Sixteen area teams have broken the huddles on fall camp, and the 2023 season looms just on the other side of the month.
With that in mind, The Chronicle’s sports crew — Josh Kirshenbaum, Dylan Wilhelm, and Kody Christen — take a stab at who they think might sneak up on some people this fall. You can read their most anticipated games here, their MVP picks here, and their picks to win it all here.
Josh’s pick: Black Hills
The mentality has shifted hard in the right direction at Black Hills in the past year, as the Wolves bounced back from a 1-8 disaster in 2021 with a six wins — which could have easily been seven or eight if not for terrible injury luck — a crossover victory and a state berth in 2022.
Black Hills may have lost a good deal of experience to graduation, but the Wolves that do come back know what it’s like to be successful, and that’s not something to be taken lightly. The Wolves might not be favorites in the 2A EvCo — they’re probably still a step or two behind Tumwater and W.F. West, at least on paper — but they proved last year that all they need to do is get into the postseason, and then they can make some noise.
Dylan’s pick: Tenino
There’s no denying that the Tenino Beavers lost a lot of talent from last year’s team. Evergreen Conference MVP Dylan Spicer and Co-Defensive MVP Brody Noonan are gone. They also lost head coach Cary Nagel, who resigned in July. Darren Tinnerstet and his staff bring a wealth of experience, however, and they still have plenty of talent to work with.
Senior quarterback Cody Strawn is back, as is Michael Vassar, who will headline a backfield that is also set to feature talented running backs Lucas Watterson and Mikey Lanning. Former Capital head coach J.D. Johnson is leading the defense, and the unit has been flying around throughout camp.
With Tinnerstet’s new ideas and the existing talent on the roster, the Beavers may not take the step back that some are expecting.
Kody’s pick: Adna
Yes it's true that I played for this team last year and the three before, and although this sets me up pretty well for being called out on favoritism, It also gives me insight on the program no one else has. After researching every football team within chronicle coverage, the Pirates are my honest answer on this one.
After all we are picking sleepers here, teams that aren't expected to accomplish much. Following a 5-5 season and losing 11 seniors, I think it's safe to say the Pirates are flying under the radar this fall.
The reason for these high hopes? The Pirates new head coach Aaron Cochran. Coach Cochran brings a well needed breath of fresh air and new philosophies to the program. His impact was felt immediately upon his arrival over from Goldendale, with the weightroom after school going from empty to crowded in about a week, with no one sweating more than coach himself.
There could very well be some growing pains in Cochran’s debut season for the Pirates, especially with Napavine coming to town to open the year. But If Adna can get everything moving in the right direction as the season progresses, they might just set themselves up for a league title, maybe even make some noise in the playoffs.
Call me biased all you want, don't write off the Pirates.
