Bruins look to turn page on football fortunes

“We all know the positive we were in last year,” Coach Shawn Friese said. “You can look at our win-loss record last year, and I don’t think it tells the whole story because we were in a good amount of those games — in a position to win.

“I think this year, even though we’re doing things a little bit differently, a big step for us is to get into that position and turn some of those into wins.”

Expect Columbia High to open things up offensively this fall, as the Bruins return a good nucleus of running backs and receivers. On the flip side, Columbia won’t have as much depth on its offensive and defensive lines as it has had recently.

"Our play calling is probably going to be different this year to take advantage of our skill guys and lack of depth along the line," Friese said.

“We have good numbers overall with the team. We had a lot of seniors end up not turn out this year.”

The six who did include Matthias Posini, who Friese said, “is going to be huge for us, and then Kai Brasuell will be another big impact senior.”

Of the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Posini, Friese said: “He’s got the size and the ability, and he’s got the work ethic. He has all the intangible things, the leadership abilities, the coach-ability. When you get to the next level [college] there’s a bunch of Matthias’, but having those intangible skills will get him a long way in the future.”

Other seniors are Aaron Johnson, defensive back; Wyatt Stelma, quarterback; and Bryce and Jaden Wang. “They will all have a big impact on our team,” Friese said.

Junior Wongani Schlegel is a breakaway threat at running back and on kick returns, and junior Humberto Pulido is a bruising inside runner and linebacker.

Friese said time will tell how the new-look team will perform on Fridays, starting this season with a 4 p.m. opener against Hoquiam at Olympic Stadium (between Aberdeen and Hoquiam). “We have a lot of actually new players this year,” he said. “A lot of guys that have just come into the program.

“It’s such a great group. We have some guys who haven’t played before or haven’t played since middle school who came back into the program.”

Friese said there’s a different feel to the 2024 Bruin squad and it starts with his team of assistant coaches: offensive coordinator John Hallead, tackling coordinator Devin Dean, Zach Landgren and Evan Wiley.

“I just can’t say enough about the coaching staff; they have all stepped up and taken massive responsibilities,” Friese said. “We are a team of coaches. Practices are run by all the coaches — it’s a much more team-like atmosphere. They have done so much for this program, starting with weight training this summer."

The coach said the atmosphere has helped improve the players’ attitudes and outlook.

“I can’t say enough about the group. … We’ve given them so much new information because we’re doing so much new stuff than what we were doing last year,” Friese said. “Even the returning players it’s a lot of new stuff and they are really willing to learn it and put in the extra time to get themselves prepared. It’s been a great fall camp so far.”