The Bethel Braves boarded a pair of commercial flights this morning at Sea-Tac International Airport. Later this evening, they’ll be practicing on the turf at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa, Texas, preparing for their Thursday night game against Permian High School.

Here’s a story that ran in today’s paper on how the game came about, how the team paid for the trip and their thoughts on playing the school feature in the book Friday Night Lights.

Here’s a report from Permian’s game last week against Smithson Valley. The Panthers lost 6-0.

Here they are, the Tacoma News Tribune’s 2010 preseason football rankings. One thing I know that everyone will agree on is this: “These rankings are ridiculous, man. How could you not include (pick a school)?”

I’m not complaining. Anonymous e-mails calling me an idiot, justified or not, come with the territory. I will point out, however, that three of my preseason No. 1 teams from 2009 won a state title and a fourth (Colfax) reached the title game.

We can talk more about the rankings this week. I’ll be doing a live chat at 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2, here on the Prep Blog. That’s the same day our high school football special section will be published, in print and online. We can chat about the rankings, the Week 1 matchups, what teams are the favorites in particular leagues, the preseason all-state team, the best places to grab a bite before and after games and anything else in the high school sports realm.

That out of the way, let’s get to the rankings.

Tacoma News Tribune’s 2010 High School Football Preseason State Rankings

CLASS 4A
1. Skyline
2. Auburn
3. Curtis
4. Gonzaga Prep
5. Bothell Read more »

Enumclaw athletic director Kevin Smith sent out this release on Thursday afternoon:

Enumclaw Head Boys Wrestling Coach, Lee Reichert, retires from teaching and coaching at Enumclaw High School after 15 years of service to Enumclaw, 34 total years in public education.

As a high school head varsity coach, Lee’s teams have amassed a truly incredible record. His teams have won five state team championships, two being at Enumclaw. He has guided 16 individual state champion wrestlers to their titles. His teams have had 98 state placers. Lee’s teams have also won 17 sub-regional titles and nine regional titles. He was also the first coach to have two wrestlers, from the same school, in the same weight class, in the state championship.
Read more »

Here is the Tacoma News Tribune’s 2010 preseason all-state football team. There’s quite a bit of geographic and classification variety on this team, with players from 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A and even 2B represented.

Of course, picking all-state teams is not an exact science. We spoke to coaches and reporters from around the state, and used our own observations, too. Selecting these teams is always difficult and hard decisions must be made. There are many worthy players that are not on this list and many will find their way to it by the end of the season.

2010 Tacoma News Tribune Preseason All-State Football Team

OFFENSE
QB Trey Wheeler 6-1 195 Sr. Liberty
Led the Patriots to 3A title game in 2009, throwing for 2,385 yards and 29 TDs
RB Bishop Sankey 5-11 190 Sr. Gonzaga Prep
Two-time member of the TNT preseason all-state team has given oral commitment to WSU, but still being pursued by UW Read more »

One of the things I like most about my job is that I’m able to get out to cities and towns that I probably wouldn’t normally pass through. The News Tribune covers high schools from Central Kitsap to Centralia and Elma to Enumclaw. That’s a lot of ground to cover. And even though I pride myself on knowing as much as I can about my surroundings, there are things that leave me clueless.

Like, where should I grab a bite to eat before kickoff of the Auburn game? Or Olympia? Or Puyallup, Gig Harbor, Tumwater or Yelm?

So, I’m soliciting suggestions. I’ve listed every high school/major athletic field in the South Sound and added a few of my own suggestions. You can leave your suggestions as a comment and I’ll add to the list. Or you can e-mail me at doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com and I’ll post your suggestion.

To make this post easy to find for future reference, I’ve listed it in the column to the left. It’s titled “TNT Prep Dining Guide.”

Click below to see the list of schools and restaurants.

Read more »

I stopped by Bethel High School today to talk to coach Gavin Kralik and a few players about the upcoming season.

Of all the teams in the SPSL South, the Braves have the single biggest void to fill. Running back Anthony Meray, the TNT’s All-Area Player of the Year last fall, graduated and took his 2,500 all-purpose yards with him. Bethel does welcome back junior quarterback Justin Hordyk and its starting offensive line from 2009. So, the Braves aren’t completely starting from scratch.

Bethel will start its season far away from Pierce County, though. The Braves’ season-opener will be played at 19,032-seat Ratliff Stadium, the home field of the team immortalized in the book Friday Night Lights, and the move and television show of the same name – the Permian Panthers.
Read more »

This Associated Press story about 18 high school football players from Oregon getting hospitalized is bizarre. Authorities have not yet figured out what caused the “painful swelling in their arms.”

McMINNVILLE, Ore. — Eighteen Oregon high school football players have been hospitalized after they experienced painful swelling in their arms during a fall camp. Three of the McMinnville High School athletes required surgery this week. They were experiencing “compartment syndrome,” which led to triceps swelling and pain.

Authorities said the cause was not known, but the condition can be the result of exercise or the use of certain medications.

The players were at an immersion camp organized by first-year coach Jeff Kearin. All but one of the players who became ill worked out on Sunday at the high school’s wrestling room, where one player says the temperature reached 120 degrees.

Ten of the players remained hospitalized overnight Friday.

Senior linebacker and fullback Jake Montgomery, 17, worked out with the team Sunday and Monday. But early Tuesday morning he was awakened by pain.
“I saw my elbows disappearing,” he told The Oregonian newspaper.
Read more »

Kasen Williams, Skyline’s star receiver, will announce on Friday, Aug. 27, what college he will attend. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior, rated the No. 4 receiver prospect in the country by Scout.com, is expected to choose among California, Florida, LSU, Notre Dame and Washington.

For whatever it’s worth, his parents, Aaron and Rhonda, both went to Washington and his dad played football for the Huskies.

Aaron was also a standout athlete at Wilson High School in the late-1970s, playing football, basketball and track and field. He owned the state record in the triple jump — he went 50 feet, …

Read more »