Prep football preview: Hawks have something to prove in 2008

HOUSTON — The Houston Hawks have something to prove.

“That’s our motto this year,” Houston head coach Norm Bouchard said on Wednesday. “We’re going to go out and try to do that.”

And why does Houston have something to prove?

The Hawks are switching conferences, leaving the Greatland — seen as the weaker of the two Alaska small-schools conferences — in favor of the Northern Lights, a conference that includes the last six small-schools state champions.

“We’re moving to the Northern Lights and that will be a big step for us,” Bouchard said. “But we have confidence in the people we have coming back, and we should be pretty darn competitive.”

Because of the group of talent Houston has coming back, it could be the ideal year to move into a conference that already includes perennial small-schools powers such as Kodiak, Kenai and the two-time defending state champion Soldotna Stars.

The returning talent is especially apparent on the offensive side of the ball. The Houston offense, which proved it’s ability to burn opponents with both the pass and the run last season, will feature a cast remarkably similar to the 2007 edition of the Hawks.

Leading that group is one of the top pass-catch combinations at the small-schools level, senior quarterback Jordan Webb and senior wide receiver Bryan Mason. As juniors the duo ranked among the state’s best at their respective positions.

Webb threw for more than 700 yards, while Mason had nearly 500 yards receiving. Webb and Mason connected for seven touchdowns.

In front of Webb will be four seniors to anchor the Houston offensive line. Veterans Justin Crowley, Justin Bowman and Randy Shaffer are back.

Plus the Hawks have senior Joe Van Hyning, a hockey standout who is expected to start at right tackle, Bouchard said. The other newcomer on the line is sophomore Kevin Daly-Meny, who has lined up as the Hawks’ starting center.

Also back is senior Jon Stinson, who should see much of his time on offense at tight end. Stinson is versatile and does have the ability to play fullback.

“He’s an all-around good kid; great leader,” Bouchard said of Stinson. “He’s been real vocal, teaching kids. He could have a real breakout year.”

Bouchard does have a few holes to fill on offense, most notably in the backfield. Gone is fullback Israel Morales, who graduated in May, and tailback Brandon Parks, who did not return for the start of his senior season, Bouchard said.

The speedy Kyle Sumner is expected to be central to the Houston running attack. Sumner could line up at several places for the Hawks, including running back and the slot position.

“We’ll have him running all over the place,” Bouchard said of Sumner. “He’s a smart kid, energetic, a great athlete.”

Also back are Ryan Contreras and Daniel Munoz.

Bouchard said Anthony Origer is expected to take Morales’ spot at fullback. The Hawks also have Micah Ranum, who boasts tremendous size, strength and speed for a sophomore.

Morales also left a big void on the defensive side of the ball, where he served as Houston’s vocal leader at middle linebacker.

A couple of quick linemen — Crowley and Shaffer — will man the middle in Houston’s 4-4 defense, Bouchard said.

“A lot of these upper level kids will be playing on both sides of the ball,” Bouchard said. “We’ve got a lot of holes to fill (on defense).”

In addition to the group of offensive starters who will also start on defense – players such as Crowley, Shaffer, Bowman, Mason and Sumner – will be among the iron man starters, but Bouchard is looking to a crop of sophomores to play key downs on defense.

Among those sophomores are Daly-Meny, Garrett Elder, David Gardner, Louis Hoffman, Aaron Reese, David Dilley and Brandon Dukes. There is also junior Zack Quall.

“These guys will be filling in, subbing in for the varsity group,” Bouchard said. “We’ll be throwing them in where we need them.”

Bouchard and the Hawks open the season Aug. 9 against the Delta Huskies at Houston High School. The contest, set for 1 p.m., will open what should be a fairly difficult slate of games for the Hawks.

After seeing Delta, Skyview, Homer and Ketchikan during the first four weeks, Houston will have its hands full during the second-half of the season.

In early September the Hawks travel to Soldotna to face the two-time defending state champion Stars. The following week, Houston hosts Kenai, a program that won four straight state titles before Soldotna took the small-schools’ top trophy.

Before ending the season at Kodiak, the Hawks will make the short trip to Wasilla to face the Warriors in a nonconference battle.

Bouchard said the Hawks will use that game against Wasilla to truly see where they are in terms of Valley football.

“I know if we can go in and at least be competitive with Wasilla, we’ve really made ourselves into a quality program,” Bouchard said.