By Eric Trent
For Peninsula Daily News
CHIMACUM — Nearly two years. That’s how long Chimacum’s football team went without a victory.
But all streaks eventually come to an end.
After snapping an 18-game losing skid and winning twice in the final four games in 2015, the Cowboys seek to build off last season’s success.
But success won’t come without its challenges, as Chimacum returns only five seniors and half their starters from a year ago.
“We’re a young team,” Chimacum’s head coach Mike Dowling said. “Not a lot of returning guys.”
“We have a lot of guys who played intermittently, but didn’t start every game.”
Not only that, the Cowboys are once again working with a smaller-than-average roster for a 1A school: 27 players total.
“For us, it’s always a numbers game,” Dowling said.
“We’ve never had big numbers here.
“With the whole head-injury stuff, there’s a lot of parents that are hesitant to have their kids play.
“We’re trying to help them understand what we’re trying to do, in terms of how we’re trying to protect the kids.”
The Cowboys also are in the midst of a quarterback quandry, having to decide between sophomore Cole Dotson, freshman Bruce Seton or senior Chris Sevilla for the starting spot.
Sevilla hasn’t played in four years, but competed at the state track and field championships as a javelin thrower, and has the arm-strength to make most of the throws.
“He’s the more prototypical, drop-back guy who can throw the ball,” Dowling said.
“Not so much running, but throwing the ball, he can put some air under it.”
Dowling describes Seton as a 6-foot-1, 200 pound natural athlete.
“Right now he’s a tight end. But he may even have to play guard for us in the jamboree because of kids not meeting eligibility requirements,” ” Dowling said.
Whether Sevilla or Seton gets the starting nod, both will most likely get playing time behind center.
“Through the course of the season, in my experience, you need a couple guys anyway,” Dowling said.
“I don’t know who’ll end up getting the first call, but they’ll both play.”
What the Cowboys do know for certain is they have a plethora of depth at running back to hopefully ease pressure off their quarterback and open up the passing attack.
“We have a lot more skill guys than we have big guys,” Dowling said.
“I don’t know if we’re not feeding them milk anymore around here.”
Continuity important
The Cowboys’ pistol offense will feature a three-pronged rushing attack consisting of seniors Elijah Avery and Westen Johnson and junior Ryan Caldwell.
Junior Logan Shaw is away on a foreign exchange trip this school year.
“We’ve been doing the same thing for a while,” Dowling said.
“For the most part, our formation will be a double-wing. But we’ll run spread a little bit.
“We have to score more points. Last year, we didn’t score as many as we could have or should have.”
On the defensive side, Chimacum will look to keep the same sets as last season, running a 4-3 and 4-4 defense.
“Defensively, we have to know where we’re going,” Dowling said.
“And being able to execute what we’re trying to do. We have to get stops.”
“I think we’ll be better fundamentally. Whether that translates, I don’t know.
“But I think we’re making progress. We’re just a really young team.”
The Cowboys have joined a new league this season, made up of teams from the Olympic League (Chimacum, Port Townsend, Coupeville and Klahowya) and from the Nisqually League (Bellevue Christian, Vashon Island, Charles Wright and Cascade Christian.)
Stiff competition
Chimacum’s first test will be in the season-opener, a non-conference matchup against formidable 1B foe Neah Bay.
“They have a phenomenal program,” Dowling said.
“We need to get more of that mentality.”
Although Neah Bay is a much smaller school, the Red Devils are a premier 1B program and not to be taken lightly.
Consequently, Dowling and the Cowboys are making sure not to look past Neah Bay, taking everything one game at a time.
“Game one,” Dowling said.
“They’re all tough for us.”
“We went from not winning a game two years ago, to winning three.
“Do we want to win league? Sure. But to get there, we have to take care of things.”
Nevertheless, Chimacum’s season will be considered a success as long as they continue progressing.
“We want to build off those wins last year,” senior lineman Lane Dotson said.
“Keep that in the back of our head and keep us moving along.”
Avery had similar thoughts.
“I think we’ll have more skill and we’ll do better than last year,” he said.
“We just have to play our best and get better every game.”
A focus on improvement is the key for cultivating success within a program that has struggled.
“Our goal is to improve from last year,” Dowling said.
“It’s tough.” This school has averaged three wins a year for the last 30 years.
“You have to change the mentality, change the culture. There’s a lot that goes into the equation.
“We’re doing everything we can to make it positive and keep going forward.”
Chimacum capsule
• Last year: 3-8 overall, 1-5 Olympic League 1A Division. Lost in district playoffs
• Offense: Pistol
• Defense: 4-3 or 4-4
•Contributors: Lane Dotson T/DL, Josh Conklin C/DL, Ryan Caldwell RB/DB, Elijah Avery RB/LB, Westen Johnson RB/DB.
•Expected team strength: Playbook and scheme familiarity. This is Dowling and Chimacum’s second year running the pistol offense and a 4-3, 4-4 defense
•Question marks: A sophomore and freshman-heavy roster could cause experience and depth concerns if injuries start to pile up. Also, who’ll be the starting quarterback in the season-opener?
•Players they’ll miss the most: Running back/lineman Trevon Noel carried the load in 2015, as well as quarterbacks Quinn Dowling and James Porter.
•Game to watch: An 11-man contest in week one against 8-man goliath Neah Bay will give the Cowboys an idea of where they stack up.
Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News Chimacum’s Lane Dotson, 55, takes down the Port Townsend’s Wesley Wheeler during a game in Memorial Field.
