QUINCY – With years of unsuccessful seasons in the rearview mirror, new Quincy head coach Russ Elliott hopes to change the school’s football team’s mindset to that of a winning program.

“The energy, the culture,” Elliott said of what he hopes to change about the program. “We haven’t had a lot of success in the past, and so we’re trying to change that. We’re trying to get used to a different way of doing things, and just changing the culture overall. Trying to create a highly-competitive culture.”

Entering his first year as head coach of the Jackrabbits, Elliott will look to take from his previous two years as the team’s defensive coordinator.

“I was a part of the program for two years, get to be in a different role this year,” Elliott said of his past two years as Quincy’s defensive coordinator. “I’ve got great assistant coaches, kids are working hard. It’s been a lot of fun.”

The 2022 Jacks have a balanced team in terms of age, not heavy-sided in either freshman or seniors. The balanced team helps build a lasting legacy in terms of Elliott’s new mindset that he plans to instill.

“Discipline and effort, improvement every day,” Elliott said. “That’s the biggest thing we’re working on now, just trying to get the kids to understand that each rep’s an opportunity to get better and to improve – which helps them, and also helps our team.”

The winning mentality has already infused itself with the senior leaders on the team, hoping to leave a lasting legacy in their final year in green and yellow.

“We’re planning to be better this year than we were last year,” senior JR Villalpando said. “Trying to build a winning mentality, and building a good culture for the coming years.”

Elliott credited the team’s seniors for stepping up and assisting in the transition over the off-season and setting the example for younger players.

“We’ve had great leadership from a lot of seniors,” Elliott said. “Jackson Yeates, Brody Wallace, JR Villalpando, David Medina to name a few.”

The Jacks had 21 players earn a nameplate on the back of their jersey by participating in off-season workouts, something that Elliott was happy to see with his team.

“You had to get a certain amount of lifts in,” Elliott said of the process. “We had 21 kids, seniors through freshman, do that. I was pretty happy about that. It’s something you have to earn, it’s incentive to get in there and get stronger.”

Along with offseason workouts Wallace, the team’s starting quarterback, said that there has been a collaborative effort in getting better since 2021.

“This year we’ve been doing a whole bunch of summer stuff,” Wallace said. “(Playing) 7-on-7, a bunch of more summer stuff to get us involved. It’s great to be out here again, especially considering this is our last year and we’re just building that winning mentality.”

The talk of changing the mindset of Quincy’s football program has been ever-present during preseason practice, and it will come down to the players on the field to see to it that changes are made in-game results.

“We just need to be positive,” Villalpando said of how one can create a winning mentality. “Last year we were all negative after losing games, and it just went downhill from there. We have a great coaching staff – especially Coach Elliott, him being his first year. We really enjoy him.”

Villalpando said he was looking forward to winning some games with the team.

Elliot’s attention and participation in the team’s off-season activities have grabbed the attention of senior leaders as well.

“We have a coach that’s willing to put in the time, that’s willing to put in the work just to help you out,” Wallace said.

Quincy opens its season on the road against East Valley on September 2. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Schedule

Sept. 2 - @ East Valley - 7 p.m.

Sept. 9 - vs Ephrata - 7 p.m.

Sept. 16 - @ Tonasket - 7 p.m.

Sept. 23 - vs Brewster - 7 p.m.

Sept. 30 - @ Cascade - 7 p.m.

Oct. 7 - vs Omak - 7 p.m.

Oct. 14 - @ Chelan - 7 p.m.

Oct. 21 - @ Medical Lake - 7 p.m.

Oct. 28 - vs Cashmere - 7 p.m.

Roster

1 Caleb Coduti, Sophomore REC/DB

2 Jorge Gomez, Senior REC/DB

3 David Gudino, Junior REC/DB

4 Jackson Yeates, Senior RB/DB

5 Brayden Joslin, Senior TE/LB

6 Gil Vazquez Jr, Senior REC/DB

7 Ethan Gregg, Junior QB/DB

8 Jonathon Zaragoza, Junior REC/DB

10 Carter Yeates, Sophomore RB/DB

11 Gavin Gonzalez, Sophomore QB/DB

12 Brody Wallace, Senior QB/LB

13 Jace Reyes, Freshman RB/DB

14 Jaxon Ferguson, Sophomore QB/LB

15 Noel Ruiz, Junior RB/LB

16 Rafael Perez, Junior TE/LB

17 Blayne Richards, Freshman TE/LB

20 Pierce Bierlink, Freshman REC/DB

21 Jesus Hernandez, Junior REC/DB

22 Jayden Richards, Junior RB/DB

24 Diego Cortez, Junior TE/LB

25 Luis Perez, Freshman RB/DB

26 Mitchell Main, Junior TE/LB

28 DJ Frerks, Sophomore RB/LB

30 Erick Zepeda, Freshman REC/DB

32 Maximo Serrano, Freshman RB/LB

33 Kenny Thompson, Senior RB/LB

44 Junior Villalpando, Senior TE/LB

45 Gabriel Protopapas, Junior REC/LB

50 Brian Lira, Sophomore OL/LB

51 Anthony Averill, Freshman OL/DL

53 Juan Avalos, Junior OL/DL

54 David Medina, Senior OL/LB

56 Jayden Lopez, Sophomore OL/DL

56 Ray Villalobos, Senior OL/DL

57 Brian Farias, Junior OL/DL

58 Diego Vazquez, Sophomore OL/LB

60 Cristian Santiago, Junior OL/DL

61 Cristofer Santiago, Junior OL/DL

62 Fernando Hernandez, Sophomore OL/DL

65 Jesus Carillo, Freshman OL/DL

66 Aidan Ortiz, Freshman OL/DL

70 Keegan Nelson, Freshman OL/DL

72 Jacob Flores-Garcia, Freshman OL/DL

73 Adan Sanchez, Junior OL/DL

74 Robert Bensch, Junior OL/DL

75 Emmanuel Navarro, Sophomore OL/DL

76 Carson Burwick, Freshman OL/LB

77 Jonathan Mendoza, Sophomore OL/DL

78 Juan Serrano, Freshman OL/DL

79 Noe Garcia, Freshman OL/DL