Prep football preview: A new era for Wasilla football

Frontiersman

WASILLA - Tommy Lasorda once said, &#8220There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder what happens.”

Delete baseball and insert football, and that is the message first-year head coach Jim Shetter has been trying to send to his players during the first week of practice.

&#8220That's pretty much our philosophy on offense and defense,” Shetter said. &#8220We're going to make things happen.”

Shetter, leading virtually a brand new coaching staff at WHS, said the new Warrior coaches have been stressing the mental aspects of the game during Wasilla's first week of the 2006 season.

&#8220We're trying to mold our kids, teach them alignments and assignments,” Shetter said. &#8220Overall the big picture is to them the verbiage of football that's common. The last week, that's really what we concentrated on.”

Shetter, a former Division II defensive back, is implementing a new defense, and he has hired Kent Rilatos, an assistant coach with stops at both Palmer and Colony, as his offensive coordinator.

&#8220We're a new program with a new philosophy,” Shetter said. &#8220We're trying to organize our team, and put kids in the right positions so they can be successful.”

As the Wasilla heads into a new era of Wasilla football with pretty much a completely new set of faces on the sideline, Shetter said he has looked to assistant coach Chuck Pfiefer for a little needed continuity. Pfiefer, one of the few coaches who return from Wasilla's 1-7 2005 campaign took on many of the offseason responsibilities, Shetter said.

&#8220Chuck's really been my right hand man,” Shetter, a former assistant coach at Chugiak , Dimond and Service, said.

Shetter said Pfiefer has been with many of the Warrior players since they were at the youth level, and that familiarity has been important. Pfiefer also took care of the field and supervised offseason work-outs, Shetter said.

On the field, Shetter will be looking to a group of senior lineman - including Austin Bulawa, Nathan Garcia, Jack Nelson and Micah Weinstein -for leadership.

&#8220I look at them as some key leaders for us this year,” Shetter said. &#8220We expect them to puck up that role as leaders.”

That senior group also includes Stephen Wehe, Jack Troshynski and Logan Williams.

A potential standout for Wasilla is junior Zach Orr.

&#8220He's a really outstanding defensive and offensive player for us,” Shetter said.

Orr could see action at tight end and defensive end.

Lining up behind center this year is senior quarterback Hunter Schutlz. The signal caller replaces departed started Zach Bennett, a 2006 graduate. Schutlz was the WHS junior varsity quarterback for the past two

seasons.

Shetter also listed senior Danny Lyles as a potential impact player for Wasilla.

&#8220The biggest thing is he's durable,” Shetter said.

Lyles should see time as a running back and kick returner.

Wasilla opens the 2006 season hosting the Kodiak Bears in a nonconference game at Veterans Memorial Field on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Warriors get their first taste of Railbelt Conference action with a home game against West Valley on Aug. 18.

Contact Frontiersman sports

editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@

frontiersman.com.