Huddle up: Football season is here, so bring it

Marques Hunter

Huddle up

This is my favorite time of year for sports. I just finished my fantasy football draft, where I’ve won back-to-back championships. My adrenaline really starts to flow with the start of football and a fresh season of high school sports.

From high school to the pros, I’m ready to take on the bombardment of football. Let’s get the show on the road.

It all starts Friday night, with Gig Harbor and Peninsula high school football. It’ll be my second year covering both schools, and each has its own set of challenges and strengths.

Peninsula has established a sense of continuity with a bulk of its players returning. Sure, they’re undersized, but that didn’t stop Brandon James from leading the South Puget Sound League’s 3A Division in touchdowns last year, did it?

Peninsula has never been considered a beefy team. They’re used to it. In football, you play to your strengths, and Peninsula will use its speed and technique to make up for its lack of weight.

Gig Harbor is young. It graduated 30 seniors, the biggest class in Tides head coach Darren McKay’s decade-long tenure.

It’s hard to say they’re just as good as last year, because they’re not. But Gig Harbor still boasts a few playmakers, plus senior quarterback Barrett Schmitke, who has a pretty strong arm.

They’ll be contenders in the Narrows League, but they better watch out for Olympia (away on Sept. 4) and Central Kitsap (home on Sept. 17) — two of their first three games of the season.

No doubt our two high school football teams have questions, as well as the potential for a successful season. The goal, of course, is to win a state championship.

While I think both teams will have above-average seasons, a state championship isn’t likely. Ah, but a victory in the Fish Bowl is always a sweet deal.

You have to love all three levels of football happening the same week. I don’t mind the weekend-long football, either.

My dad and I sit out on our back porch and watch as much football as possible. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Pac-10 team or the NFL, we just love watching the game.

I’ll be riding the football train starting Friday night, and I don’t plan to get off for at least a few months.

Our regional squads are in a position for improvement, too. The Seattle Seahawks should win more than four games. The Washington Huskies will win at least one.

With my fantasy team set, high school right around the corner and NCAA Division I college football on Saturday, my mind has shifted into football cruise control.

It doesn’t get any better than this. Then again, if my fantasy team bombs, the Seahawks go 1-4 out of the gate and our local teams don’t do well, then the season is going to wear on my football passion.

Losing sucks, but winning — well, that’s an addicting feeling that never gets stale.