In and around Mac Field, there are plenty who think last season’s playoff run by the Lake Washington High football team wasn’t a fluke — it was the start of a legacy.
The Kangs went on a midseason run of five consecutive wins to take third in the Class 3A KingCo standings, then lost in a state play-in game in Tacoma. Lake Washington came three points away from snapping a 13-year state playoff drought, losing to Wilson High, 15-12.
The run earned Lake Washington 11 spots on the all-league first and second teams. Key among the group of graduating seniors were first-team offensive guard Jared Menssen, and second-team selections Matt Malloy at center and Parker Wikel at offensive tackle.
“We talk a lot about legacy and serving each other and building on each other, and that group that just graduated, man, they prepared this group really well,” said head coach AJ Parnell, who enters his third season at Lake Washington. “Our linemen, yeah, they’re going to be really young, but we’ve got some pieces we’re really excited about.”
One of the more experience returning linemen is Sean Gordon, first team tight end and second team defensive end. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior has yet to commit to play football in college, but that seems to fit into the Kangs’ ideal.
“Honestly, there hasn’t been much thought put into the first game,” Gordon said. “It’s really one practice at a time. We’re doing our best to keep it up-tempo; everyone is focused, and I think we’re doing a great job with that so far.”
Parnell said expectations for Gordon are high, both as a blocker in the running game and a top option in the passing game. Lake Washington has talent in the wings at receiver, but will have to replace Jake Wikel, a first-team selection at wide receiver and safety.
On the ground, Parnell said Lake Washington has a “stable” of backs to throw at opponents. Reece Rudolf, at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, is one of the bigger options, with the smaller and speedier Ryan Clifford in the mix as well.
Colby Coco and Shelby Merkatz, both seniors, are two of the top returning targets for quarterback Adam Long, in his second full year as a starter and third year getting varsity snaps.
Lake Washington QB @adamlong4 hits Brett Walker on day five of practices at Mac Field. Kangs hard at work. pic.twitter.com/WQfMzhVMDN
— John William Howard (@JowardHoward) August 24, 2016
“He’s done an amazing job,” Parnell said. “He’s just a great kid, first off, but to see him making the players around him better, I think that’s a sign of a great leader and great player.”
Long isn’t likely to stay in the pocket, doing most of his passing on the run or getting the ball out fast enough to avoid scrambling.
“We like to run the ball up the middle, and we’re going to throw the ball a little more,” Long said of the offensive changes this fall, which he admitted were slight. “We were definitely a run-first team last year, and we’re going to throw the ball around.”
Defensively, Lake Washington is anchored by Coco at cornerback and senior Caleb Rickels at outside linebacker. Gordon, Rudolf and Rudy Wilkes, another outside linebacker, all have a lot of experience.
“We’ve got a strong back seven,” Rickels said. “Linebackers can bang, and safeties stay over the top. We’ve got a lot of speed, and defensive line-wise, we’ve got some big boys up front.”
While the Kangs are taking things one game at a time, starting with the season opener at Marysville-Gretchell tomorrow night, the overall thought is Lake Washington has the talent to be playing in week 10, still in the running for the first state playoff berth since 2003.
“I think a good goal for us is just to get back to where we were last year and get to the playoffs and see if we can win a game, then keep it rolling from there,” Coco said.
It’s the same recipe referenced by Parnell: build on success and create something special.
Week two, the Kangaroos’ home opener at Mac Field, is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9 against Inglemoor. The Kangs will have Kelso and WF West to round out the nonleague games, then begin KingCo play against Redmond — new to Class 3A this season — on Sept. 30.
