TUMWATER — The expectation in Tumwater is clear: Win football games.
The T-Birds have done plenty of that for a while now, including the last three seasons, each of which ended with a trip to Husky Stadium.
None of the last three trips have ended the way that Tumwater has hoped, but early signs show no reason that the Thunderbirds shouldn’t be in contention for a December matchup in Seattle again.
Here are three takeaways from one of Tumwater’s practices earlier in the week.
Experience and familiarity aplenty
Tumwater lost 17 seniors from last year’s squad (according to the roster on the WIAA’s website), but the T-Birds have no shortage of experience returning all over the field.
Four of the five offensive lineman are back in the fold, as well as eight defensive starters.
This year’s senior class will be led by Harvard commit Ethan Bello, Tyler Briscoe, and Grady Wall, but Garrow was also quick to point out the incoming sophomore class that has already made several plays during practice.
“We have a very large sophomore class that had a good freshman season last year,” Garrow said. “Some good looking athletes there.”
The usual depth in the backfield
Of course, there is also plenty of talent returning in the Tumwater backfield.
Tyler Briscoe ran for over 800 yards last fall, and both Grady Wall and Jayden Hinchcliffe combined for nearly 700 more.
Multiple other T-Birds have been getting touches throughout camp and are expecting to rotate in throughout the season, including Gavin Kaikkonen, Logan Budd, and Nick LaPraim.
Pushing expectations
This year’s senior class has gone 38-4 over their first three years of their high school career, reaching the state title game in all three seasons.
Like the last couple of years, they’ll be challenged early and often this season, when they face Liberty (Issaquah), Steilacoom and Mount Si in the non-league slate. But like the last few seasons, they aren’t shying away from the challenge.
“We know the standard,” Bello said. “But this year especially, we’re trying to raise that standard up … That’s what we’re trying to do this year.”
