MARYSVILLE — While the 2010 Tomahawk football team has a two-week dead period before fall practice, the future of Marysville football is practicing next to Quil Ceda Stadium.
The Marysville Kodiaks will try to repeat their championship run in the senior division of the Greater Snohomish County Youth Football League.
“We’re going to have a little bit more work to do to get to that point again this year, but we’ll get there,” said Kodiaks coach Don Blacker.
In 2009, Marysville defeated Monroe 28-16 in the championship game to complete its perfect season, finishing with a 10-0 record.
Ten is the magic number, as playing 10 games is the goal of every Kodiaks team, which means it will advance to the championship game. That goal has been reached by five Kodiaks teams since 2003. The Kodiaks have won two championships in that time.
Blacker credits his teams’ success to keeping stability in the program, both on the coaching staff and on the roster.
“We have been able to keep the same coaching staff here for almost 10 years,” he said. “And having that consistency in coaching helps the kids learn what the Kodiaks are about.”
Also, the staff, which consists of Blacker, Mike Thompson, Marty Martinis and Jeff Rosten, keeps the anatomy of their roster the same, splitting one half of the team with 12-year-olds and the other with 13-year-olds.
“We felt that has given us good continuity over the years,” Blacker said. “The older kids mentor the younger ones and help them get prepared for the physicality of this level.”
The Kodiaks have a jamboree Aug. 21 before starting the regular season Aug. 28.
Some of the players the Marysville staff is expecting big things out of are returners Michael Painter, Reagan Gordon and John Clark.
Landon McGarry and Alex Rosten will give the Kodiaks a push on the line, while Tynan Vincent will be quarterback.
The Kodiaks consist of Dominic Barashkoff, Clark, Keenan Darby, Andrew Davis, Gordon, Jaime Hernandez, Gavin Holdt, Keegan Holdt, Parker House, Raymond Lagucik, McGarry, Painter, Rosten, Lazarus Scarbrough, Andrew Schafer, Hunter Trueax, Cody Vedder, Vincent, Samuel Watson and Austin Wilde.
