Yellow Pages
LA CONNER — There’s a saying about underclassmen on the football field. Eventually, they become upperclassmen.
That holds true for this season’s La Conner football team.
A year ago, the Braves had a handful of seniors. The bulk of the work in last season’s 1-9 effort fell to juniors, sophomores and freshmen.
After their baptism by fire, those Braves are now categorized as grizzled veterans.
La Conner returns nine starters on offense and eight on defense.
“We have a lot of seniors that have been playing a lot of football,” La Conner coach Patrick Brown said. “So that puts us ahead of a lot of groups. It’s really nice to have that experience. The last couple of years, we’ve been struggling to build that experience. This year, we have a battle-tested group.”
Brown believes this year’s team can run his power-I offense at full speed.
“I’m an old-school guy,” Brown said. “It’s basically line up and let them know you are going to run. It’s all about blocking and running hard. So we are going to run our power-I. We have variations off that and we have an open package so we can pass down the field. The cornerstone, the strength of our team, is our power-I.
“The fact we have a big, physical offensive line that is very smart is going to really help. A lot of them have been starting for three years. They are a very savvy group now. What I mean by that is that they can react and make any changes at the line of scrimmage, quickly.”
As Brown said, it all comes down to blocking and running. La Conner’s offensive line is a solid group of veterans that boast smarts, size and speed. The offensive line is anchored by center Kevin Ketcham (sr., 6-foot, 190 pounds).
“Ketcham is so bright, but they (offensive line) are all good,” said Brown. “But because he (Ketcham) is our center and the quarterback of our line, he probably gets the nod as one of the best. He comes up to the line of scrimmage and makes the calls. He’s never confused and has great technique and he’s smart. I like that in offensive linemen.”
Watch for tackle Tommy Peth (sr., 5-11, 210) to make his presence felt on the offensive front along with tackle Joseph Finkbonner (sr., 6-3, 260).
The Braves’ offensive front will be opening holes for several hard-running backs, including Brandon Drye (jr., 5-9, 205) and Macky Zavala (sr., 5-11, 160).
Drye will get his fair share of carries from his fullback position.
“Brandon is a load at fullback,” said Brown. “He’s tough as nails and he’s pretty quick for a big guy. Connor Anderson (jr., 6-0, 185) is a multi-dimensional athlete who can run the ball some and he’s also going to go outside in our play-action a lot. As an overall athlete, he’s probably up there as one of the better athletes.
“Macky is just a tough runner. He’ll play I-back for us. He has good speed. He’s not a big guy, and a lot of guys say if you’re not big, you aren’t going to be a tough runner. But for his size, he is one tough kid.”
The responsibility of getting the ball to those backs will fall to returning signal caller Erik Lindeman (sr., 5-8, 160).
Don’t expect Lindeman to take every snap.
Brown expects Landy James (so., 6-2, 165) to see time under center as well.
“I like that we have the potential to spread it out and even bring in a younger quarterback in James,” said Brown. “Erik is good at the play-action stuff, but Landy has a strong, strong arm. I mean, he can throw it 65 yards down the field if he needs to. So he may get a look once in awhile. He’ll come in when we run more of our open stuff.”
James will also handle the kicking duties.
Defensively, the Braves’ strength lies across the front four and in their linebackers.
“I think most people in this league know our offensive and defensive lines are going to be tough,” said Brown. “We’ve got some big boys. They are physical and experienced.”
Up front, Finkbonner and Jason Carlson will pursue the quarterback. At defensive ends, Drye and Ketcham will look to force opposition backs inside.
Peth and Tanner Wilson could be quite a duo at their middle linebacker positions. A definite key will be for those two to avoid injury.
So, what’s the bottom line for La Conner?
“If we can play to our strengths,” said Brown, “controlling the game with our running game and playing really tough defense, we should be fine.
“I really don’t see any one team standing out (in the Northwest 2B League). If I had to lean toward a favorite, I would lean toward Concrete just because of the athletes they have. But I really think everyone is right there.”
• Vince Richardson can be reached at 360-416-2181 or by e-mail at .
