Player-led Jacks ready to show growth on the gridiron

QUINCY — When the Quincy Jacks (1-8) take the field this season, they’ll be a hungry group determined to show last seasons record does not reflect the growth they made as a team.  

“One thing we're always striving for is (taking it) one play at a time,” Head Coach Seth Longwill said. “That's what we're really focusing on, is that four to eight seconds, the average football play. Not scoreboard watch, just get out there and get after it one play at a time – that's our mentality.” 

Last season was the Jacks first under the leadership of Longwill and their second back in the Central Washington Athletic Conference. Despite finding themselves on the losing end of most games, the Jacks slowly strung together flashes of promise later in the season. Including a 35-14 win over the Wapato Wolves, the Jacks were more competitive with their CWAC opponents, including a 28-14 loss to Ellensburg and 27-24 to Grandview. Despite the result, Longwill felt those games showed the progress his players were making.  

“I think the boys started figuring it out, and they were just trying to move in the positive direction,” the coach said.

As the team navigated the offseason, the Jacks went to work in the weight room, Longwill said. He noted Bandon Bergman went from being a 180-lb offensive lineman as a sophomore to entering this season around 220. Though the team remains on the younger side, the buy-in has improved.  

“We're starting to see that the switch flipped, where the attitude, the kids are coming and they're hungry, they're ready to grind, and they're not worried about past experiences or past games,” Longwill said. 

As they survey the landscape of the CWAC this season, Longwill is preaching a uniform mindset. 

"Everybody's record is 0-0, and it doesn't matter what you've done in the last few years against this team. This is a brand new team. I think the players are starting to buy into that, and it's their team, I try and make it player led teams,” the coach said.  

For Isaac Gregg, he will help spearhead the player-led squad when he takes over at quarterback for former Jack Pierce Bierlink. With this role comes a natural expectation for leadership, which he is taking head on in his own way, he said.  

“I just want to be a leader out here and set an example and lead my guys. Even if they have a bad play, just pick them up and be a good teammate,” Gregg said.  

As he assessed the competition, Gregg is well aware of the challenges that lie ahead in the CWAC.  

“It's a hard league,” he said. “We know it from past years, and so this is going to take all of our effort, can't make mistakes out there and just got to get them when they make mistakes. That's what we have to do.”  

As he gets under center full time this season, he will have some help from offensive weapons like Jody Gardner – who Longwill expects to be an X-factor on offense this season.  

“One of the best work ethics I've seen since being around high school coaching. The kid is working out two (times a) day, just killing his workouts,” Longwill said. “The kid just power cleaned 225-lbs. I talk to him all the time, and he's one of those guys that isn't waiting around to be a captain as a senior. This kid's chomping at the bit, he's leading by example and kids are following.”  

Longwill said he’s talked with his players about the opportunity they have to put the Jacks on the map in the CWAC this season.  

“You got to show up and show out for sure,” Longwill said. “That's something that we talk about too. With these teams, they're upper elite teams. The last couple years with East Valley, Prosser's been elite for 30 years plus. It's like these teams show up and keep recruiting, bringing in kids, and the kids got to dial it in, strap it on, and go after people. You can't be scared or worried about legacies and things like that. You just got to go out and make your own.”  

The Jacks start the season at home against Prosser before hitting the road against the Selah Vikings. However, one of the bigger games of the season is at home against the Ephrata Tigers in the Battle of the Basin – one of the few high school football rivalries that comes with a trophy.  

“That trophy has some serious dust on it. It's been in Ephrata’s trophy case for a while,” Longwill said. “I came up through Quincy. That was a big game. We have some hometown, second, third generation kids where their dads played in those games, and it does mean something, and it means something to Ephrata too, obviously, and they're looking to keep that over there as long as they can, and we're looking to try and get it back.”

    Alfonso Tovar sits in the safety spot during a drill while Head Coach Seth Longwill (up close) gives direction.
  

    The Jacks’ Jody Gardner sprints through a drill at practice. Head Coach Seth Longwill expects Gardner to be a key player for them on offense this season.
  

    The Quincy Jacks Head Coach Seth Longwill (in black) talks with his players during a team break from drills.
  

    The Jacks’ Keyen Lee eyes the pad as he sprints in for a tackle drill.
  

    The Quincy Jacks warmup as a team ahead of practice.