NAPAVINE — With so much coming back from the team that came a quarter away from a state title last December, it could be easy to assume that the current goal in Napavine is to create the 2021 Tigers, version 2.0.
But that’s not so easily done, and even if it was, it wouldn’t necessarily be the truth.
“Our identity will change a little bit, and we like that,” head coach Josh Fay said. “Just like our offense. We want our offense to fit our personnel, and we want our team mentality to fit our personnel. It’s going to be a little different than how it’s been.”
Of course, the obvious holes to fill mean this will automatically be a different group. Keith Olson leaves a 305-pound gap in the middle of the line. Gavin Parker took 1,457 rushing yards with him when he graduated; Lucas Dahl removed 849 receiving yards from the equation, and the two combined for 40 touchdowns that the Tigers will have to get elsewhere this time around.
But that doesn’t mean Fay and his staff aren’t already confident in how the Tigers will move forward.
Starting up front, they’ll be lacking Olson’s huge frame, but will run out a group seven or eight deep, with five starters all with significant experience, led by Deacon Parker, Jack Nelson, and Gabe Harris, hungry to make their collective mark.
“People thought that when Keith left it wouldn’t be as good, and I think they’ve taken exception to that a little bit,” Fay said. “That’s a little bit of their chip, and they’re out to prove that they are capable of doing a lot of good stuff.”
Moving into the prime tailback role will be Cael Stanley, who got a first-hand view of what led to Gavin Parker’s success, and has followed that with an offseason of preparation to take over.
“He looked really good today, I thought,” Fay said. “He was low and compact, made some good reads. He’s certainly a bulldog back there. I don’t think anyone’s going to outwork him at that position.”
In the passing game, the Tigers will get some crucial stability with junior Ashton Demarest back for his second season as the starting quarterback.
“I think he’s going to be really good,” Fay said. “He matured a lot through his reads last year. We’ll give him a lot of opportunities to run the ball like his brother… He’s a kid who really likes working hard, and he wants to be the best at what he does. We’re going to rely on him a lot and count on him to get us where we need to be.”
Now, this slightly-new-look Napavine group — already tabbed as the odds-on favorites to win the 2B state title this fall — has two weeks to gel and find its new identity behind the new leaders.
And two days in, they feel like the changing of the guard is going decently.
“Our coaches put it in a way yesterday,” Deacon Parker said. “We came out in the morning and we weren’t doing very much, none of us were talking. That’s the way we’ve always been, (because) we’ve always been listening to the older kids. But we need to come to realize that we are the older kids now.”
