Tuesday, November 20, 2007 - Page updated at 12:26 AM

KingCo teams at home deep into football playoffs

By Tom Wyrwich
Seattle Times staff reporter

BELLEVUE — Butch Goncharoff hasn't had a year this difficult as Bellevue coach since he took over the Wolverines in 1999.

He brought back only three starters from last year's Class 3A championship team, and two were injured after the first week.

Then the injuries kept coming. At one point, the Wolverines started nine sophomores in a game. With so much inexperience, Goncharoff threw away almost every complex scheme he had used — and won with — this decade and simplified everything. And yet there the Wolverines were Monday night, practicing in near-freezing rain with only one more game between them and their sixth appearance in the state-championship game in the last seven years.

"I don't think a lot of people expected us to be here," Goncharoff said.

Recent history suggests it's not such a stretch. Eastside football teams have thrived in November.

Since 1999, at least one KingCo 3A or 4A team has played for a state championship. A KingCo 3A team has been in the title game seven of the last eight years, dating to Sammamish's runner-up finish in 1999, and in the last four seasons five KingCo 4A teams have played for championships. In 2005, Skyline beat conference rival Woodinville for the 4A title.

Three more KingCo teams can add to that legacy this weekend. Bellevue and Skyline, which have won seven state titles between them this decade, play in the Class 3A semifinals. Bothell, last year's runner-up, was one of three KingCo 4A teams to make the quarterfinals, but the Cougars were the only ones who advanced to this weekend.

"Quite frankly, I think it's cyclical," said Dave Lutes, athletic director for the Kent School District. "I wouldn't be surprised if that changed four years from now."

Lutes, a former Kentwood coach, witnessed four teams from the South Puget Sound League — Kentwood, Puyallup, Curtis and Bethel — play in all but four Class 4A championship games between 1987 and 2002 and win seven of them.

"We really had a roll going," said Puyallup coach Tom Ingles, who won two state championships at Kentwood.

But a team from the SPSL hasn't been back since, and 3A Franklin Pierce is its last hope this fall. Right now, it's the Eastside teams on a roll. And these are some reasons:

• Coaching. Goncharoff, Skyline coach Steve Gervais and Tom Bainter of Bothell each has been named the area's coach of the year by The Seattle Times in the past five years.

"Bainter and Gervais are two of the best in the state," Goncharoff said. "It always starts with coaching. In football, coaching can beat talent."

Each of the three has been at his school for at least eight years, and all have been able to keep their coaching staffs mostly intact during their tenures.

"Butch, Steve and Tom have been in their positions for quite a while," Ingles said. "They're all just doing a really solid job."

• Junior football. These programs are deeper than Lake Washington. Bothell has so many players out for football it has two sophomore teams.

Some high schools have as many as 12 junior feeder teams spread out among kids between fourth and eighth grade. Eastlake has three teams of seventh-graders. Bellevue has nine, which is especially important because its feeder middle schools don't have football teams.

"Anytime you get community members and parents involved at the grassroots level, it's advantageous to your program," Gervais said.

• Stubborn defense. Bothell, Skyline and Class 4A quarterfinalists Eastlake and Woodinville each have creative, balanced offenses, but Ingles has seen a variety of offenses fail in the postseason. He said the common element between the recent successful KingCo teams is good defense.

"They've been able to mash," Ingles said.

This season, Bothell, Skyline and Bellevue have allowed eight points per game or fewer.

And there's another factor in the success of KingCo teams, Gervais is quick to point out.

"There certainly have been some very, very talented players," he said.

Tom Wyrwich: 206-515-5653 or twyrwich@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

:: Home

:: Fan Mail

:: Alumni

:: Alerts

:: Coaches

:: Roster

:: Schedule

:: Scoreboard 2009

:: Scores & Standings

:: Calendar

:: FNS - Speaks Out

:: Do The Right Thing

:: Buttons

:: Team Physician

:: Team Dinners

:: Auction - 09

:: FAQ - Parents

:: Links to Use

:: New Player

:: Recruiting Information

:: Sponsors

:: Cougars @ Next Level

:: Team History

Articles

Be Inspired!

“In life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: hit the line hard!”

Theodore Roosevelt