LWK champs have speed, look to rebuild offensive line

Re-load will be the key word for the LWK Tigercats after they aim to pick up where the football trail ended last December. The LWK club finished in the center of the Tacoma Dome rug with the state eight-man trophy in their clutches.

They bagged the trophy with a 64-62 win after stopping a revved up Wishkah Valley team in the final minutes in the title round.

The title win came after another tough test, a 36-32 win over Cusick in a semi-final which matched up two undefeated east side teams in the fog at Albi Stadium in Spokane.

The Tigercats graduated six seniors off the title club and Coach Jeff Nelson, starting his 16th season, said they will be missed. However, Nelson has a lot of the title talent back and feels he has the recruits to re-load.

“We have a lot of talent in the skill positions, and a lot of speed. In eight-man football, speed can make the difference,” Nelson noted.

The big challenge for the practice season will be the front line.

Three of the six grads were linemen Anthony Bennett, Grant Burke and Seth Weeks, the front core of the title team last year. Also graduating off the line was Bo Sullivan.

Replacing them will be a big key to a successful season this year, Nelson noted.

LWK has a lot of talent back in Garrett Blauert, a senior, and Garrett Whitney, a junior, and one of the Kahlotus ingredients on the club last year.

That combination of running backs provides the Tigercats with speed and talent which hits the top of Nelson’s all-time list. It’s a case where LWK has a lot of firepower in the backfield and they will need blocks from a new front line to launch.

Blauert was named an all-SE running back as a junior.

Another key grad off the team was QB Justin Aune who finished out his Tigercat grid career with an interception that turned off Wishkah last year in the dome. Justin Aune was the launch half of the Tigercat option attack which generated so much of the offense last year in the title run.

Coach Nelson has slotted Jake Aune, now a sophomore, into the QB slot. Jake, who saw playing time last year during a run of Tigercat power wins, now stands 6-1 and close to 160 pounds.

The other LWK grad was Beaux Martin, an all SE defensive lineman last year.

Gary Marmes, the other Koyote commuter who won all SE honors as a junior defensive lineman, will be one of the players to move into the offensive line. Chris Wargo, a 183-pound junior, and Jake Blankenship, a 165 junior, are also designated for the vacant line slots.

The Tigercats have some experience back in the receiver ranks with Jeff Zimmer, a 6-3 junior, Justin Aldrich, a 6-0 senior who added wrestling to his regimen last year with the SJE Eagles, and freshmen Austin Summer, 6-1 and 175, and Sam Harder, 6-2 and 165.

Dan Hill, who played football at Valley City College in South Dakota, has joined the coaching lineup for the T-cats. Hill is the new math teacher at Washtucna. Brian Sisk will be back as an assistant coach.

The Tigercats will open their season by hosting Salmon River of Riggins, Idaho, in a non-leaguer Sept. 4.