,” Harbison said. “I’m really excited about this year.”

The only piece of the offensive line that had yet to be solved coming into the season was at center, following the departure of Blair Wilds, a two-time, all-league selection.

“That’s somebody we have to replace but … we’ve still got some people coming back that will make it pretty solid,” Stewart said.

Meadowdale’s experience was evident to Harbison during the first few days of practice. He noted the running backs already knew where to make their cuts.

“We’re going to make the blocks and they know how to read our blocks,” Harbison said. “They know what we’re doing. We all communicate really well.”

Two years ago, the Mavericks advanced to the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs and last year, they made it to a state qualifier contest. Those two successes left an imprint on the returning players, who now come to the stadium with victory on their minds.

“I think that we probably have come to the point where we go into every game planning to win it,” Stewart said.

The veterans know what it takes to advance to the playoffs, while the underclassmen want to continue to uphold the team’s reputation, Harbison said.

“We have a lot of senior leaders … willing to work,” he added. “The sophomores and juniors, they see us working. They want to pick up the slack even more and work just as hard as us. It kind of brings it all together.”

As a result of increased enrollment, Meadowdale was reclassified as a 4A school. The change won’t impact the Mavericks until the postseason, since most of their opponents in the Wesco South were 4A teams.

“Right now it just doesn’t seem different because we’ve been playing in a 4A league the whole time,” Harbison said. “We feel if we do good in a 4A league, the playoffs are going to be somewhat the same, just at a higher level. It just helps us to know that we need to step it up and work harder.”