ACH, Soap Lake wrap up spring practices with jamboree

COULEE CITY — Spring football practices came to a close Friday for Almira/Coulee-Hartline and Soap Lake, capping off with a jamboree hosted by the Warriors and attended by five other eight-man football squads from across the east side of the state.

“The kids are learning and getting back in the football mindset,” ACH head coach Brandon Walsh said. “We did not lose a ton of guys from last year, so it’s exciting to kind of have the whole group back — most of them, and see what we can make out of this season. It’s going to be a good year.”

Joining Soap Lake and ACH at the jamboree were Wilbur-Creston-Keller, Wellpinit, Liberty Christian, Entiat and Curlew, three of which reached last year’s 1B State Football Tournament.

“We’ve got five top-10 teams here that we get to scrimmage against, so it’s great because we get to test out things without any real repercussions and we get to try it against the best in the state,” Soap Lake head coach Garrett Devine said. 

Players had the opportunity to go against another team to end the spring, as squads hit the field for three-and-a-half hours Friday afternoon, playing in brief scrimmages against another team’s offense or defense.

“That’s the best part about today, just playing somebody else and seeing where we’re at,” Walsh said. “You hope kids develop a certain way or you get to see the improvement on a kid from last year to this year — all those kind of things, so it’s fun. And, you get a little sneak peek at some of the other good teams in the state.”

Walsh said the Warriors had a peak of 32 players turn out for spring ball practices.

“I think it says a lot about where our program’s at, which is encouraging and exciting,” Walsh said. “The kids want to be out here and be involved with it. It’s fun.”

Devine noted he was excited to see how the Eagle offensive line would perform after the unit put in plenty of work over the off-season.

“Our offensive line’s been working really hard, so it’s good to see them be able to come out here and use everything that they did in the weight room in the off-season,” Devine said. “It’s exciting and fun.”

Some of the standouts for the Warriors were team speed and tackling.

“Had a few letdowns, but that’s normal in spring football,” Walsh said. “It’s fun to see the progress that we hoped there would be, and it’ll be fun to see what that looks like in the fall.”

Devine noted some of the Eagle seniors as standouts from Friday’s jamboree.

“When we first came to this (jamboree) a couple of years ago, we were really in our infancy of me and the program,” Devine said. “Just watching (the seniors) grow up, it’s fun.”

With spring practices in the rearview mirror, attention is turned to preparing for fall camp. That preparation is done in the weight room, Devine said. 

“It’s time to go to work and do that,” Devine said. “We have an idea of who we want to be in terms of scheme and all that, but it’s time to get physically ready.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com. Submit your summer sports photos or news tips to him via email.

    A pair of Soap Lake defenders jump on a loose ball during a scrimmage against Wilbur-Creston-Keller at Friday’s jamboree in Coulee City.
  

    Along with Almira/Coulee-Hartline and Soap Lake, five other teams from across the east side of the state were in attendance at Friday’s spring football jamboree, including the Curlew Cougars, in blue, and the Wilbur-Creston-Keller Wildcats, in white.
  

    Almira/Coulee-Hartline quarterback Caden Correia rolls out to his right before towing a touchdown pass during a scrimmage against Wilbur-Creston-Keller.
  

    A Soap Lake defender takes down a Wellpinit running back during Friday’s jamboree.
  

    A trio of Warriors celebrate after scoring a touchdown at Friday’s jamboree in Coulee City.