Columbia High will try to make Larry McCutcheon a winner in his return to the CHS sideline tomorrow night, when the Bruins host a season-opening, non-league football game against the Goldendale Timberwolves.
In last season’s opening game at Goldendale, the Bruins pulled away from the Timberwolves in the second half to post a 28-14 victory that snapped a two-game CHS losing streak in the intra-county series.
Columbia’s 2008 season, however, went south once SWW 1A League Trico Division games started. The Bruins compiled a 3-1 record in non-league play but were just 1-5 against Trico and SWW 1A competition.
McCutcheon, who resigned after the 2002 season following a 21-year career as CHS’s head football coach, is hoping to point the program in a new direction in his second go-round as leader of the Bruins.
Under McCutcheon, Columbia High—with a roster of 45 players—will be an option football team on offense and an aggressive, gap-filling unit on defense.
“My philosophy has always been to attack, whether we’re on offense or defense,” McCutcheon noted, adding, “We want to get back to playing ‘Black Hat’ football where, win or lose, you will go away black and blue.”
By way of introduction to McCutcheon’s way of coaching football, the Bruins have had a lot more contact in pre-season drills than the head coach would prefer, but he felt he had no choice.
“If we’re going to be successful playing this kind of football, and I think we will, we have to change the mindset of the players,” McCutcheon explained. “And the kids are coming around; they understand that we’ll be running offensive and defensive schemes that will allow them to be aggressive, and to make plays. The kids are excited by the possibilities, and so am I.”
The Offense
Columbia High returns two backfield starters: Senior tailback Jenson Ladiges and junior quarterback Connor Warner.
Ladiges, All-Trico First Team in 2008, rushed for a career-best 1,447 yards, scored 11 touchdowns and passed for two scores.
Warner took over signal-calling duties midway through the 2008 campaign. His primary job was handing the ball off. This year, though, he figures to get more opportunities to pass the ball.
CHS’s receiving corps includes junior tight end Dylan Rabinowitz, an All-Trico first-teamer in 2008 who caught three passes for 50 yards and two TDs; junior wideout Felix Torres (last season’s first-team place kicker); and senior wideout Zachary Mart. Pushing them for playing time are senior Caleb Huth, junior Jordon Barnedt, and sophomore William Helton.
Moving into a starting role in the varsity backfield this season is junior fullback Kristien Contreras. Among the backups will be senior Dustin Smith.
“Our aim when we break the huddle will be to adjust to what the defense shows us, then attack that certain point with speed,” McCutcheon said. “We want to get off the ball fast and into people before they can read and react to what we’re do-ing.”
The offensive line—at least in the early going of the season—will feature a starting five of senior Devin Bulick at center, junior Josh Bell and senior Denman Curry at guard, senior Pedro Wright at left tackle and junior Jose Briones at right tackle.
Also trying to make an impression on the coaching staff are linemen Chris Kennedy, a junior, and Paul Campos, a senior.
“The situation with our offensive line is that we’re not at 100 percent,” McCutcheon said. “We’re down two linemen due to injury and grades. So we’re looking at guys who would have been role players on a full-time basis.”
Still, McCutcheon is hoping to get senior tackle Ben Ward and senior center Milla Caldwell in uniform and on the field before season’s end. (Ward is recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered toward the end of the 2008-09 wrestling season, while Caldwell is working to regain his eligibility.)
The Defense
It all starts up front with linemen Wright (6-foot-1, 245 pounds) and Contreras (5-6, 190), who earned All-Trico Second Team Defense recognition in 2008. Also in the mix for playing time in the trenches are Kennedy (6-2, 185), Campos (5-5, 153), Curry (5-10, 160) and Bulick (5-9, 210).
Manning the linebacker spots on the outside will be Ladiges (6-0, 185) and Rabinowitz (6-3, 185). At inside linebacker, McCutcheon plans to go with Bell (5-9, 175), Briones (5-7, 171) and sophomore Jacob Keithly (6-0, 165). Barnedt (6-2, 170) and sophomore Sebastian Mael (5-10, 160) will be key backups at both positions.
In the defensive secondary, Columbia will go with Torres (5-10, 175) at free safety, Warner (5-9, 153; All-Tricohonorable mention) at strong safety, and Mart (5-9, 135) and Helton (5-9, 135) at the corners. Also in line for playing time in the secondary are Mael, Huth (6-1, 170) and Smith (5-7, 140).
Noted McCutcheon: “We’re making good pro-gress, but one of the things we found out at camp over the summer was that, when we allowed our kids not to be real aggressive, they got in trouble in a hurry. With a defense that’s built on eliminating gaps, we have to be the aggressor and get into the gaps first.”
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