Five from SK on All-Kitsap first team

South Kitsap High School football coach D.J. Sigurdson will be the first to say his team didn’t have the type of season it wanted this year.

But now that the 4-6 campaign is behind them, the team will still reap some benefits for all the work they put in.

Especially the team’s MVP Anthony Galloway, who heads a small but talented group of Wolves who were named to the All-Kitsap County Football team, released this week by the Kitsap News Group newspaper.

Sports editors, writers and photographers from the Port Orchard Independent, North Kitsap Hearld, Central Kitsap Reporter and Bremerton Patriot voted on those players that stood out for one reason or another during the 2004 football season.

Only players that attend school in Kitsap County were eligible for the honors.

Galloway, a senior tailback for the Wolves, was named to the first team, along with Dylan Pierce, Brad Ossman, Andrew Thatcher and Kyle Saltsgaver.

Monte Enyeart, Dan Tajalle and Jon Stryker were named as honorable mentions.

“It’s nice to see some kids on there that work hard and got respect,” Sigurdson said. “It’s nice that some of the other news groups recognized them as at least playing hard.”

South struggled through its first losing season since 1977 but there were plenty of players worthy of recognition.

“It’s nice to get a little individual recognition,” Sigurdson said. “Anthony Galloway was just amazing all season.”

2004 All-Kitsap County football team

Offense

• Jared Prince, North Kitsap, quarterback — NK Head coach Jerry Parrish hails

Prince as the greatest quarterback he’s ever coached in 32 years at North

Kitsap. But Prince’s numbers speak for themselves, as the senior passed

for 2,050 yards this season, threw 24 touchdown passes (and only six

interceptions), had a 50.7 percent completion rate and ran for 299 yards and

seven touchdowns in 10 games to boot. Prince also led his team to a 6-3

regular season record and into the playoffs, where the Vikings lost narrowly

to Edmonds-Woodway to end their season. Combined with his baseball pitching

abilities, Prince will have a lot of options to play in college.

• Anthony Galloway, South Kitsap, running back – Everyone in the stadium knew he was getting the ball and yet he rushed for 1,472 yards and scored 10 times on a team that was offensively challenged for most of the year. With no passing game to take the pressure off, the senior still averaged 5.6 yards a carry and rushed for more than 150 yards in five different games, including a season high 240 yards against Olympic.

• Dan Mayfield, Central Kitsap, running back — Truly CK’s most dangerous weapon, Mayfield racked up 993 yards on 164 attempts, finding the endzone 12 times. He also added six receptions for 44 yards and another score. Mayfield helped keep the Cougars’ playoff chances alive right up until the end of the season.

• Andy Sturza, North Kitsap, fullback — Sturza provided North’s offense with

its running attack, a player who could do it all. The senior ran for 412

yards, caught 477 yards worth, and had 12 touchdowns on the year — six

rushing, six receiving — to lead NK in the offensive TD department.

• Jordan Henry, North Kitsap, receiver — North’s “big play” receiver, Henry

had a natural ability to evade defenders and make acrobatic catches for huge

gains — on offense and on defense. Henry had 598 yards and 10 touchdowns

over his senior season, averaging almost 20 yards per catch. On defense,

Henry added five interceptions to lead the Vikings.

• Travis Tobin, North Kitsap, receiver — If finesse propelled his Viking

counterpart Jordan Henry to success as a receiver, then it could be said

Prince could count on Tobin to do the dirty work at the wideout position.

Tobin busted tackles and attained extra yardage on almost every possession,

and finished with 731 yards on the season to lead all receivers. He also

rushed for 303 yards, averaging 10 yards per carry, and had nine touchdowns

all season. Tobin also picked up four interceptions over the course of the

season.

• Bryce Wentworth, Central Kitsap, tight end — Wentworth was a big part of Mayfield’s season. The big tight end was a solid No. 3 recieving option and a great blocker for CK. He finished the year with 12 catches for 142 yards. Wentworth was also the team’s leading tackler with 79 stops.

• Andrew Thatcher, South Kitsap, center — The junior center anchored a line that was forced to continually open holes even though the defense knew what was coming. With the amount of playing time he saw as a junior, he will be heavily counted on next year to once again lead the line.

• Brock Tidball, North Kitsap, lineman — On nearly every play, Tidball was a part of the action providing a key block and also provided a senior leadership presence.

• Terrance Simmons, Olympic, lineman — While holding down the offensive line and opening holes for Oly’s backs, Simmons also made a name for himself on defense, recording 65 tackles, nine for a loss. Simmons was the Trojans’ second-largest player, providing a large body on both sides of the ball.

• Kyle Saltsgaver, South Kitsap, lineman — The man Galloway ran behind the most, Saltsgaver is now a two-year starter as a junior. He missed out on the final game with a knee injury but will be counted on to have a monster year as a senior.

• Willie Llewllyn, Central Kitsap, lineman — One of the biggest, strongest players in the league, Llewllyn broke through his share of double-teams to rack up 55 tackles and a sack. Like Simmons, his size was his greatest asset, opening big holes on the O-line while closing them on the D-line.

• Jerry Parrish, North Kitsap, Coach of the Year — North’s 32-year skipper,

who has amassed 208 wins, 146 losses and four ties over a nearly four-decade-long coaching career, decided to call it quits after this season.

Parrish also altered well his coaching stategy from a conservative to a

run-and-gun style of offense to suit his talented quarterback. Though he is

one of the only coaches in Washington state history with more than 200 wins,

it was his team’s successes on the gridiron this year that won him coach of

the year kudos: a playoff run that almost saw North nearly beat

Edmonds-Woodway, a 6-3 regular season record, and — lest we forget — a

62-7 drubbing NK archrival South Kitsap.

Defense

• Brock Tidball, North Kitsap, lineman — Tidball was always a part of the action and had no problem taking down a rushing opponent. Tidball had 24 solo tackles on the year and 48 total on the season for North.

• Brad Ossman, South Kitsap, lineman — A two-way starter early in the year, his leadership and cool-headedness helped a young team handle the adversity on and off the field. Was used more on defense later in the year.

• Tony Criswell, Klahowya, lineman — The biggest of the Klahowya D-line, he was sorely missed when he went down in the first quarter against Elma. Although he only had 35 tackles, he helped fortify the line, stopping opposing offenses and letting the Eagles’ linebackers make the stops.

• Jacob Snell, North Kitsap, defense — Snell was the Vikings’ most prolific

tackler, the defensive backbone for the entire North Kitsap team. He

single-handedly took down 95 rushing attacks and had 155 total tackles all

season.

• Jerid Sturman-Camyn, Klahowya, linebacker — A monster at the linebacker position, he was the beneficiary of Klahowya’s big line. He finished with a team-high 143 tackles and four sacks. He added one pick, blocked a pair of punts, and had a team-leading three fumble recoveries. On offense, the big tight end had just six catches, but led the team with 161 yards receiving and two scores.

• A.J. Weber, Olympic, linebacker — The undisputed leader of the Trojans, Weber was one of the most vocal players on the field and sidelines. Weber led Oly with 131 tackles, and also recorded six sacks to co-lead the Narrows League. Smaller than many, he uses his intensity to go through blockers, rather than around them.

• Cody Opiopio, Bremerton, linebacker — Opiopio was one of the only bright spots in a gloomy season for the Knights. Opiopio anchored the defense, leading the team in tackles. Despite the Knights season, Opiopio kept his head up and gave a full effort in each game. He was also the teams leading rusher, racking up 389 yards on 96 carries.

• Dylan Pierce, South Kitsap, secondary — Led the team with three interceptions while playing both ways much of the year. Also led the team in tackles with 24 solo and 21 assists. The team captain never gave up and played hard each play despite a less than stellar team performance.

• Cody Kirkpatrick, Klahowya, secondary — The top cornerback for the Eagles, Kirkpatrick had 60 tackles, six interceptions and blocked a punt. He shut down opposing receivers all season, keeping Klahowya in several games with timely big plays.

• Jordan Henry, North Kitsap, secondary — Lead the Vikings with five interceptions and used his natural ability to evade defenders and make acrobatic catches for huge gains — on defense as well as offense.

• Brandon Brown, Central Kitsap, secondary — Brown was another key two-way player for CK. Defensively, Brown had 66 tackles and 6 sacks to co-lead the league. Not bad for a safety. Offensively, Brown was the No. 2 option behind Mayfield and carried his share of the load for 470 yards on 83 attempts, adding four scores. He also caught nine passes for 78 yards and an additional score.

Honorable mentions

• Nic LaFontaine, Central Kitsap — The senior quarterback did what he could to take the Cougars to the brink of the playoffs. LaFontaine was solid through the air and on the ground, going 63-131 for 1106 passing yards and 12 scores. He ran the ball 48 times for just 36 yards, but did score four rushing TDs. Defensively, he led the team with two picks, taking one 59 yards for a score, while finishing second in tackles with 74. He also added a sack and two fumble recoveries.

• Sean Callahan, Bainbridge — The Sparts’ go-to receiver was quarterback

Grant Leslie’s favorite target, racking up touchdowns for Bainbridge’s best

year of football in years.

• Monte Enyeart, South Kitsap — Just a junior, he lead the team in receiving with 10 catches for 177 yards and a pair of scores. He was part of the team’s best play all year, a 62-yard touchdown pass that sealed the comeback against Mount Tahoma.

• Rick Bearbower, Central Kitsap — Bearbower was LaFontaine’s first target, hooking up with the QB 14 times for 294 yards and two scores. On the ground, he ran the ball just eight times, but picked up 18.3 yards per carry for a season total of 146 and another score.

• Cale Sternerson, Central Kitsap — A solid center all year for CK, he too helped open up lanes for Mayfield. Stenerson, a senior, was part of a big CK line that did a decent job of buying LaFontaine time in the pocket.

• Grant Leslie, Bainbridge — The Spartan quarterback led his team to its

best finish in years, including a season-starting win over North Kitsap,

44-41.

• Daniel Vandatta, Central Kitsap — VanDatta had 46 tackles on the year, but led the team in passes broken up with nine. He was LaFontaine’s other recieving threat as well, catching 13 passes for 294 yards and three scores. He also had 24 carries for 130 yards rushing. He had his biggest impact defensively, as those batted passes saved CK from many opponents first downs.

• Dan Tajalle, South Kitsap — A junior who recorded 26 solo tackles and 15 assists as the team’s nose guard, he was short but stout. Tajalle will be a force next year and one of the defense’s leaders.

• Jon Stryker, South Kitsap – He quietly had a nice year from his linebacker position, recording 48 tackles, 26 of those solo. The senior saw playing time on both sides and was a key blocker for Galloway.

•Dan Gardner, Klahowya — One of the keys to the Eagles’ defensive line, Gardener was sorely missed in the post-season after suffering a concussion. He still finished with 61 tackles and a sack, but his biggest impact was creating opportunities for his fellow defenders.

• Reagan Logova, Olympic — Logova was one not only one of the best members of Oly’s secondary, but was also one of the team’s top options offensively. Logova recorded 66 tackles and four sacks, while carrying the ball 74 times for 587 yards and seven scores. He was also 2-for-2 passing on the year, firing for 54 yards and a score through the air. Logova showed a lot of heart, playing through injuries throughout the year.

• Zac Becker, Klahowya — Becker was all-purpose for the Eagles, helping shoulder the running game and playing exceptional defense as a safety and cornerback. Becker had 66 tackles for the Eagles, had two sacks and picked off five passes. Offensively, the two-way captain had 78 carries for 457 yards and six scores, and added a team-leading 12 catches for 151 yards and a TD.

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