Raymond’s Run to the Playoffs

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Raymond High School senior Rayce Newman looks for daylight against Napavine’s defense.

 

By Gail Wood

grays harbor community hospitalWith seven starters returning on offense and six on defense, Luke Abbott had reasons to be optimistic going into his first season as the head football at Raymond High School.

raymond football
Seagull sophomore quarterback Kason Koski calls out the signals against Napavine.

But when injuries forced him to move senior Rayce Newman from quarterback to running back late in the season and replace him with a sophomore, the team’s playoff future didn’t look as certain.

Yet even with sophomore Kason Koski taking over at quarterback, a surprising Raymond team didn’t miss a beat. On Saturday, the Seagulls played Napavine in the quarterfinals of the 2B state playoffs at in Centralia.

“I knew we had some ingredients to do well,” Abbott said. “You can never predict that this is a non-playoff team, or a deep into the playoffs team. All that stuff comes down to coaching and to execution.”

And to staying healthy.

When senior running back Marvin So hurt his leg and then later came down with pneumonia, Newman switched positions and moved to running back. That meant sophomore Kason Koski was the new starting quarterback.

“You’re always going to worry about putting a younger kid into a leadership role like that,” Abbott said. “But Kason is the type of kid I didn’t have to worry about. He understands the position. He works hard. I think he’s done a fantastic job for us so far.”

raymond football
Raymond High School senior Rayce Newman looks for daylight against Napavine’s defense.

With the emphasis on the running game, Koski wasn’t put in a position where he had to pass for 300-plus yards for the Gulls to win. He just had to execute, not make mistakes and not turn the ball over. In Raymond’s Wing-T offense, the running backs carry the load.

“We have a three running back system,” Abbott said. “We try to split it up.”

Sticking to a run-by-committee tactic in Raymond’s misdirection offense, Elliott Murdock, Jace Duckworth and Newman all got a chance at carrying the football.

“It’s a misdirection offense,” Abbott said. “We’re looking for putting the right guy in the right position. The right play call at the right time of the game.”

That running attack worked all season long, lifting the Seagulls to Saturday’s playoff game against the Napavine Tigers. But the Tigers broke up a scoreless tie with a touchdown with 3:35 left in the first quarter. Napavine then added three more touchdowns in the second quarter and led 26-0 at halftime. The Tigers ended up winning 52-7 to advance to the quarterfinals with an 11-0 record.

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Raymond’s Jayce Freeman (82) makes the tackle against Napavine.

The message Abbott preached all season was for his running backs to make good fakes, to sell the linebacker on the idea that they’re the ones running the ball. And everyone got a shot at running the ball. This offense didn’t feature one running back.

“I stress with the running backs, especially in this system.  You have to be unselfish,” Abbott said. “We don’t have one single back that does it all for us. When you’re in a three-back system, you have to be unselfish. Make that fake for your teammate. You’re going to hope they’ll make that same fake for you next play. We’ve done a great job of that all season.”

Finishing with a 9-2 record, Raymond’s only league defeat going into the playoffs was against North Beach, losing 12-6 in double overtime. All season long, the Gulls won with a ball-control offense that relied on the run and on a stingy defense.

“We can throw the ball when we have an opportunity to throw,” Abbott said. “We have the athletes to do that. But if you can’t run the ball in a football game, you’re not going to win. We make that our number one priority – running the football.”

raymond football
Raymond quarterback Kason Koski throws deep against Napavine.

James Hamilton, a 6’2″, 215-pound junior, is a key player in Raymond’s offensive line. As a two-way starter, he plays offensive guard and linebacker.

“He’s a physical presence,” Abbott said. “He’s just a great kid and a tremendous athlete. It’s great that he’s a junior. He plays right guard for us. I’d consider him a leader on that line. Just a fun kid to watch, because you never know. He pulls well, blocks well and understands the game. We’re very fortunate to have him.”

Raymond used a hard-hitting 3-5-3 defense. In their four shutout wins this season, the Gulls outscored opponents 160-0. Raymond showed plenty of offensive punch as it scored 30 or more points in all but one game of its 10 regular-season games – the 12-6 loss to North Beach.

Depending on the strengths of an opponent, Abbott adjusted his defense.

“We make adjustments,” Abbott said. “We tweak things based on what the other team does. But I’d say our basic defense is a 3-3 stack and a 3-5-3. We want to put the players in the best position possible to be successful.”

It was a winning formula in Raymond’s run to the playoffs.

 

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