Revamped Pasco looks for good things this season

At last count, Kevin Jolley had about 100 kids out for football at Pasco High School.

That seems like a healthy number, until you see that Chiawana has nearly 200, and you have to field three teams – varsity, junior varsity and freshman.

Throw in the fact that the Bulldogs went 0-10 last season and haven’t won since Week 5 of their 2015 campaign, it’s hard to recruit guys to put on the pads.

“We are young and have just a few seniors out,” said Jolley, who is in his third year with the Bulldogs. “We are really young.”

What the Bulldogs lack in numbers, they are trying to counter with skill. They have four members of the basketball team in cleats and pads, and wrestler Davion Pruitt adds experience and leadership on the offensive and defensive lines.

“We don’t have the luxury of not sharing athletes,” Jolley said. “We’ve got a pretty solid group who can compete with anybody, but we have to stay healthy and stay in games for four quarters. With our numbers, we don’t have the subs like Chiawana.”

Along with the low numbers comes inexperience.

“We have varsity kids who haven’t taken a snap on Friday before,” Jolley said. “They will be wide-eyed, and we need to find a way to calm them down. There are juniors and seniors we would like to have out, but some of them have to work to pay for their car or help support their family. Nothing we can do about that.”

When the Bulldogs have the ball

Senior Kashon Tate (6-3) will be under center after missing last season with an ankle injury. While his size might be desirable on the line, he’s played quarterback since his Gird Kid days.

“We are seeing positives and negatives,” Tate said. “We have to get kids to show up and want to play. We’ve got some kids who can catch, and a solid line. I need to do a better job of reading the defense.”

Two receivers Tate knows well are fellow basketball players Matt Millet, a 6-foot-4 junior, and 6-4 sophomore Brandon Scott. While Scott played freshman ball last year, Millet did not play at all.

“I played my freshman year, but not last year,” Millet said. “It was hard watching the games, I missed it. All my buddies, teammates and coaches talked me into coming back out. I’m glad I’m out here.”

It will be Scott’s first year under the Friday night lights, and he admits he’s a little nervous.

“I feel like since I’m young I might be a little intimidated,” Scott said. “But I’m ready to go out and play.”

With running back Deondre Hendrix (155 carries, 612 yards, 6 TDs) graduating, the backfield was all but empty after last season.

Pasco has found a workhorse in senior Efrain Farias, who also plays linebacker.

“He’s been in the weight room all summer and he is a leader by example,” Jolley said. “He has done everything we have asked of him, but we would like him to be a more vocal leader.”

Bulldogs on defense

The Bulldogs were outscored 427-76 last season, but Pruitt said that had more to do with the offense turning the ball over and the defense having to work overtime.

The 6-3, 295-pound junior sees positives, despite the obstacles.

“We have low numbers, that just means we have to work harder,” Pruitt said. “We have to be technically sound with everything. We’ve got a pretty good running back (Farias) who will surprise some people, but he’s just as good on defense.

“We have a lot of weight on the line, and some receivers who are very coordinated and fast. We just need to give ourselves better chances to score.”

Adding veteran leadership on the defensive line are Jeremy Ruiz and Anthony Cortez, but Jolley is looking for Pruitt to set the tone.

“He played some as a freshman and he started last year as a sophomore,” Jolley said. “It’s great to see him now. He has the size and the frame, not to mention he comes from an athletic family.”

Pruitt’s uncle Lazarus Sims, a point guard, played basketball at Syracuse University, where he helped the Orangemen to the 1996 NCAA title game where they lost to Kentucky.

Pruitt’s second cousin, Anthony Davis, an NFL linebacker, played for the Houston Oilers, Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens, with whom he won a Super Bowl in 2001.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 8:40 PM with the headline "Revamped Pasco looks for good things this season."