'A whole new Wahluke'

MATTAWA - The Wahluke High School Warriors football team is working on building a strong foundation centered on team cooperation, but that comes with challenges as well.

“Mattawa, there's really not a big feeder youth program for us,” said head coach Anfernee Cortez.

This is Cortez’s third season as head coach and he said he felt like last season was a lot of learning for the team – they were learning a lot of the terminology and new system. Cortez also noted that a lot of the athletes he works with don’t have a lot of experience playing football coming into high school.

Wahluke finished with a record of 3-7 last season, and the school has historically struggled to create a presence at state. The last time the Warriors made a state appearance was in the 2003-04 season when they lost 49-17 to Freeman High School in the first round.

Despite the daunting track ahead, Cortez said making a state appearance is one of a few goals the team has this season.

“Some goals (are) seeing kids step up as leaders, seeing more of the commitment and accountability increased and improved throughout the season,” said Cortez. “Just starting there and hoping that leads to some more wins. A goal that players all have, (and) we have, is to make a breakthrough and get to state. So, that's one big goal for us as well.”

Their big goals have been developed during a lot of hard work in the off-season.

“It's super important,” Cortez said of the off-season. “I tell the guys all the time, ‘The offseason is where the regular season is won.’”

During the off-season, the team focuses on strength, conditioning, work ethic and commitment to the team.

“The work ethic and commitment, just building on that this summer and going into the fall has been a big plus for us,” said Cortez.

Cortez said a couple of kids to keep an eye on, that he expects to have a breakout year, are junior quarterback Andrew Yorgesen and senior running back Anthony Zebrano. Both will be second-year starters for the Warriors.

He also mentioned that they have a lot of new faces on the field this season and that they are excited to see what is in store for them, as well as watch them take on and fill some of the holes left by last year’s seniors.

“Our coaching staff did a lot of recruiting in the winter and spring, going through the hallways, and (there are) more new faces than returners,” said Cortez.

Cortez said that the recruiting has seemed to pay off with the team sitting at about 45 to 50 players compared to the 30-player roster during his first year as an assistant coach in 2018.

One thing Cortez is excited about is seeing how the Warrior defense does against opponents. He describes the defense as a whole new, faster and more disciplined, physical defense, but overall he is just excited to get his team on the field and show what they can do.

“We're looking forward to playing everyone,” said Cortez. “We want to surprise a lot of people and I think we will surprise every team we play. It’s kind of a new Wahluke team that teams haven't really seen.”

Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.

Roster:

Christian Anaya

Alejandro Barajas

Edward Barajas

Brayan Calvario

Kevin Camacho

Damien Cardenas

Luis Corona

Anthony Cuevas

Arcadio De Jesus

Luis De La Cruz

Christopher Gallardo-Palma

Lucio Garduno

Kevin Gutierrez Moreno

Cristian Hernandez

Hudson Heslop

Kacey Hirai

Bryan Avalos Kinney

Jose Lagunas

Alessandro Maravilla

Orlando Nunez

Victor Perez Casio

David Quiroz

Angel Ramos

Ramiro Rivera

Rafael Rodriguez

Jose Valdovinos

Andrew Yorgesen

Alexis Zamora

Anthony Zebrano

Schedule:

Sept. 2 vs Grandview

Sept. 9 at Warden

Sept. 16 vs Naches Valley

Sept. 23 at Zillah

Sept. 30 at Royal

Oct. 7 vs College Place

Oct. 14 at Connell

Oct. 21 vs La Salle

Oct. 28 vs Kiona-Benton