Royal revival

LYNNWOOD — For each of the last four years, the Lynnwood football team headed into the season cautiously optimistic.

And while there were some close games, especially in 2003, the end result was always the same for the Royals — a loss.

By the end of last season, Lynnwood had dropped 38 straight games dating back to 2000, which is currently the longest losing streak in the state.

As the players and coaches gathered at the high school last week, the feeling again was upbeat.

But unlike past years, there are some concrete reasons why this could be a breakthrough season for the Royals.

More than any other sport, football is a numbers game. The numbers when second-year head coach Andrew Burton took over last season were anemic at best.

Lynnwood entered 2003 with just over 20 players on its roster and had to suspend its junior varsity program until the fourth week of the season.

Fast forward to 2004 and the numbers show a dramatic shift. The strong turnout was evident last spring.

“At the beginning of spring drills we had maybe like three times as many people as last year,” said co-captain Derek Stong. “It’s just incredible improvement from last year.”

The enthusiasm among the players seems to be rubbing off on the student body.

“Players have just been telling other people,” said Stong, a junior quarterback/defensive back. “People are wanting to get involved.”

Just as important as the numbers is the experience Lynnwood is returning.

Burton’s first few weeks of practice last year focused on the very basics of football and little else.

“Last year not only did we have 23 kids but we had 23 kids that didn’t know how to get into a huddle,” Burton said. “They didn’t know what the defensive positions were.”

Experience is the biggest difference from a year ago. Lynnwood, however, still will be fielding a young team that includes seven projected junior starters.

As sophomores, the seven saw plenty of action last year and are the foundation of the 2004 squad.

“We are dealing with seven sophomores that started last year that are now veterans this year,” Burton said. “Experience is the key this year. It just puts us so much further along the road.”

A pleasant surprise for Burton and his coaching staff is the maturity of the players. The problems usually associated with a younger group aren’t there.

“A lot of the young team type of things that you deal with — missing practice and things of that sort — we haven’t had to deal with,” Burton said. “Obviously, we enjoy that.”

During the first week of practices, the offense was significantly ahead of where it was last season, according to junior co-captain Luke St. Marie.

“It’s really looking a lot better,” he said. “We’re learning a lot quicker.”

The players are more familiar with Burton after having played under his system for a season.

“The first year of having a coach, you’ve kind of got to get to know him and see what his coaching style is,” St. Marie said. “Now that I know that, it’s a lot easier. We can work a lot better together. It’s easier to understand where he’s coming from.”

St. Marie likely will play an increased role on the offense with the graduation of second-team, all-league running back Randall Eldridge.

While the 2003 offense tended to revolve around Eldridge, this year’s offense should be more balanced with a trio of running backs likely to share the ball.

St. Marie, junior Aaron Beatty and senior co-captain Brian Hill give the Royals some different options.

“We’re all pretty athletic and we can all play any of the three positions,” St. Marie said. “So we should have a triple threat in the backfield.”

Stong likes what he’s seen from the trio so far.

“Our offense is running smoothly. The backfield is trusting each other,” he said. “It’s going to be more well-rounded. We’re going to have different plays running at different areas, instead of … one back.”

Lynnwood was competitive in several of its games last year but never was able to translate all its effort into a victory. Part of the downfall can be traced to a lack of consistent effort throughout the entire game, according to St. Marie.

“We’d take a play off and that would hurt us,” he said.

Stong wants to see Lynnwood improve on its teamwork.

“If everyone works together and knows what they’re supposed to be doing and where everyone else is supposed to be, everything will fall into place and we’ll get our wins,” Stong said.

While everyone knows about the losing streak and the topic invariably comes up whenever anyone talks to Burton, he and his players are not dwelling on it.

The Royals nevertheless know what a victory would mean.

“It’s pretty important to get a victory because we’re rebuilding the program,” St. Marie said. “It’ll get the school more into the program.”

Burton isn’t offering any predictions but leaves no doubt as to his confidence in his players.

“I feel extremely positive about this group of kids,” Burton said. “I think this group of kids have put in the time and they have the discipline and the dedication and what it takes to be a winning football team.”