As big No. 99 Austin Donnel — all 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds of him — watched two of his teammates smash shoulder pads during a drill, the senior yelled: “That’s a good noise!”
Later in last Thursday’s practice, there was an abundance of blocking and tackling mixed with excitement during Cedar Park Christian’s varsity scrimmage. As junior-varsity players watched from the sideline, the Eagles’ main team gave a preview of what 1A Nisqually League teams can expect this season: “Hopefully a very high-scoring offense and a tough, hard-hitting defense — that’s what I would like to see for this year,” said senior quarterback Justin Girgus.
Cedar Park will open its season at 7 p.m. Friday at Ingraham High.
After a 4-6 showing last year, the Eagles regrouped alongside coach Craig Shetterly and began their journey toward the 2010 season by hitting the weight room and participating in a pair of passing-league tournaments over the summer.
Cedar Park opened some eyes by taking third at the Big Kahuna Passing Challenge in Vancouver, B.C. Girgus tossed 37 touchdowns during the seven-game tourney, including 13 to senior Zach Dinsmore and seven to senior Riley O’Regan. Girgus connected for 19 TDs in another tourney and estimates — with a “Holy cow!” comment — that he threw some 2,000 passes over the summer.
“I feel like the seven-on-seven tournament was a confidence-booster coming from last year,” said Dinsmore, a senior. “We were playing 3A schools in Canada and took third place — our first trophy — and it makes me feel like we’ve got a chance — we’re going (far). We’re doing good in seven-on-seven — we gotta be doing good in 11-on-11.”
Added O’Regan on the summer action, which included a five-day camp at Cedar Springs in Lake Stevens in June: “I think it’s great for the team, we’re already way into our playbook and what we’ve learned.”
O’Regan noted that upon Shetterly’s arrival three years ago, the players’ talent and enthusiasm has been building like a tidal wave that’s “gonna come crashing down” on opponents this season.
“I think we’re just gonna have to stick with what we know: We all know we’re a family, we all know we can count on each other and we all know, no matter what, we’re gonna score points,” O’Regan said of the keys to success.
Cedar Park’s strong offensive line includes Donnel and a pair of imposing junior tackles in Rafael Arvilla (6-3, 260) and Jordan Apuya (6-3, 255). According to Shetterly, Donnel has moved from tackle to tight end and is “athletic, he moves, he’s got big hands, he’s a big target. We felt like he’d give us another dimension out there, both with run blocking and catching the ball.”
Donnel also plays defensive end and will pair with stellar junior nose tackle Andy Thomas (6-2, 215) in trying to shut down the opposition.
After the summer success, Shetterly has high hopes for the Eagles this season.
“I’m overly optimistic, I’m a cup-is-overflowing kind of guy. I think going into this year I wanted to pace back, with the coaching staff we have, let those guys help me out a lot to take a realistic look at where we’re at,” he said. “We’ve made adjustments to fit our personnel and (the players have) responded very well. I think the biggest expectation is their leadership, their ability to say, ‘We have to honor God, our school, our families and make sure we do those things in the way we play football.’ And they kind of set the tone that way.”
