Huskies ready to step into CWAC's upper echelon
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldOthello defensive end Isaiah Perez goes through an agility drill during workouts.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Outside linebacker AJ Veliz intercepts a ball during a pass drill.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Othello head coach Roger Hoell directs an offensive line drill.
There’s a quiet confidence that’s a part of the Othello football tradition. It starts with discipline in the weight room and carries over onto the practice field, and eventually on game night.
No brag, just fact.
Hard work and determination takes care of wins and losses. The Roger Hoell tradition centers around power football and taking care of the guy next to you.
“They spend so much time together. They go to camps together. It’s a testimony to the fact that they hang around each other. That’s where it starts,” Hoell said. “If you want to be successful, you have to have great team chemistry. There’s no swag, it’s about being humble and being a team player. We won’t know until the bullets start flying, then you’ll find out who you have and who can play. A lot of times it’s the average Joe’s are the ones you want in the game because they understand the game and what you’re trying to do.”
The Huskies are coming off a 7-2 season that ended with a loss in the crossover game. They averaged 32.6 points a game in the Central Washington Athletic Conference and 28.6 overall, giving up just 18.8 points against.
Hoell lost 23 seniors to graduation, but in a program with that next-man-up development, there are a lot of familiar faces ready to take their place in the Huskies’ tradition.
DJ Guzman (5-foot-8, 205 pounds, sr.) is a three-year starter at quarterback and the center piece to the puzzle on offense. He’ll be joined in the backfield Isaiah Perez (6-foot-2, 220 pounds, so.) at fullback, three-year starter Trevor Hilmes (5-foot-10, 185 pounds, sr.) at tailback.
“Running the football has been our mainstay this whole time and that’s not going to change,” Hoell said. “If we can go the length of the field and throw some, we’ll be fine. We’re a power team, we’ve always been a power team.”
On the offensive front, they have Adriel Gutierrez (5-foot-6, 235 pounds, sr.) at center, Anthony Pastor (5-foot-8, 215 pounds, sr.) and Elijah Roylance at the guards; B.J. Martinez (6-foot-2, 285 pounds, sr.) and Cameron Bane (6-foot, 260 pounds, jr.) at the tackles and Tyler Butcher at tight end.
The Huskies replace eight starters, including the entire secondary, on the defensive side, but defensive coordinator Kevin Hensley likes what he sees.
“We really kind of came into our own at the (University of) Idaho camp this year,” Hensley said. “We definitely got some of our swag back last year with the turnovers and the physical play. But we play with a confidence. Success breeds confidence and we’re trying to teach the kids to work hard to get there.”
The Huskies run a 3-5 base defense with five linebackers and everybody flying to the ball. They will center things around three returning starters, outside linebacker Sam Azevedo (5-foot-10, 160 pounds, sr.), Hilmes, a three-year starter, at inside linebacker and Isaiah Perez at defensive end.
On the back end, they have Levi Garza (5-foot-10, 150 pounds, sr.) and Patrick Azevedo (5-foot-10, 160 pounds, so.) at the corners.
“We run the 3-5 scheme because we haven’t had the size to run a four-man front in a long time,” Hensley said. “We have kids that are physical and flying to the football. If we’re not being physical and getting to the football, we’re not playing well on defense.”
The Huskies open the non-league schedule on the road at Connell (Sept. 1) and Royal (Sept. 8) before the home opener against Prosser (Sept. 15).