The 2004 E-prizes go to …

The long wait is over. The envelopes are ready to be opened.

The most coveted and anticipated sports awards of the year are ready to be revealed.

Forget about the ESPYs.

We know what you’ve really been clamoring for are the third annual Enterprise Newspapers E-prizes.

An internationally recognized panel of distinguished experts (actually it was the two-man Enterprise sports department) meticulously reviewed the just-completed school year to determine the nominees.

Following a lengthy and arduous judging process, the Enterprise Newspapers are ready to announce the winners.

The envelopes, please. Team of the Year: Archbishop Thomas Murphy football, a repeat winner from 2003. They say winning a second title is tougher than the first, but the Wildcats made it look easy. ATM blanked Zillah 20-0 to complete a 14-0 season and become the first team in 16 years to win a second straight Class 1A state football championship. “This is as good as it gets,” Wildcats coach Terry Ennis said afterwards. We’re not going to argue.

Game of the Year: Edmonds-Woodway vs. Jackson, Northwest District 4A baseball playoffs. The Warriors needed three comebacks to edge Jackson 10-9 in an eight-inning thriller that featured a pair of two-run home runs by Wolfpack first baseman Travis Snider. Mark Gegax’s two-run single to center was the game-winner, snapping Jackson’s 13-game win streak.

Most exciting male athlete to watch: Jackson’s Johnie Kirton. The University of Washington-bound workhorse plowed through linebackers with his size (6-foot-3, 248 pounds) and out-ran defensive backs with his speed (4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash). Kirton chewed up defenses for 34 rushing touchdowns and 2,675 rushing yards, leaving him one yard short of the single-season state record. Jackson made its first trip to the state football playoffs and Kirton was named both the Gatorade and Associated Press state player of the year.

Most exciting female athlete to watch: Lynnwood’s Molly Hunsinger. The versatile playmaker graduated with 11 varsity letters (and countless all-league honors) in volleyball, basketball and tennis. As a senior, Hunsinger led the Royals to eighth place at the Class 3A state volleyball tournament, averaged a team-high 12.7 points per game for the basketball team and played Nos. 1 and 2 singles for the tennis team. Equally adept on the volleyball and basketball court, Hunsinger will play both sports at the University of Puget Sound.

Coach of the Year: Mike Bartley, Jackson boys soccer. Despite returning just three players with significant varsity experience, the Timberwolves advanced to the Northwest District 4A playoffs. During the season Bartley attributed the team’s unexpected success to the fearless play of an up-and-coming junior class, but it was apparent Jackson also benefited from savvy coaching.

Best rivalry: Meadowdale-Shorecrest boys soccer. The Mavericks had an unstoppable offense. The Scots countered with an unflappable defense. Their contrasting styles guaranteed an unpredictable outcome. Shorecrest was one of just two teams to defeat Meadowdale this spring, but the Mavericks avenged the loss in the semifinals of the state playoffs en route to capturing the Class 3A title.

Breakout performers: Jackson distance runner Jeff Helmer and King’s three-sport star Sara Mosiman. These sophomores are sure to make headlines over the next two years. Helmer finished sixth at the Class 4A state cross country championships (behind four seniors and a junior) and took fifth in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs (behind four seniors) at the state track meet. Mosiman was named Chinook League MVP in volleyball and basketball and placed in the top eight in four field events at the 1A state track meet. She won the javelin by more than 20 feet, took second in the high jump, fifth in the long jump and eighth in the pole vault.

Dynamic duos: Jackson swimmers Andrew and Peter Mullins and Shorewood tennis players Scott Bourne and Steve McCall. Impossible to tell apart in and out of the water, the Mullins twins competed in the finals of the same event for the first time at this year’s Class 4A state swim meet. Peter placed fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke, three spots ahead of Andrew. Bourne and McCall capped an unbeaten season (28-0) by winning a 4A state doubles title in May. Two of the pair’s four matches at state went to three sets.

Hardest worker: Meadowdale’s Quinn Brewe. Initially projected to be a guard, Brewe jetted from 5-foot-9 as a freshman to 6-1 and emerged as one of the state’s premier posts. A resolute work ethic helped the Seattle Pacific recruit overcome repeated injuries that caused her to miss substantial portions of her high school hoops career. With their all-league center at full strength, the Mavericks won a second Class 3A state championship in March and Brewe earned tournament MVP honors.

Brightest newcomers: Mountlake Terrace’s Lindsey Woodhouse and Shorecrest’s Chris Chase. The Hawks reached the district playoffs for the ninth year in a row largely due to the efforts of Woodhouse, who tossed back-to-back perfect games during the regular season and compiled a miniscule 0.83 earned-run average. During one stretch, the junior ace didn’t allow a run in five straight starts. Chase, a junior transfer from Highline, announced his arrival on the Wesco South hoops scene by lighting up Everett for a school-record 47 points. The victory helped the Scots clinch their first postseason appearance in eight years.

Fastest learners: King’s trackster Michael Davis and Edmonds Community College basketball standout Tyler MacMullen. In less than a year, Davis became one of the nation’s top high school javelin throwers. He picked up the javelin by chance a month into his freshman season when a broken ankle kept him out of any running events. Davis won a 1A state title this spring and set a state high school record at a Junior Olympic meet this summer. MacMullen, who was cut from his high school team, blossomed into a powerful post in two seasons at EdCC. The 6-foot-9 center averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds a game as a sophomore and landed a scholarship from Western Washington University.

Best streaks: Shorewood boys tennis and the infamous Rotary Cup pranksters. Coming off back-to-back unbeaten seasons, the Thunderbirds notched 58 consecutive Wesco South victories before falling to Jackson last fall. The teams shared the division title with matching 15-1 records. As for the masked streakers who stormed the field to display their birthday suits during the annual Shorecrest-Shorewood football clash, months later their tomfoolery was still the talk of the Shoreline Stadium press box.

Coaches we’re going to miss: Ron Martin and Don Dalziel. Martin stepped down after 27 years as Meadowdale baseball coach. Though he admittedly mellowed in his later years, Martin never stopped demanding the utmost effort from his players and as a result, his teams were in the playoff mix most years. Dalziel left his posts as girls basketball coach and boys and girls track coach at Shorecrest to become the Shoreline District athletic director. The girls basketball team reached the playoffs each of Dalziel’s six years as coach and both track teams posted their best finishes in Dalziel’s 13 years as coach at this spring’s league championships.

Coaches we won’t let leave: Lynnwood track coach Duane Lewis and Edmonds-Woodway volleyball coach Mike Pittis, a repeat winner from 2002. Though we realize these two longtime coaches won’t be around forever, we’d prefer that Lewis (38 years and counting) and Pittis (33 years) not depart on our watch. As long as these two have a knack for bringing out the best in their athletes, we say keep at it.

Most likely to put her town on the map: recent Shorewood graduate Kim Shin. Shin bypassed the end of the high school golf season and became one of 15 amateurs and a handful of teenagers to qualify for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open. The University of Washington recruit hopes to eventually join the pro tour.

Programs on the rise: Archbishop Thomas Murphy baseball and Shoreline Community College women’s basketball. Making their state tournament debut, the Wildcats were nothing short of dominant. ATM didn’t allow a single run in four games and claimed the 1A trophy with a 9-0 shutout of Okanagon. Led by Northern Region MVP Ebonee Newson, the Shoreline CC women qualified for the NWAACC tournament for the first time in school history and recorded their first 20-win season.

Most chatty: The Edmonds-Woodway baseball team. From start to finish, the chatter from the Warriors’ dugout was non-stop and always positive. Maybe that’s part of the reason why Edmonds-Woodway won its first Wesco South title since 1997 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state playoffs.

Most annoying trend: Athletes with cell phones. Actually, we don’t have a problem with athletes having cell phones. But when they leave them in their bags and forget to turn them off right before the start of a race or during a tennis match, then it becomes a problem.

Athletes we’re going to miss: Jackson’s Caleb Knox and Shorewood’s Kevin Klein. Though his senior season of track was cut short by a foot injury, nothing can diminish the accomplishments of Knox, a perennial state participant in cross country and track. And how could you not like a guy who refers to himself as a “running nerd.” Klein saved his best races for last, coming out of nowhere to qualify for state in cross country and track for the first time as a senior.

Best performance by a non-athlete: Former Enterprise writer Pamela Brice. The energetic editor earned the respect and admiration of her colleagues by completing the Seattle Half Marathon, a 13.1-mile trek through the streets of Seattle. Even more impressive was the fact that Brice was four weeks pregnant with her first child at the time.

Favorite stories from 2003-04: Edmonds-Woodway football players Nick and Mose Fuga-Tufono and Shorecrest slugger Clete Barrick. The Fuga-Tufono brothers are hearing-impaired, but you wouldn’t know it based on their performance on the football field. The support the two received from their family, teammates and coaches was nothing short of inspirational. Barrick accomplished the rare feat of socking home runs from both sides of the plate in the same game. Both blasts traveled more than 370 feet and were the first two home runs of Barrick’s high-school career. At practice the next day, his teammates offered their congratulations in the form of a cream pie facial.

These two stories illustrate why we love the high school and community college sports beat, long hours and little monetary gain notwithstanding. The gamut of emotions often runs from the moving to the astounding to the absurd, all in a matter of days.David Pan and Charlie Laughtland cover sports for the four editions of The Enterprise Newspapers. Questions and comments may be sent by e-mail to entsports@heraldnet.com, by fax to 425-774-8622 or by mail to Sports editor, The Enterprise, 4303 198th St. SW., Lynnwood, WA 98036.