“I will work to be the best version of me. I will compete today with yesterday’s me.”
That’s one of the credos that Inglemoor High head coach Steve Hannan and his staff are instilling in their players this season, showing that a solid mental outlook is just as crucial as making a thrilling play on the field. Keys are being a coachable, enthusiastic and all-purpose guy, Hannan added.
“We’re just really trying to drive it home the whole season. This is who we are, this is what we’re about,” said the second-year coach and Inglemoor alumnus whose team won just one game last season.
When January hit, the Vikings were already implementing improvements, one of which was playing seven-on-seven football contests every Sunday at Shoreline Stadium. The games got the quarterbacks more in tune with the offensive plays and receiver routes and defensive players working more on their skills.
Senior Quentin Moore towers over most of his teammates at 6-foot-6, 245 pounds and will get in his catches and shots at tight end and defensive end this season. He has received scholarship offers from Oregon State University and Utah State University and was scouted by all Pac-12 schools, Hannan said.
“He can run, he can catch as well as anybody on our team and he loves the physical element of football — he loves to slam into other people. It’s tough to find kids like that,” said Hannan, adding about Moore’s demeanor: “You talk about a kid that’s got it all. He just lights up a room. His personality and his smile, he’s the type of person that all the kids gravitate toward.”
Moore, a captain and 2017 4A KingCo second-team tight end, can also sport an intense game face as noted in the photo accompanying this article.
Other standout returners are senior captain Braden Dick (6-1, 205), a two-way starter at center and outside linebacker who has the University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University looking his way; junior Brayden Costilla (6-4, 275) a nose guard and offensive lineman (“He’s a wrecking machine,” Hannan said); junior Trevor Thurman (6-3, 200), an inside linebacker who led 4A KingCo with about 125 tackles last year (he’s also being scouted by the University of Wyoming and Pac-12 teams, the coach said).
In 2017, Thurman was a 4A KingCo second-teamer on defense, and Dick and Costilla were honorable mentions.
On the quarterback front, there’s a competition between senior Austin Brooks (6-4, 260) and sophomore Kolby Solomon.
Other key factors to a turn-around were attending a team camp and loading up the weight room with more players than last year. Instead of six or seven consistent attendees in 2017, there have been 28 or 29 players dedicating themselves to lifting.
“We feel like we’re physically more prepared to play,” said Hannan, noting that the Viking football realm features discipline alongside fun.
INGLEMOOR
Schedule
Aug. 30: LYNNWOOD, 7 p.m.
Sept. 7: ROOSEVELT, 7 p.m.
Sept. 14: at Juanita, 7 p.m.
Sept. 21: at Redmond, 7 p.m.
Sept. 28: NORTH CREEK, 7 p.m.
Oct. 5: at Newport, 7 p.m.
Oct. 11: WOODINVILLE, 7 p.m.
Oct. 18: vs. Bothell, 7 p.m.
All area games at Pop Keeney Stadium
Inglemoor junior Brayden Costilla prepares for a hit during practice on Aug. 16. “He’s a wrecking machine,” said head coach Steve Hannan. Andy Nystrom / staff photo
