Prep football season starts Friday night, and the gamblers and amateur statisticians amongst us are either breathlessly anticipating or sorrowfully regretting their fantasy football drafts.
Last year about this time, illustrious Chronicle sportswriter/photographer Pete Caster laid down his 2011 Lewis County Fantasy Football team — a collection of the top players in a fantasy format. That typically means a quarterback, a few running backs, a few wideouts, a tight end, a kicker, and a team defense, "drafted" in accordance with their projected statistics for the upcoming season.
Fantasy football is completely objective. A team's record, division and chemistry are nonfactors. Fantasy drafters look for quarterbacks that throw a lot, running backs that run a lot and receivers that catch a lot. That's it. No frills, no favorites and no teamwork.
That's what this column appreciates. Here's your draft guide to Lewis County fantasy football.
QUARTERBACK
1) Tanner Gueller, W.F. West. Let's go ahead and get the Gueller brothers football comparisons out of the way. Mitch: football player. Tanner: quarterback. I'm glad that's settled. It'll never come up again over the course of the next two years. Why is he worth a top fantasy pick? Bearcat coach Bob Wollan says they'll be a throwing team this year (I believe him), and Tanner spent the summer at quarterback camps improving his already-gifted right arm. Chehalis' offense runs on a personnel basis, and Tanner's geared to sit back and throw passes to a bunch of quick receivers. They've done it before (see 2009) and, while it might take a few weeks to get the kinks ironed out, before long the Bearcats are going to be throwing as much as anyone in Lewis County.
2) Cooper Zurfluh, Adna. He's a senior, he started last year, and Adna's moving back to a spread offense. He'll throw a bit, run a lot, and probably end up turning a few broken plays — and in the Central 2B League there'll be plenty of those — into big gains. He's nimble, doesn't get rattled easily, and would be a safe starter on any imaginary football squad.
RUNNING BACK
1) Layne Hellem, Napavine. Hellem's a big, tough running back, and it seems like he's been getting carries in the Tiger offense for about six years. He's also on a team with an experienced line and a mostly inexperienced corps of skill players. He'll get plenty of work and lots of goal-line touches on a team with a tough defense (that he plays a pretty big role in), which will put the ball right back in his hands. He's as safe a first-round fantasy pick as Lewis County has to offer.
2) Brian Reynolds, Morton-White Pass. He's not the biggest guy around, but he's a hard guy to catch and explosive enough to turn any carry into a touchdown. His only drawback? He's the best running back in a crew of good backs on a team that runs a lot, and MWP might blow a lot of teams out, which would limit his touches even more in easy wins.
3) Cody Meier/Mack Gaul, Toledo. Meier, an All-Area pick last year, was a regular member of the 100-yard club last season, and in new coach Jeremy Thibault's run-first offense there's sure to be no shortage of carries coming the senior running back's way. The same goes for Gaul, a University of Washington signee as a baseball player who missed a bit of time with an injury towards the end of last year but ran for 132 yards against Cascade Christian in the state quarterfinals. Either one could blow up for a huge game on any given night, and they're both solid bets any week.
4) Keylen Steen, W.F. West. The Bearcats are a passing team now (theoretically), but they'll still run plenty. And the only returning starter happens to be running back Keylen Steen, who navigates the backfield a bit like a bowling ball. He's not a lock for consistently big numbers — W.F. West typically spreads the ball around the backfield — but a few 100-yard games aren't out of the question, by any means.
5) Andy Pickens, Pe Ell. Pickens was a big, tough, durable back last season on a struggling Trojan team. He's a big, tough back this season, and the Trojans' best option on the ground — and he's hit the weight room hard over the offseason, according to his coach. He'll get a ton of carries and, if the Trojan line can give him a bit of breathing room, cover plenty of ground on those runs.
6) Justice Tasby, Centralia. Someone on the Tiger roster's going to get all the carries Mason Musselman got last year (234, to be exact; no one else on the team topped 35). Tasby's fast and tough enough to be an All-League linebacker. He'll get plenty of touches.
WIDE RECEIVER
1) Devante Harris, Tenino. The reigning SWW 1A Evergreen Offensive MVP is moving from quarterback to wideout, with Rainier transfer Mac Shaw throwing to him. That's a recipe for big numbers, and Harris is quick enough to turn any catch into a huge play. He'll also get plenty of carries straight out of the backfield, but for the sake of fantasy football, classify him as a wide receiver. The WR ranks are always tough to predict in the prep game, but Tay is about as sure a thing as you'll find.
2) Michael Forgione, W.F. West. Fast, great hands, and more experienced than any other receiver on the team. He's bound to have at least one or two big games for the Bearcats this season.
3) Cody Shriver, Mossyrock. Shriver was a first-team All-C2BL pick a year ago, and both he and quarterback Shaun Stephens are a year older. Granted, the C2BL isn't exactly a passing mecca, but Shriver's as safe a bet as anyone in a running league.
4) Kalen Dunlap, MWP. A bit of a dark horse from the East End, Dunlap's certainly got the physical tools to be a fantasy steal: good hands, good speed, and plenty of confidence. The junior's also turning out for the first time, which means he could surprise opposing teams (both in the real and fantasy games, I suppose).
5) Lane Wasson/Tucker Coleman, Adna. They're about the same size, play the same position and, frankly, look a little bit alike. They're also both quick and playing in a spread offense.
6) John Sharkey, Centralia. Returning starter and a big target for improved quarterback Joe Blaser.
TIGHT END
1) Bowe McKay, W.F. West. He got a few looks late last season, and he'll be moving into a starting role this year. He's big (6-foot-2), runs well and plays on a team that wants to throw. If that's not good enough for a fake fantasy football draft, I don't know what is.
2) Trevor Baumann, Centralia. Tiger coach Steve Amrine wasn't afraid to throw to his tight end (Dayna Squibb) last year, and my guess would be that the Tigers throw a bit more often this year. Baumann's a big guy with soft hands, and, more importantly, a tight end that catches more than a pass a game is something of a rarity around these parts.
KICKER
1) Bo Ramirez, Centralia. Rarely does a coach mention a kicker in a preseason interview. Steve Amrine, however, went out of his way to talk about Ramirez's work in the offseason. The Tigers' offense had its issues last year, and unless things have drastically improved Ramirez may find himself attempting field goals more often this season.
DEFENSE
1) Morton-White Pass. The Timber Curtain didn't allow a point in C2BL play last year. That's a lofty goal to repeat, considering the T-Wolves have a few new faces on field, but there's still no team as likely to pitch a shutout as MWP — and that translates to big points on a fantasy scale.
2) Napavine/Adna. They're both solid defensive teams, year in and year out. Pick one, and enjoy what happens in Week 1 — because these two teams playing in the first game of the year is, well, fantastic.
