In many ways, 2022 was a step in the right direction for the Oakville Acorns.
After a one-win season in 2021, the Acorns won three games last fall, scoring 60-plus in each of the three wins, including 94 in a win over Evergreen Lutheran.
Seven players earned all-league recognition, including six members of the second team.
If coach Skyler Davis and the Acorns want to continue to improve this year, however, they’ll have to rely on almost an entirely new batch of players.
Twelve seniors from last year’s team graduated in the spring, leaving just four returning starters. It’s a far cry from last fall, when all but two players returned.
“We’ve got some spots to fill that are still mysteries right now,” Davis said last week.
With so few pieces back, Davis will be relying heavily on each of them, including the Rodas brothers, Gio and Daniel.
Gio will take over at quarterback this year, and Daniel will line up out wide as one of his main targets. Tight end Courtney Price and lineman Jeremy Wilbur are the other returning starters, but wide receiver Buddy Roberts may also see more snaps out wide as needed.
While running back Ben Kimbrel didn’t start every game as a freshman last season, Davis expects him to be a key player on both sides of the ball in his sophomore campaign.
“I’d be surprised if somebody else was our leading tackler,” Davis said of Kimbrel.
Eight-man football is already challenging defensively, but in a league where teams run motion and misdirection on a regular basis, Davis said it will be especially tough for a young defense filled with first-year players.
“It’s all over the place,” Davis said of the different schemes they will face this season. “You never know what you’re gonna get.”
While there are several unknowns about how the young players will perform in games, Davis is excited to see how they shape up in a league with teams like Mossyrock, Naselle and Winlock.
