PORT TOWNSEND — Despite the loss of a deep senior class to graduation, the Port Townsend Redhawks will have an advantage, at least in the early portions of the season.
That advantage? The element of surprise, as an air of mystery permeates the 2016 version of Port Townsend football.
The Redhawks will play under a new head coach with a new offense run by many new starters in a new-look league with some new opponents.
Alex Heilig, the top man at Granite Falls last season, has taken over for Nick Snyder as head coach.
Snyder, a popular coach who rolled up a 28-13 overall record in four seasons with three playoff appearances and two Olympic League 1A Division titles, including a 10-1 record and the school’s first state playoff appearance in 11 years last season, stepped away to support his wife’s new business venture, a bakery.
Heilig’s new offensive system will incorporate elements of the spread attack, a change from the Redhawks’ recent success with a ground-based pistol wing-T look.
Hesitant to give away too much to the opposition, the new coach was unwilling to divulge too much in the way of specifics on just what exactly that new offense would look like.
“We have a new playbook with some new terminology,” Heilig said.
“The big thing we are looking at right now is attention to detail and discipline in our jobs and assignments.
“The nice thing about our offense is it is moldable week to week and tailorable to the personnel we face each week.
“We can adjust from week to week and adapt on the fly. We can be equally run-and pass-oriented.”
Heilig was hired in July, giving him a less-than-ideal run-up to the season.
“With how little time I’ve had, everything is a wide-open book,” Heilig said.
“Nobody is tied to a position at this point.
“We have a wonderful problem of having quite a bit of skilled athletes, which provides a great challenge for an offensive coach.”
Senior Berkley Hill saw some time at quarterback last season when an injury to departed running back Wesley Wheeler forced the Redhawks to reshuffle their backfield.
He completed 21 of 34 passes for 291 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 190 yards and three scores on 35 carries.
“Berkley Hill was a backup quarterback for the team last season, so we do have some players who have run an offense before,” Heilig said.
“But people could be playing different positions in every game.”
Detrius Kelsall is the most accomplished returning player on both sides of the ball for Port Townsend.
Kelsall averaged 9 yards a carry last season, totaling 629 yards and 10 TDs on 70 carries as the Redhawks’ third option at running back.
He also led the team in receiving with 21 catches for 271 yards and four more scores.
“Detrius is a good athlete, a good kid and a leader for us,” Heilig said.
“He will be effective for us in multiple roles. A straight athlete is what you would call him at the next level. He’s strong, he has experience and he will play a big role this year.
“He’ll get some touches in the backfield and probably get some receptions on the field.
“We just want to find where people can be on the field.”
Kyle Blankenship, a senior who racked up 351 rushing yards and three TDs on 44 carries, also should factor into the mix.
Kelsall also is the returning leader in tackles with 50, four of them for loss, and interceptions with five.
“You’re probably going to find him at linebacker, either inside or outside.
“He does have a good understanding of the defense.”
The offensive and defensive lines return some experienced good-sized players.
“There’s a good amount of returning linemen,” Heilig said.
“Jackson Foster and Kaiden Parcher are coming back as juniors, Robert Hammett as well, and Jacob Massie and Gabe Montoya also have played.
“We have some new guys coming out as well, like Tucker Booth, who is new to the program and is taking reps with the offensive and defensive lines.
Other players looking to fill spots include Cole Crawford and Nico Winegar, who played in the offensive backfield and as linebackers as JV players last season.
“They’ve done well for themselves in camp so far,” Heilig said.
Gerry Coker, who handled place-kicking duties and started in the secondary, also returns.
“They are all kind of very similar sort of athletes,” Heilig said of his skill position players.
“A little smaller than Detrius, but all are capable of contributing.”
The Redhawks also are part of a new league, as the four Class 1A members of the Olympic League (Port Townsend, Chimacum, Coupeville and Klahowya) will combine with the Nisqually League (Cascade Christian, Bellevue Christian, Vashon Island and Charles Wright).
It will work something like this: the first three weeks will be nonleague games, and over the next seven weeks — Weeks 4 through 10 — the two leagues will play against each other.
At the end of the 10 weeks, the two teams — or three, depending on how many berths the West Central District is allocated — with the best records will advance to the state playoffs.
“Here’s the bonus,” Port Townsend athletic director Scott Wilson said when the agreement was announced back in January, “no more crossover games, no more pigtail games, no funky agreements to decide who is No. 1 or 2.”
Another bonus: no more playing teams more than once in a single season. The Olympic League 1A teams have had to double up and play home and away contests against each other the past two seasons.
Heilig has been busy in the early going putting his own stamp on the team’s culture.
“The team’s motto is to battle,” Heilig said.
“That’s something we believe highly in, is to battle in every game we have, every test we take in the classroom, everything we do in life is a constant battle to be the best.”
And while the ritual running of “hills,” an exhausting series of sprints to the top of the steep hillside that abuts Flint Field, the Redhawks practice field, has yet to occur, Heilig said he’ll soon tap into that tradition.
“We are blessed with that lovely geographic advantage,” Heilig said.
“We haven’t quite hit them yet, but we will work them back in there for sure.”
Port Townsend capsule
•Offense: Spread
•Defense: 4-4-3 base
•Contributors: RB/LB Detrius Kelsall; RB/DB Kyle Blankenship; QB/DB Berkley Hill; OL/DL Gabe Apker-Montoya; OL/DL Robert Hammett; K/WR/DBGerry Coker; OL/DL Jackson Foster; OL/DL Kaiden Parcher.
•Key newcomers: OL/DL Tucker Booth.
•Expected team strength: Running game should remain strong.
•Question mark: How team adapts to heavy graduation losses and to new systems implemented by new head coach Alex Heilig.
•Player(s) they’ll miss the most: All-Peninsula Offensive MVP David Sua and All-Peninsula Defensive MVP Keegan Khile. Sua was the team’s leader at quarterback and running back last season. Khile was a relentless force as a blitzing linebacker and offensive guard.
•Game to watch: Season opener at home against 2A Sequim will let Redhawks know where they stand. Late-season contest with Cascade Christian could have playoff implications.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News Port Townsend’s Kyle Blankenship, 20, ran for 351 yards last season. Rough Riders.
Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News New Port Townsend Redhawks head coach Alex Heilig instructs his players at a preseason practice.
