Local squads clash in spring football jamboree

ROYAL CITY — There are still a few months to go until the scoreboard gets turned on and teams step onto the field for Friday night lights, but local football squads from Moses Lake, Royal, Wahluke and Warden hit the field for their spring jamborees Tuesday afternoon in Royal City.

“It’s great, we love it,” Royal head coach Wiley Allred said. “It’s a good time, we have the surrounding towns in here and their squads. It’s a good chance for the kids to play against somebody else and get the feel of full-speed football again.”

Brief scrimmages were played at the varsity, junior varsity and C-squad levels Tuesday afternoon, with one school’s offense matching up against another school’s defense for a 10-play scrimmage beginning on the opposing 40-yard line.

“We might see some good things and we might see some things we don’t like, but we’d rather be able to see it now during the summer and be able to correct it once the fall comes around so we can hit the ground running when we get to the fall,” Wahluke Head Coach Anfernee Cortez said. 

Joining the Mavericks, Knights, Warriors and Cougars were varsity and junior varsity teams from Okanogan and Connell.

“It’s nice to see some teams from the Basin, and some out of town, here getting better and getting some reps,” Moses Lake head coach Brett Jay said. “It’s good to be back outside and playing football again.”

With a pool of teams from varying classifications — Moses Lake is 4A, Connell, Royal and Wahluke are 1A and Okanogan and Warden are both 2B — teams get to see different playstyles.

“That’s the best part about it for all the teams, is to see big differences between an Okanogan and a Moses Lake,” Allred said. “I think it really helps because we see all kinds of different teams in high school, that’s the beauty of it: they’re all different.”

With little time to prepare, Jay said it helps players get a feel for the game.

“You get to see a lot of different squads, and you don’t get time to prepare for it, you just have to learn on the fly,” Jay said. “That’s good for the players to build their IQ.”

Spring jamborees cap off spring ball for teams, and allow for teams to begin to ease their way back into football season before fall camps begin in August.

“It’s a young team — a very young team — we have the potential, we just need the kids to really show that they want it,” Warden head coach Dallyn McLean said. “... We’re trying to rally the boys to really buy into our program. We have a lot of kids that have bought in, now we’re just trying to make it a rounded thing.”

Coaches also get a look at where players stand in new roles.

“It was kind of a see-where-we’re-at kind of jamboree for us,” Cortez said. “We’ve got guys in new positions, a lot of younger guys stepping up in varsity roles. It was just sort of filling out, trying to see what we need to fix up and build some confidence going into the season with some live reps.”

First practices of the 2024 season across the state begin Aug. 21.

“If we can show up throughout the summer — hit our workouts, do our personal practices — then the fall’s going to be a lot nicer and our opening games are going to be a lot more relaxed, and we can start to build into the games,” McLean said.

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

    Warden defenders take down a Wahluke running back during Tuesday’s spring jamboree.
  

    A Moses Lake receiver keeps his eyes on an Okanogan defender after making a reception during Tuesday’s jamboree in Royal City.
  

    The Wahluke offense matches up against the Connell defense during Tuesday’s jamboree in Royal City. Along with local teams from Moses Lake, Royal, Wahluke and Warden, Connell and Okanogan were in attendance at the jamboree.