Warriors hope faster team translates to more success

WASILLA — During the offseason, Wasilla head coach Kent Rilatos set a priority for his football program.

There was an area in which Rilatos saw a clear need for improvement.

“We’ve always been strong enough. But the weakness over the years has usually been team speed,” Rilatos said recently. “We addressed that over the summer.”

As Rilatos watched Wasilla’s first action of the season against an opponent, a scrimmage with Bartlett Friday evening, the head coach said he saw definite improvement.

“Things looked really good against Bartlett. Really one of the bright spots is they worked hard on speed and agility all summer long,” Rilatos said of his players. “It’s been an emphasis in the program. It really showed (against Bartlett).”

Rilatos hopes the new faster breed of Warriors will help the program adjust to a significant hit by graduation. The Warriors return only two offensive starters and only four players with varsity experience on defense.

“We definitely have a few holes to fill,” Rilatos said.

Veterans Blake Marks, Zack Garnett, Hunter Hermans and Devin Otto are among the leaders of the senior class, and line up at positions where Wasilla may have its most experience.

Garnett and Hermans are back at linebacker, and Marks is a returning starter in the defensive backfield. On offense, Garnett and Otto are among about four running backs Wasilla could feature.

Otto led the team with 654 yards on the ground, and was among Railbelt Conference leaders with 10 rushing touchdowns. Otto topped the 100-yard mark three times, including a season-high 187 against Lathrop. Garnett earned a bigger role as a junior as the 2013 season progressed, and finished with 101 yards and two touchdowns.

The Warriors will also have junior Kristian Palaniuk and sophomore Mosiah Rank. Rilatos said running the football is a focus for the Warriors.

Wasilla will have a new starting quarterback this fall. A pair of players, Marks and junior Dylan Simons, are in a battle for the position.

Whoever earns the role of Wasilla signal-caller will line up behind a completely new offensive line. Wasilla lost all five starters up front.

Kurt Busness, Michael Leonard and Dalton Wasankari are among the new starters on the offensive line.

Layne Morrison is the leader in a group of about five players working out at the wide receiver position, Rilatos said.

Rilatos said he’s also excited about the potential depth in the middle of the defensive line. Seniors Theron Binggeli and Kyle Klein are in that group.

“We have about five guys interchanging in those two down linemen spots. There’s a lot of depth,” Rilatos said.

Wasilla, 3-5 overall last season and 1-3 in the Railbelt, opens its 2014 season at Service Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in Anchorage.

Wasilla opens its home slate Aug. 22 against Juneau-Douglas.

** Editor's note: This is the second piece of a four-part series previewing the seasons of the local prep football teams. For the Houston Hawks preview, see frontiersman.com/sports. For stories previewing the seasons of the Palmer Moose and Colony Knights, see upcoming editions of the Frontiersman.