Linnenkohl gets his shot

Congratulations to Capital grad Alex Linnenkohl, who was signed by the Chicago Bears to a 3-year contract, getting a shot at center. The Olympian reports:

Linnenkohl, who finished his college career last season as one of Oregon State’s all-time best centers, signed a rookie free agent contract with the Chicago Bears on Tuesday afternoon, fulfilling his longtime dream of getting a chance to play in the NFL. He was one of two undrafted centers signed by Chicago, joining Mississippi State’s J.C. Brignone.

“This is all I’ve ever wanted,” Linnenkohl said Tuesday from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill., where the Bears will begin training camp Saturday. “It’s pretty surreal right now. It hasn’t really hit me yet.”

What follows is one of those I-knew-him-when's: Back in 2006, I appeared on the same stage as Linnenkohl in an improv comedy show. The papers always report his work ethic (second-to-none) and his determination (at only 303 pounds, he's small for a center), but what they miss is his quick wit and killer sense of humor.

Best of luck, Alex. Strike that: do what brought you here, and keep working hard. If you get a Superbowl ring before the Seahawks do, I won't even complain.

a fond farewell to CHS's graduating debaters

Last Saturday marked the end-of-the-year celebration for CHS's Speech and Debate team. It's a celebration I've come to relish. We find a park if the weather's good, or a team member's home if it's not, and potluck it. Games, conversation, food, and, of course, speeches to recount triumphs, visions of the future, and, for the seniors, parting wisdom.

And gifts.

A few years ago, the team started a tradition of cobbling together some mementoes for the coach. This year's soon-to-be-graduates led the charge , and I have to say, the swag pile is pretty impressive, with reading material (Catch-22, The Encyclopedia of Useless Information), folk music, Guatemalan worry dolls, hair gel (gorilla snot? really?), a puzzle book, and a leopard-print Snuggie, which I will never, ever wear. Grace's handmade collection of Mr. Anderson Quotes (that have never made Twitter) was a delightful surprise, too. (Sample: "Well, let's just make a shot that will keep people from becoming Satanists, because that's a public health concern." I swear, it was valid in context.)

Their generosity and good humor should surprise no one, for this year's seniors are a special group. Sure, they've shone competitively, including a 2nd-place finish at the State I.E. tournament, but more important, they've always valued truth over trophies, and have always competed with character and class. As often as I have coached them, I have merely stood out of their way, and watched them triumph through their own effort and persistence.

They're good people made better by their experiences in forensics, leaders in the classroom and in the community.  They're writers, scientists, actors, scholars, artists, doctors, politicians, and whatever else they can imagine. They are tireless, and their possibilities are limitless.  It's humbling to see how much they've grown in four years, and more than a little sad to see them leave. They leave behind a history of accomplishments and a legacy of leadership, already inspiring their younger teammates to greatness.

So, to Jackson, Grace, Cameron, Matthew, Vamsi, Josie, Jesse, Layne, Shira, and Aaron: thanks for everything. I'll be so proud to see you walk across the stage tonight, out of CHS and into the wider world, bold representatives of a new generation.

The scaffolding is complete. The rest of the future is yours to build.

Capital Cougars off to a great start

The Capital Cougars put up 28 on O'Dea--and shut out their rival..

Capital and O’Dea, which have met every year since 2007, faced each other in Week 1 for the third consecutive year. The Irish had the Cougars’ number in winning the three previous matchups, 46-9 (2007), 14-13 (’08) and 19-15 last year at the Emerald City Kickoff Classic at Qwest Field.

“The last couple of years, we played them so tight,” Capital coach J.D. Johnson said. “It goes back to talking to the kids about not just wanting it, but you have to need it. We needed to win this game and have this solidify us.”

We have a battle-tested squad brimming with confidence. Our defense has always been tough, but combined with an experienced offense well-suited for a varied attack, we are officially the team to beat in the Narrows 3A league.

The Spaghetti Bowl is gonna be a good one. Don't miss it.

Capital High School football update

If you've been following the Capital Cougar football team, you already know that Tyler Sundberg has been ridiculous this year, running for--count 'em--31 touchdowns. But he's not the only vector in a multidimensional attack, as Enumclaw discovered yesterday.

Alex Everson, Capital’s junior quarterback who moved into the starting lineup this season, made sure of that. He ran for two touchdowns, passed for another and ran the option to perfection.

“They were biting on the fakes a lot,” Everson said. “It’s worked before, but that was the best it’s worked all season.”

Coming into the game, Everson had run for four touchdowns and passed for another 14. Against an Enumclaw defense that was giving up just 16.2 points a game, Everson completed 7 of 9 passes for 108 yards and rushed for 44 yards on five carries.

While the offense tends to get most of the attention in a 42-7 win, it's important to note that Capital's defense has been stifling all year long. Looking at the 3A rankings, this is a team that nearly knocked off Times-ranked #7 Timberline and #5 O'Dea (and, in the Spaghetti Bowl, exposed the weaknesses in the recently eliminated 4A Olympia squad.)

Capital rolls on to State to face #4 Union next.

I should also mention that Capital's girls cross country team finished 14th at state. Meanwhile, the volleyball team faces Holy Names next weekend in Kennewick.

Capital to rejoin Narrows League?

It appears that Capital, along with the three other remaining teams from the tiny Western Cascade Conference (itself part of the WCC/OWL--confused yet?), will rejoin the Narrows League next year.

The Narrows League will absorb the four remaining Western Cascade Conference teams: North Thurston, Timberline, Yelm and Capital, all Class 3A teams.

That will make the Narrows League, which was founded in 1979, as a 15-team league.

The Narrows League had previously been resistant to adding Class 3A teams. Several Tacoma schools could end up in the 3A classification next year as they were “opting up” to remain in the Narrows League. Gig Harbor had 3A numbers as well and opted up.

A committee will meet next week to being figuring out how this re-configured league will look and function.

My guess is it'll have two subdivisions, hopefully based on geography to make travel and gate proceeds best for all involved.

At least two good things about this, from Capital's perspective: first, playing in a bigger league means more battle-testing before the playoffs. Second, it restores the full import of the traditional crosstown rivalry with Olympia--now the game would matter for more than pride.

Capital's proven that it can hang with 4A schools. Next year, we'll have to do more: we'll have to beat them.

[via Meg Wochnick]

Capital loses Spaghetti Bowl heartbreaker

In a game that seesawed so fast I got whiplash, Capital eventually fell to the Olympia Bears, 35-28.

With four minutes left and the scored locked at 28-all, it appeared that the Cougars might have the moxie to muster another grueling drive, just like Tyler Sundberg had ground out in the 3rd quarter.

Alas.

This time, Sundberg fumbled, and Olympia recovered, racing all the way back for the winning score.

I couldn't believe it. From where I stood, it appeared that the ball had popped loose when Sundberg's elbows hit the ground--in which case, he was down, as the ground can't cause a fumble. But the refs saw something different, and that was that.

What a game. What a great, great game. We came so close.

Next year.

Update: The Olympian's writeup is available. Judging from one of the comments, I'm not the only one who thought Sundberg's "fumble" wasn't.

Thursday thoughts

1. Tomorrow's Spaghetti Bowl will be very, very interesting. Oly dominated Gig Harbor in their warmup, while Capital's relatively inexperienced squad narrowly lost to O'Dea. Neither fact makes predicting the outcome any easier. This may qualify as limb-going, but I'm calling this one for the Cougars, 21-14. (And don't you dare bet on sports.)

2. Tacky ties are back in season, and have folks around Pod B seeing double.

3. Capital High now has eight bell schedules, A-H. Just kidding. We actually have nine, now, with an email announcing that tomorrow's half-hour end-of-school assembly is "Schedule Z." (I suggested at a staff meeting that we start naming them after vitamins, but I like the James Bond vibe of the latest addition.)

4. "They are who we thought they were!"

5. The crazy guys who go over Niagara Falls in a barrel? Much empathy from me.

Bellevue ends Capital's run

Grit met the machine, and the machine won, as Bellevue's efficient Wing-T attack brought down the Cougars last night, 28-6.

A crowd estimated at 3,500 watched an overmatched Capital team fight it out to the end, saving its best drive for last against a polished program that has won five state titles in the past seven seasons.

The semifinal victory will move Bellevue (13-0) into a state championship date with Union of Vancouver (13-0) at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Tacoma Dome, while Capital finished the season 9-4 in coach J.D. Johnson's second year with the Cougars.

It was Capital's first trip to the state semifinals since 2002.

"I'm not going to fault your heart, and I'm not going to fault your effort," Johnson told his team in the locker room after the game. "That's what got you this far."

Congratulations to Capital, a team that's improved every year under coach Johnson, and that looks to be fearsome again next season. You have to hand it to Bellevue, though; they run perhaps the most disciplined motion offense on the West Coast, if not in the country. Good luck to Union.

accident postpones Capital-Bellevue match

Eight Bellevue football players were injured, none seriously, when a lost ladder caused their charter bus to leave the roadway and flip on its side.

Another witness, Michelle, told said she was one car behind the bus when the accident happened.

"The car in front (of me) got sideswiped... and the next thing I saw it looked like the bus jumped literally 30 feet in the air like you see on TV shows and the bus went sideways, sliding two lanes across the freeway and went into the embankment."

Many of the players and coaches had to escape via the emergency hatch on the top of the bus.

Pratt says none of the 38 people on board was seriously injured -- mostly just a few bumps and bruises. Eight players were taken to a hospital to be checked out as a precaution.

The team was on its way the Tacoma Dome to play in a state semifinal game, and the fact that the players were wearing most of their football pads certainly helped avoid serious injuries, Pratt said.

The game has been rescheduled to Monday night at 7:00 p.m.

Cougars in the paper

The day before the state semifinal versus Bellevue, The Olympian focuses on the new spirit of CHS:

Senior Brenna Peterson expects a victory Friday. "We usually get eliminated pretty soon in the playoffs, so the team is like our heroes now," she said. "We're all pretty proud of them."

Doug Murray, a junior defensive tackle, said the pep rally amped up the team.

"We were already pumped up," Murray said. "I just want to make good plays with all my other brothers on this team."

The noise died down when Coach J.D. Johnson spoke to the students.

Bellevue is one of Washington's high school power programs, but Capital has something else, Johnson said.

"Just a lot of heart is what we have," he said. "Just a lot of heart."

Then Johnson yelled: "We Are!"

The team — and many students — stood and shouted back "Capital!"

Meanwhile, two Capital stars get props from the paper, landing on the All-Area Team: Riley Wall, for pretty much tearing up the WCC/OWL on the ground, and Joseph Ingman, he of the eight interceptions.

Congratulations to the Cougars. No matter how you fare tomorrow, you're the best 9-3 team in the state, and you've worked hard to earn your place among the best.

Oh, and while everybody's excited about football, let's not forget that Capital's other varsity squads have been racking up wins and accolades as well, in swimming, tennis, golf and cross country.

Capital edges out East Valley, 20-19

According to The Olympian, the Capital Cougars defeated East Valley (Spokane) this afternoon 20-19. Riley Wall scored three touchdowns.

I'll post a link to a full writeup when it appears on the site.

Update: Solid defense and a little trickery won the day.

Trailing 13-6 early in the fourth quarter, Capital (9-3) pulled off the reverse pitch pass trick play it used last week. Receiver Greg Hibbard took a toss from Joe Tolman off the reverse and fooled the Knights, throwing to Jourdan Weiks who was all alone.

The play covered 53 yards. It set up workhorse back Riley Wall, who juked his way into the end zone from 15 yards out and scored up the middle on a two-point conversion for a 14-13 lead.

"We threw that against Meadowdale last weekend that sparked a big comeback as well," said coach J.D. Johnson, of last week's 14-10 triumph.

(I also note that The Olympian's title is almost exactly cribbed from mine. Sneaky, editors. But not sneaky enough.)

On to Tacoma!

The Olympian takes a look inside Capital's huddle

The Cougars head to Spokane to take on East Valley this Saturday.

I'm seriously tempted to ride the rooter bus... again...

Cougars beat Blanchet, move on to state

Even though the offense never got rolling, Capital's defense stifled Bishop Blanchet, and the Cougars advanced to state with a 7-0 win Saturday afternoon.

Capital senior Riley Wall scored the game's only touchdown — a 7-yard run with 6 minutes, 20 seconds left in the third quarter. Wall finished with 162 yards on 26 carries. He also caught two passes for 17 yards.

"It wasn't the prettiest thing, but we won," Wall said. "It was frustrating, but we had to stay calm and keep on rolling and try to keep the defense off the field."

Despite the low-scoring outcome, Capital had 279 yards of offense compared to Blanchet's 142. The Cougars' defense held Cameron Cutter, the Braves' leading rusher all season, to just 64 yards on 18 carries. Cutter had no carry for more than 10 yards.

As for last year's nemesis, O'Dea? They beat Glacier Peak 47-14. (Glacier Peak doesn't even have a senior class.)

O'Dea unbeaten Lakes next. I'm guessing Lakes stays unbeaten.

Cougars trounce Yelm, ready for playoffs

Capital High School clinched the Olympic Western League title with its sixth conference victory, defeating the Yelm Tornadoes 56-7 as senior Riley Wall led the charge.

"He did a great job," Capital coach J.D. Johnson said of the senior, who averaged 12.6 yards per carry before taking a seat with 6:15 left in the third quarter. "We wanted to let him get going a little bit. He missed two games, his numbers were down a little bit in the league and we felt bad for the kid. I told him, 'We'll let you go, but there's going to be a point in time where we're going to pull you out.'"

By then the damage was done.

Capital (6-3, 6-1 OWL) scored on four of its first five possessions, racking up 260 yards of offense through the first two quarters and jumping out to a 28-0 lead.

While Wall patrolled the ground, quarterback Kellen Camus took to the air. The junior completed 6-of-9 first-half attempts for 111 yards. He also bowed out early in the second half after his 24-yard touchdown strike to Joe Tolman put the Cougars up by five touchdowns. The long TD pass was Tolman's second of the game and Camus' third through the air.

The Cougar defense held Yelm to 7 points on only 59 rushing and 102 passing yards.

The playoffs begin next week, either Friday or Saturday. Expect this team to muscle its way back into the state tournament. Don't expect a rematch with O'Dea, though--last year's nemesis will probably have to get past dominant Eastside Catholic first.

Cougars grind out win, beat North Thurston 29-24

Down by two TDs, the Cougars were being shut down by a tough North Thurston defense, until Joe Tolman gathered it up and returned it to the domicile.

Following North Thurston's second touchdown in a span of just 28 seconds, Tolman returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards to put Capital on the scoreboard and seemingly wake up the slumbering Cougars.

The defense soon rebounded and Riley Wall and the offense took care of the rest as the Cougars emerged with a 29-24 Olympic/Western Cascade League win over North Thurston at South Sound Stadium.

"We haven't been in that position all year, but we knew they were going to come to play," said Wall, who ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns. "We knew they were going to come ready, we just needed to step it up."

At last, the Cougars are in complete control of their own destiny in the OWL.

Up next: Yelm.

Capital shuts out Timberline, 21-0

Last week's loss to North Kitsap was essentially the result of crucial injuries, as the Cougars went without Reid and Riley Wall and quarterback Kellen Camus. This week, Riley and Kellen were back, and combined with Capital's stingy defense, the pair led the Cougars to a 21-0 victory.

Late in the third quarter, Camus, a 5-foot-8 junior quarterback, scrambled out of trouble and completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jourdan Weiks, who had gotten behind the defense near the goal line.

"It was a broken down play and I was scrambling," Camus said. "But Jourdan was still running his route. I saw him deep."

Weiks caught Camus' pass and dove into the end zone for a 15-0 lead with 33 seconds left in the quarter.

Camus struck again on Capital's next possession when he completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Sapp for a 21-0 lead with 10:21 left in the game.

"We talked about that play on the sidelines and what the linebacker was doing," Camus said. "We knew we could throw over the top of him. I just put it up and Hunter made a great catch."

Unfortunately, Riley Wall was reinjured late in the game, and his status for next week's contest against North Thurston is questionable.

Cougars lose to North Kitsap, injuries

With Riley Wall out with a hurt ankle, and Reid gone for the season, and Kellen Camus out, the Cougars stacked an inexperienced group against a tough North Kitsap squad, losing 24-6 on Saturday night.

Capital was forced to punt on four of its first five possessions in the first half and never found much of a rhythm.

The Vikings (5-1 overall, 3-1 league) first score came after a defensive stop in the second quarter.

DeShano ran up the middle on a draw play and broke a tackle from Joseph Ingman for a 41-yard touchdown run at 11:21 of the second quarter. It was the only score in the first half.

Zach Sampson added a 43-yard field goal to open the second half and give NK a 10-0 lead.

Later in the third quarter, Capital's Alex Everson fumbled a handoff and the ball trickled into the end zone. NK lineman Jacob Glushko fell on the ball for the score and a 17-0 lead with 1:11 left in the third.

"It was a big game — for all of us," NK coach Steve Frease said. "Capital's pretty banged up, and we made some breaks tonight."

The loss puts the Cougars at 3-1 league, tied with North Kitsap and North Thurston for second place. We face first place Timberline next week. Hopefully Capital can get healthy soon--otherwise, we'll have a short stint in the playoffs. Right now every win is critical.

Capital pummels Bremerton, 33-0

I convinced my dad and bro-in-law to come with me to Capital's homecoming match against the Bremerton Knights, to see the rain-dampened spectacle (which didn't disappoint) and to gaze on in wonderment as an offensive powerhouse ran it up against an overmatched league opponent. Despite the absence of Reid and Riley Wall (for unspecified reasons) the Cougars dominated on both sides of the ball, racking up 33 points while allowing none.

When my dad, bro-in-law, and I left in the 4th quarter, Capital was holding its lead , thanks to a punishing ground attack led by sophomore Tyler Sundberg and junior Joe Tolman, who scored the game's first touchdown with 7:51 left in the first. Sundberg finished with 3 touchdowns (and 3 fumbles--none damaging, ultimately). Senior Hunter Sapp had a touchdown catch in the 1st, and John and Joseph Ingman came away with a couple interceptions between them.

Bremerton's offensive play-calling was at times mystifying. Capital's consistent blitz pressure led to a series of overthrown passes, and the Cougars' speed on the corners kept Michael Powell, the Knights' bruising tailback, from getting anywhere. It wasn't until late in the third quarter, though, that Bremerton started moving the chains, throwing in a few playaction passes. Too little, far too late.

Unfortunately, Capital's quarterback Kellen Camus went down in the 4th quarter, going down awkwardly, eventually walking off the field with assistance while favoring his right leg. The status of his injury was unknown at the time.

Story of the game: on 4th and short in the 3rd quarter, the Knights, down 26-0, went for it. Another overthrown pass. The coach, fuming on the sidelines, chucked his clipboard, appearing to hit one of his players on his helmet. On their next possession, Bremerton actually started making progress, causing us to joke that all it took was abandoning all pretense of strategy. Better luck next time, Bremerton.

The Cougars look to continue their dominance of the WCC/OWL when they face North Thurston Kitsap next week.

Update 10/4/08: The Olympian reports that Riley Wall, CHS's leading rusher, was out with an ankle sprain. Twin brother Reid is gone for the season due to a neck injury. Tough losses both.

Capital's offense rolling; Cougs down Olympic, 56-14

In their last two contests, the Capital Cougars (2-0 OWL) have racked up 113 points while giving away a mere 20. Olympic was the latest victim of the resurgent Riley twins; Reid with one TD, Riley with three, as CHS romped, 56-14, taking their second straight league victory.

Tim Allbee, Olympic's associate head coach and defensive coordinator, said Riley Wall was the "best kid we've faced. He never stops moving his feet. It takes more than one guy to take him down...."

"We're a lot younger even than we thought we'd be," Allbee said. "I thought our kids got intimidated early. The kids let (the Cougars) get in their heads early. Capital's very, very good."

Indeed. Last week I predicted we'd "plow through the WCC/OWL." For once, I just might have the right psychic frequency.

Capital runs all over Port Angeles

Riley Wall scored three touchdowns*, including an 85-yard kickoff return, as the Capital Cougars demolished Port Angeles 57-6 Friday night at Ingersoll Stadium.

I wasn't able to attend--I'm stuck in a hotel room in rainy Kennewick, five hours away--so you'll have to rely on The Olympian's report.

Wall's opening salvo represented Capital's only points of the first quarter. Then the floodgates opened. Cougars quarterback Kellen Camus scored from 13 yards out on a keeper with just 11 seconds ticked off the second-quarter clock. His touchdown was the first of four scored in a quarter that saw Capital (1-2, 1-0 OWL) tally 29 points.

Camus did most of the damage in the quarter himself, throwing touchdown passes of 65 and 30 yards in addition to his run. The junior signal caller finished the game completing 5-of-6 attempts for 130 yards.

"The big thing tonight is that we had to get our offense going," Capital coach J.D. Johnson said. "We had to get some consistency with our offense and get them to execute. I felt our kids were playing with great effort the last two weeks we just weren't executing on offense."

Whatever offensive issues Capital faced the first two weeks were gone by the third. The Cougars enjoyed a 36-0 halftime advantage and racked up 259 yards (129 on the ground, 130 through the air) of total offense through the first 24 minutes.

Once again, the Cougar defense was stifling. They're averaging 9 points surrendered per game.

Until yesterday's offensive explosion, Capital had scored only 13 points in its two previous contests, close non-league losses to powerhouses O'Dea and Olympia. The Cougars now appear set to plow through the WCC/OWL. That's what character-building will get you.

Up next: a road game against Olympic.



*The Olympian's headline says three, but their scoreboard say four, giving credit to Riley for a touchdown that twin brother Reid apparently scored. Which is it, guys?