Walla Walla football aims for playoffs

WALLA WALLA — Offensive lineman Ryan Rogel was mad at himself.

The senior for the Walla Walla Blue Devils football team didn’t have a very good first impression of his younger teammates this past month.

“I wasn’t very comfortable coming into the season,” said Rogel this week at practice. “And I’m ashamed of that. But technique-wise, we’re doing well. And some of these youngers guys have impressed me.”

That’s good, because Rogel and the few other seniors at Wa-Hi who will see the football field a lot are going to have to depend on the youngsters more this season if the Blue Devils are to find success.

Of the six first-team Mid-Columbia Conference all-league players last season from Walla Walla, all of them graduated — including linebacker Willie Hayes, the co-defensive player of the year last season.

That inexperience is a concern for Wa-Hi head coach Eric Hisaw, whose team was 5-2 in MCC play last season.

“We’ve got a lot of question marks, but I think if things come together, we’ve got a chance for things to be good,” said Hisaw. “We are relying on a lot of young kids.”

So Hisaw and his staff will have to depend on Rogel and the five to six seniors who’ll see a lot of playing time to be mentors.

“And if we stay healthy our defensive line will be a strength,” said Hisaw. “Our ability to play in the box on defense should be strong. Offensively, we’ll need to move the ball around with Noah Porter.”

Top returners

Porter is the team’s leading returning rusher. He had 347 yards last season. He’ll also be a standout linebacker. Rogel will be a leader on the line.

“(RB-LB) Brennan Barberich had a solid sophomore year for us (rushing for 211 yards),” said Hisaw.

Jason Wicklund should be a leader among receivers and defensive backs.

Junior Mitch Lesmeister steps in at quarterback for the graduated Trevor Coronado.

And when DL/OL Kurt Blackman recovers from a broken foot, he will be a leader on both sides of the line.

Role players

Hisaw is expecting big things from youngsters Carter Davis (TE/OLB) and Bryant Romero, a DB and WR.

TE-DE Garrett Bannister has transferred back from California.

“Those three guys, they play hard,” said Hisaw.

Key to success

“We have to stay healthy,” said Hisaw. “We have got to be tougher, and we’ve got to be consistent.”

And, of course, the youngsters have to contribute.

“We lost a lot of guys (to graduation),” said Porter, “but some of these younger guys have stepped up.”

Wicklund is not surprised.

“People step up, fill in,” said Wicklund. “I’m not too concerned. We know these guys can play.”

Biggest game

Pasco at Walla Walla, Sept. 25.

Here’s why: Three of the four Class 4A teams in the MCC will get a chance to move on in the postseason.

“The 4A league game against Pasco will be our first,” said Hisaw. “It’s a big one.”

It would also get the Blue Devils off to another good start and possibly another winning season.

“I’ve always told the kids that we never base this on wins and losses,” said Hisaw. “We need to take another step this year as a program. If we have a winning record, it would be the first time in years that we had three years back-to-back with a winning record.”

This story was originally published August 28, 2015 at 11:11 PM with the headline "Walla Walla football aims for playoffs."