Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
It’s the dawn of the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves football team in more ways than one.
Practicing at 5:30 a.m. since Aug. 20, the new cooperative under new coach Bob Bucsko will open their season Friday night at Northwest Christian.
With 23 players on the roster, up from 19 on the first morning, the new team combines last year’s eight-man Rosalia Spartans who went to the state semifinals, and the Tekoa-Oakesdale team which played a J.V. schedule.
Returning players from the Spartans – who lost to Touchet to end their season at Pasco’s Edgar Brown Stadium over Thanksgiving weekend – include 6’1" 215-pound junior Eli Richardson who will move from noseguard to linebacker.
"We decided to stand him up," said Bucsko.
He will also play running back on offense, which he didn’t last year, when the Rosalia team was led by senior ballcarriers Craig Nelson and Clay Shelton.
This spring in track, Richardson took third in the state in the 100 meters.
Senior Anthony "Ant" Riley is also back from the 2013 Spartans’ team, playing offensive guard and outside linebacker.
Lucas Engel, another Rosalia senior, is back as well, also at offensive guard and outside linebacker.
Hunter Fulton, a 6’5" 275-pound junior, will play tackle on the offensive and defensive lines while junior Cody Thornton from Rosalia will play running back and linebacker.
Joining them are experienced Tekoa-Oakesdale junior Matt Chittenden and sophomore Alex Pakootas, who will be the team’s starting quarterback, backed up by freshman Dawson Stroebel from Tekoa.
"I think we’re young," said Bucsko. "We’ve got a lot of things to learn."
The 2B team will play their opener, which is a league contest, with two players ineligible due to lack of practices.
Meanwhile, Bucsko and assistant coach Mark Billings work with their young roster.
"You’ve just got to spend a lot of time on blocking and tackling," he said. "It doesn’t matter what else you can do until you’ve got the very basics."
On the field, the team is led by Engel and Riley, a 5’9" 160-pound lineman.
"They’ve shown a lot of leadership," Bucsko said. "Ant’s not the biggest kid on the field, but an ant can cause a lot of damage."
What he and the rest of the team does starts early too. The Tekoa kids get the bus at 5 a.m. to make practice in Rosalia.
"They dress warm," said Bucsko. "They’re hard-working kids. They have a great attitude. They’re tough farm kids."
As harvest is completed, practice will move to the afternoons next week.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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