For most young men, watching a football game at Qwest Field, home of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, is thrilling enough.
But Tony Houts is among a fortunate group of high school student-athletes that gets to play there Sept. 2 during the 2006 Emerald City Kickoff Classic.
“It’s like every football player’s dream … Everyone looks up to those guys,” said Houts, a senior at Archbishop Murphy High School.
“Going out there is gonna be like … hoo!”
Clearly, Houts and his teammates can’t wait.
Three other Archbishop Murphy players — Geoff Hunter, Taylor Metsker and Ryan Bourke — joined Houts and Wildcats head coach Terry Ennis Tuesday afternoon during Kickoff Classic media day at Qwest Field. Representatives from all 10 participating football teams gathered to promote the event, which is a mere 73 days away.
OK, that’s quite a while. But those involved are already enthusiastic.
Archbishop Murphy, the 2005 Class 2A state runner-up and the 1A champion in 2002 and 2003, plays the Orting Cardinals at 9:30 a.m. in the Kickoff Classic’s first game. The other four games are: Columbia River vs. Curtis at noon, Auburn vs. Moses Lake at 3 p.m., Prosser vs. Southridge at 5:30 p.m., and Eastlake vs. Punahou (Hawaii) at 8 p.m.
“It’s a nice thing to shoot for as your opening game … We want this to be a starting point for our season, but it’s gonna be a lot of fun,” said Ennis, who led Murphy to a 14-1 record in 2005.
“We’ll be wearing the same jerseys but there will be a lot of new faces,” Ennis said. Archbishop Murphy’s key losses to graduation include star running backs Stan Smith and Shiloh Keo.
Orting went 11-1 last season, reaching the 2A state quarterfinals. It drops from 2A to 1A this fall because of statewide reclassification. The Cardinals graduated Oregon State University recruit Joe Halahuni, the 2005 Associated Press 2A Player of the Year, but hope to challenge an Archbishop Murphy program that has developed quite a reputation.
“We have to play a perennial powerhouse,” Orting head coach Marty Parkhurst said. “That’s a great challenge for us — to play a good team like that right out of the shute.”
Mike Cane writes for The Herald in Everett.
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