Colfax begins season with big test

The Colfax Bulldogs will begin their 2022 season with one of the biggest tests it has on the schedule.

Colfax will travel to Ritzville Friday, Sept. 2 to take on the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos in a match between two ranked Washington 2B teams (according to MaxPreps).

The Bulldogs participated in an Aug. 27 jamboree in Ritzville alongside the Broncos, Pomeroy, St. John-Endicott, Tekoa-Rosalia and others. Colfax had one of the better offensive performances at the jamboree, but head coach Mike Morgan is putting a heavy emphasis on correcting the things that his team didn't do well rather than the things they did.

"That's why we were up in film, trying to point out all of the stuff we didn't do very well," Morgan said. "Just getting the kids to take a look at that. We looked sharp. Our kids knew where they were going. We didn't always do the best once we got there. That's the stuff we got to clean up here in the next (few) days."

Colfax is returning 15 letterwinners to the 2022 squad. Having this many returning players would be an advantage for teams in most seasons, but this year is the exception.

LRS went undefeated last year in league competition. Its only loss of the season came against the Onalaska Loggers in the playoffs. The Broncos have only one senior who graduated from the 2021 team.

"In my career you just don't see a lot of that," Morgan said. "We were all so young the last couple of years and now suddenly... you're facing the same guys that you saw last year – two years ago – and it just makes things more challenging.

"Because you like to see a dominant team like Lind-Ritzville/Sprague, and you like to say 'Oh, gosh. Thank goodness they lost 12 seniors.' No. They lost one. They lost one guy off the 10-1 team they had last year. And that's a tough break for everybody else."

Morgan said that preparation, specifically in watching film, and being precise with assignments is the key to victory against the Broncos.

"Our best teams have been film watchers," Morgan said. "Our best kids that have gone to the playoffs, those guys were very, very strict about watching film. So, they're almost knowing what's going on before it happens. And we're going to need an edge (against LRS). We don't have the size to match up and we don't have the speed. But what we do have is precision. We're going to have to grind it out a little bit on them. And not let those guys get deep on us."

Colfax is led on offense by two-year All-League running back Mason Gilchrist and junior quarterback Seth Lustig, and an experienced offensive line leading the way for Morgan's Wing-T offense.

Gilchrist also brings leadership on the defensive side of the ball at linebacker along with senior defensive lineman Shawn Bober, making an experienced front-seven.

The Bulldogs begin their season against the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 2 at Ritzville.