Prep Football Notebook | Auburn rallies after player suspensions

AUBURN — The sense of urgency just went up at Auburn High School.

It's always win-or-go-home during the football playoffs. But the unbeaten Trojans, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, got an extra dose of harsh reality this week when three players — including Washington recruit Chris Young — were suspended for the season for an athletic code violation.

They don't expect to miss a beat.

"It just makes us realize that things are going to happen and we have to keep playing hard like every game's our last," senior quarterback Marshall Klontz said Wednesday.

The identity of the two other suspended players has not come to light, but sources confirm only one was a starter.

The Trojans are deep at running back and still have juniors Alphonse Wade (77 carries, 1,105 yards, 12 touchdowns) and Austin Embody (81 carries, 752 yards, seven TDs). Wade was the team's leading rusher through the first half of the season until Young became more of a go-to guy.

Young, also a star defensive back, rushed for a school-record 284 yards and a record-tying six touchdowns last week. He has 1,424 yards and 26 TDs.

Auburn (9-0) hosts Kamiak (4-5) in a preliminary playoff game Friday night. Kamiak coach Dan Mack, a Lake Washington High School teammate of Auburn coach Gordon Elliott in the 1970s, doesn't expect the suspensions to have a big effect on the Trojans.

"They're a very talented, deep team," he said. "We're going to have to be at our best to compete with them."

Elliott likened the situation to having key players miss games due to illness or injuries, something the Trojans have had to deal with throughout the season.

"We always have extra people prepared," he said, noting the mood at practice this week has been upbeat. "If somebody gets hurt, some one else steps up. ... We'll be fine. Football is a team game. Everyone is important and we need every one of them for us to continue be successful."

O'Dea's Fogerson on mend

O'Dea fullback/linebacker Zach Fogerson said he expects to play Friday night against Bonney Lake (6-3) in the preliminary round of the 3A state playoffs.

The senior has missed the last three weeks for the fifth-ranked Irish (8-1) with knee and leg injuries. Fogerson, a Washington commit, passed performance tests Wednesday which included sprinting and cutting, but will be tested again Friday.

"I feel good. I've felt good for two weeks now and I'm getting tired of not playing," he said.

Storm warning ahead for Federal Way

The Federal Way Eagles are having to do things the hard way this postseason.

They survived the first test Tuesday with a 35-21 "pigtail" victory over Gig Harbor, a team they've faced in the playoffs three of the last four years. Next comes Skyview (7-2) Saturday in Vancouver. What makes the Storm especially tough for Federal Way (8-2) is a high-octane passing attack, something the Eagles don't see in the SPSL 4A North.

"They can really chuck it around the park," Federal Way coach John Meagher said. "They do a good job of throwing the football. Our league is not very pass-happy, to say the least."

Liberty defense prepares for Camas air game

Third-ranked Liberty is 8-1, with a trio of junior skill players who have put up huge numbers.

Despite all that, the Patriots get to play on the road at No. 10 Camas on Saturday in the 3A preliminary playoffs.

"They're very, very good," Liberty coach Steve Valach said of the Papermakers (7-2). "It's kind of an interesting situation. We're 8-1 and have the toughest play-in game of anyone I would venture to guess. It seems like a matchup of two really good teams."

The Patriots are coming off a 38-28 victory over Mount Si. Valach said his team didn't defend the pass as well as he would have liked. It is something they are working to shore up before facing talented Camas quarterback Logan Grindy.

"They throw the ball well and Mount Si threw the ball well on us last week," Valach said. "I'm sure Camas is looking at that and saying these guys have some vulnerabilities to the passing game. I think we need to shore up our pass defense big time against these guys."

Mountlake Terrace bucks the odds

When Mountlake Terrace plays in its first postseason game Saturday against visiting Central Kitsap, it's expected to field one of the smallest teams in recent 4A playoffs history.

The Hawks (6-3) dress only 30 regular players.

"We've really taken on the [movie] '300' theme," said Terrace coach Tony Umayam, who leans on several two-way players. "We had the T-shirts going on [this season] and everything, because we're going up against some of these big mega-schools that have 2,000 kids and 100 kids in the program.

"The kids have really embraced the tough, gritty, never-quit, never-surrender [attitude]. They understand that they have to be out there all the time because we don't have a lot of depth."

Showing the way is leading rusher Casey Ellersick, who had more than 100 yards and a pair of interceptions last Friday in a 21-12 win over Kamiak.

Umayam described Ellersick, who would have been a four-year starter had he not suffered an ACL injury early in his sophomore season, as having "a natural knack for the game that's probably better than anyone I've ever coached."

Senior defensive back Jhalen Brown forced a fumble, blocked a punt to set up a touchdown and had a 74-yard touchdown return after a blocked field goal against Kamiak last week.

Brown has fully embraced his role after transferring from Juanita this year.

"That blocked punt — that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for my teammates. And that blocked field goal for a touchdown — that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for my teammates. And that forced fumble — my teammates put me in the right situation."

West Seattle looking for payback vs. Ferndale

In a return trip to Bellingham's Civic Stadium on Saturday, the West Seattle Wildcats (6-3) hope to get even with the Ferndale, the team that ended their season last year in the first round of the 3A state playoffs with a convincing 42-3 win.

" 'Payback' is the word we use and we use it for motivation," said West Seattle coach Davis Lura. "The kids want another shot at them to prove that's not going to happen again."

Lura said added rest and familiarity with the venue and opponent will benefit his team. The Wildcats, however, will be without Jordan Turpen (shoulder) and Isaiah Jenkins (concussion).

Tyee, Evergreen Lutheran get sportsmanship awards

Tyee of SeaTac and Evergreen Lutheran of Des Moines are recipients of $500 sportsmanship awards from the Pacific Northwest Football Official's Association.

Each school selects a senior to receive the $500 scholarship to be used toward college.

The award is especially rewarding for Tyee, which last year was involved in a brawl with Renton that resulted in a double-forfeit.

"It's an honor for us to be respected like that," said Scott Leick, in his first year as Totems head coach. "We're working on image. This is a huge step toward that for us as a team."

He said he has asked the four eligible seniors on the team to write a paper outlining what their plans for the $500 would be.

The recipient at Evergreen Lutheran is lineman Coury Fagan, who was on the school's inaugural football team in 2007.

Notes

• Interlake gets a late start to the playoffs. The Saints (6-3) will play North Mason (8-1) at Curtis High School next Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the 2A playoffs. The winner will then play again Nov. 14.

• Skyline has already moved on after Thursday's 25-20 loss to Bothell in the KingCo 4A title game last week. "We had our best practice of the year last night," coach Mat Taylor said of Tuesday's workout.

• San Diego transfer Typhis Cochran truly stood out this season for 1-8 Lynnwood. The 5-9, 180-pound senior, who played at Helix High (Reggie Bush, Bill Walton) last year, gained nearly 1,000 rushing yards (no other Royal had 100) and scored 10 total touchdowns (eight more than the closest teammate).

• Meadowdale coach Mark Stewart will face a familiar foe when Renton (6-3) invades Edmonds Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday to face the No. 6 Mavericks (9-0). Stewart, who played in the NFL after a Hall of Fame career as a linebacker at Washington, began his coaching career by taking over the Renton program from the late Terry Ennis two decades ago.

• Lindbergh and Bainbridge meet in the playoffs for the first time on Friday, but their coaches are no strangers. Pat O'Grady (Lindbergh) and Andy Grimm (Bainbridge) were teammates at Pacific Lutheran University in the mid-1980s.

Times staff reporter Mason Kelley and freelancers Joshua Mayers and Darren Fessenden contributed to this report.