There are no monkeys left hanging around the Mossyrock football team’s helmets.
The Vikings got one off their back when they downed Naselle in a wild game in Pacific County last fall. Then they shook off a second by beating the Comets on the basketball court, and a third by taking out Naselle on the baseball diamond.
Now, Mossyrock isn’t going to be sneaking up on anybody. But the Vikings aren’t exactly buying their own hype.
“We’ve got a lot of potential, but around here, we say that ‘potential’ is a bad word,” head coach Eric Ollikainen said. “A lot of pretty bad teams have had great potential. Until we turn it into results, that’s all it is, is potential. We’re just taking it one day at a time, and focusing on the process.”
To be fair, Mossyrock is a bit more proven than its coach may want to admit. The Vikings might be needing to replace leading rusher Sage Greisen and all-around star Keegan Kolb, but everyone set to start this year comes in with significant experience.
It’ll begin with junior quarterback Easton Kolb, who finished his sophomore season with a 77% completion percentage with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. He also came a close second to Greisen on the ground with 413 carries and 12 rushing touchdowns.
Now with a year of experience under his belt, he’s set to take another step forward.
“It’s amazing,” Ollikainen said. “We’re putting more on his shoulders this year, having him do more things, letting him make more calls on the field, more of like a field general who can do his own thing.”
Lining up behind Kolb will be fellow junior Marshall Brockway, who may look more like a lineman than a tailback and will be more than a handful for opposing defenses to bring down. Sophomore Tyce Vigre and junior Wylde Greisen will also factor into the backfield with significant experience; both saw plenty of carries in the Vikings’ many blowouts last fall.
Out wide, Zack Munoz only caught 10 passes last season, but five of them saw him reach the end zone. He’ll be joined by fellow seniors Luke Cooper and Peyton McClure, while Hunter Isom has moved out from the line to tight end to give Kolb a 6-foot, 3-inch target in the flat.
And after getting the monkey off their back and rolling to an undefeated regular season, the Vikings who have returned have their sights set on even bigger things.
“This senior group we have right now, I’m so happy with,” Ollikainen said. “They’ve really changed the culture here. People have bought in in the weight room, and our practice habits are getting better. I couldn’t be happier with that senior leadership we have.”
