Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Garfield/Palouse returns to football season Sept. 7 at home in Palouse against 2017 state runner-up Sunnyside Christian.
The Southeast 1B league game will be a new beginning for Gar/Pal as assistant Garrett Parrish takes over for Will Woltering as head coach, assisted by his father Dan, a veteran Vikings assistant going back to 2001.
Another change will be at quarterback, following the graduation of three-year starter Evan Weagraff.
He is succeeded by sophomore Austin Jones.
The Garfield/Palouse season ended last year in the state 1B quarterfinals with a loss to Odessa, concluding the year with a 9-3 record (3-2 league).
Key returning players include a group of senior lineman; Tanner Anderson, Tyson White, Riley Pederson, Ely Hawkins and Clayton Clarkson, among others.
Senior Kaden Sanderson, another lineman from last year, will move to running back, replacing 2018 Gar/Pal graduate Daniel Orfe. Sanderson will also play linebacker on defense.
“Garrett is an excellent coach, it’s perfect for him to take over and keep on going,” said Woltering. “I think Gar/Pal is gonna be real solid.”
The main area on the field to replace players will be the defensive backfield, for which the Vikings all graduated last year. Filling part of the hole will be Jones and Jacob Reed, a senior returning to the team after a year in Spokane.
Gar/Pal’s home opener is Sept. 28 against Colton.
Woltering hands off the reins after five years as head coach, following time as an assistant and junior high coach for the school since 2001, and youth football back to 1996.
“I retired,” Woltering said. “I thought it’d be a good time to go, I think Gar/Pal will have a good team. I didn’t want to be one of those guys that leaves the cupboard totally bare.”
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
Reader Comments(0)