Returning coaching staff allow Tenino to implement culture

TENINO – By the time Darren Tinnerstet was running his first practice last fall, he was still learning names.

He took the job as Tenino High School football’s coach a month before the season opener. That was the primary reason it started out 0-5.

“We were literally starting from ground zero,” Tinnerstet said.

A year of putting together his own offseason program and convincing an old mentor to come out of retirement has the Beavers motivated in a 1A Evergreen League that could come down to the wire.

Here are three takeaways from their final non-padded practice last week.

First-year and first time quarterback

After playing free safety last fall in his freshman season, Mason Medcalf will be thrusted into the starting lineup as Tenino’s starting quarterback. The right-hander is a lean 170 pounds, but in throwing drills, showcased some touch and accuracy on deep passes.

Tinnerstet is confident in the sophomore to run the offense efficiently starting in Week 1 versus Rainier.

“He’s built like some other quarterbacks I’ve had and the worth ethic was there,” Tinnerstet said. “We worked so many hours this summer. He’s starting to get it. He doesn’t look like a sophomore.”

Johnson running defense after decade-long stint as head coach

New to the Beavers program is a name well-known in the Pacific Northwest coaching circles. Former Capital head coach JD Johnson is back as the defensive coordinator and play caller this fall.

He was at Capital for a decade and Tinnerstet coached under him as the OC. After coaching in Las Vegas, Johnson wanted to get his guys practicing as early as 5 a.m. during camp.

“This is the best coach we’ve had in awhile,” linebacker Michael Vassar said. “He lets us know how much he cares about us. They would do anything for us.”

Numbers increase by comfortable margin

Tenino was hovering around the 30s on its roster last fall, but depth shouldn’t be a problem for the 2024 season. The current number is in the 50s as plenty of underclassmen have jumped on the wagon.

When the Beavers were running team drills, there were plenty of guys rotating in and out on defense.

“We’re going to be better than ever,” senior Austin Gonia said.