NEWS-TRIBUNE

When the Ballard Beavers kickoff their season against the Bothell Cougars this Friday they'll field a young squad led by sophomore quarterback Joey Bollinger.

As a freshman last season, it was Bollinger who was sent late into the game against Bothell, as both teams opened the year at the Emerald City Kickoff at Qwest Field in front of a packed house. Bollinger replaced second string quarterback Cameron Wells who got hurt. First string quarterback Jordan Gardner was out with an illness.

With the Beavers trailing 19-15 and only ten seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Bollinger came in and threw a touchdown pass to Jerome Williams to win the game.

Bollinger did not play much the rest of the season. The 2004 Beavers finished with a 5-4 record and missed the post season. In 2003, Ballard had its best year in school history making it to the state 4A championship before losing to Pasco.

Ballard has experienced a lot of change from a year ago. This year the quarterback role belongs to Bollinger and he appears eager for the challenge. Former assistant coach Alex Barashkoff has been promoted to head coach with the departure of Doug Trainor.

Barashkoff has only five seniors on the roster and expects them to be leaders on this young team.

The seniors are: Daryl McIntyre (wide receiver/linebacker); Rashad Childs (receiver/safety); Matt Chui (guard/linebacker); Andrew Marshall (receiver/linebacker and Wells (receiver/safety/quarterback) .

At a football camp in eastern Oregon this summer, Ballard won the passing tournament's seven on seven drills.

"The camp went well. I was pleased. We threw the ball well and the defense played well," said Barashkoff.

The camp went especially well for the junior varsity team which won their championship in their division at Oregon. "It was hot. We did pretty good," said assistant coach Steve Behringer.

Barashkoff would like an even balance between running and passing, but the team's strength is at quarterback and receiving.

Bollinger shined at a passing tournament at Redmond High School this summer.

"He has varsity time, but not much. He's a big kid, 6-feet-two-inches and 210 pounds. He knows the system well. His knowledge of the game is beyond what you expect to have," said Barashkoff.

Bollinger has shown his coaches that he has the confidence to make good decisions in throwing to the primary, secondary or third receiver options.

The receivers will provide Bollinger with tall and swift targets. Wells is 6-feet-five-inches tall. Junior Miles Schwab has speed. Childs has good hands. McIntyre adds the mix as a pass catcher.

Sophomore Max McGraw is the newest receiver and could surprise opponents as the fifth pass catcher coming off the bench. "He has blazing speed to go deep," said Barashkoff.

Seniors Danny Hawkins (middle linebacker/offensive tackle) and Andrew Marshall (linebacker/receiver) are the top two defenders

In summer camp action, those two played so well, other teams ran misdirection plays away from their coverage areas.

Junior Skyler Brown (guard/defensive tackle) is also another top notch defender.

"These are pretty good kids, they get along well and work hard. They did well and got better and better through spring and summer," said Barashkoff.

KingCo is one of the toughest football leagues in the state. Bothell, Inglemoor, Skyline, Eastlake, Juanita are expected to be strong again.

"From top to bottom, there are no big weaknesses," said Barashkoff.

Ballard opens the season on Sept. 2 at Bothell at 7:30 p.m.

The rest of the schedule:

Friday, Sept. 9, Eastlake at Memorial Stadium, 5 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 16, Lake Washington at Memorial Stadium, 8 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 23 at Garfield, Memorial Stadium, 8 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 30, Juanita, at Memorial Stadium, 8 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 7, at Franklin, Memorial Stadium, 8 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 14, Skyline at Memorial Stadium, 8 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 21, Roosevelt at Memorial Stadium, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 27 at Inglemoor, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 5, KingCo teams 1 to 4 at state playoffs.