QUILCENE — A bigger, faster and stronger Quilcene football team is hopeful for a Rangers resurgence this fall after injuries hampered the team in 2023.
The Rangers boast six senior starters, sizeable linemen and some fleet-footed skill position players.
“Six seniors, we haven’t had that many in a long time, and every one of the seniors is a pretty darn good player,” ninth-year head coach Trey Beathard said. “We’ve had this many seniors before but not all of them were starters, so we are lucky to have that bit of depth.”
Eight players on the Rangers’ 18-man roster are 200 pounds or more, so Quilcene should be able to establish the power run game behind returning All-Northwest League senior Taylor Boling (6-3, 240), senior Kaden Faller (5-10, 230), junior Hunter Simmons (6-0, 240) and freshman Ryker Alexander (6-2, 240). Tyler Wills, a 5-11, 240-pound senior, also will play on the line, likely at tight end and at linebacker on defense.
Boling may be the team’s best all-around athlete.
“He has really good footwork and quickness for his size,” Beathard said. “He was the leading scorer in basketball by far, he scored in the 30s and 40s a number of times, and he’s a good baseball player. He’ll play the tackle/tight end position and go out and catch some passes for us. He has really good hands, which you would expect from a good basketball player.”
Senior Tyler Beukes came on strong last season defensively, regularly leading the Rangers in tackles. Beukes will start at cornerback and play running back and receiver offensively.
“He’s a super good tackler,” Beathard said. “Even a few years ago when he was small he would take on Deakon Budnek one-on-one, and Deakon would show him no mercy, but Tyler would tackle him every time.”
Quilcene has three similar-sized quarterback hopefuls in senior Andrew Perez, junior Robert Evans and freshman Isaac Figueroa.
“Andrew will start our first game,” Beathard said. “Last two years he’s ran for quite a few yards and touchdowns and he’s a good receiver. We want our QBs to run the ball some this year. All of them are good runners and have played running back. They just don’t have a ton of experience reading the defense and sometimes you can only learn by playing in a game.”
The Rangers went to the five-school Entiat team camp again this summer, with Perez earning the fastest camper honor and Beukes finishing third.
“We played a lot of five-on-five, the eight-man equivalent to 7-on-7 for 11-man,” Beathard said. With new kids at quarterback this year, it took them a few games at QB to figure it out a little bit.
“We did really well in the full team 8-on-8. The QBs threw it better when they had the line in front of them.”
Tucker Boling, a 6-foot, 200-pound freshman running back/defensive back, also will see plenty of carries and time on the field.
Another weapon for Quilcene is third-year starter at fullback Mason Iverson.
“He was the state powerlifting champ in the 220-pound weight class,” Beathard said. “Powerlifting isn’t divided by classification, so he was the all-around champ.”
Quilcene Rangers
• Coach: Trey Beathard (ninth year, 58-21 overall)
• Last year’s record: 2-4, 3-7 . Lost to Naselle in Quad-District Playoffs.
• Key returners: Mason Iverson (FB/LB, Sr.); Taylor Boling (OL/DL/K. Sr.); Andrew Perez (RB/DB, Sr.); Tyler Beukes, (DB/RB, Sr.); Tucker Boling (RB/LB, Fr.); Isaac Figueroa (TE/DE, Fr.); Kaden Faller (OL/LB, Sr.); Robert Evans (QB/DB, Jr.); Hunter Simmons (OL/DL, Sr.); Tyler Wills (TE/LB, Sr.).
• Newcomers: Ryker Alexander (C/DL, Fr.). “He’s been working out with us since the spring and he’s gotten a lot stronger and he will continue to get bigger,” Beathard said. “He’s got really good potential.”
• Strengths: Size and experience along the lines, speed and size in the backfield.
• Areas to improve: Inexperienced at the quarterback position.
• Outlook: Quilcene should be in the mix for a playoff berth once again, with Neah Bay, Concrete and Darrington providing the stiffest tests.
• Schedule: Sept. 7: Lummi, 1 p.m.; Sept. 14: at Concrete, 1 p.m.; Sept. 20: at Neah Bay, 7 p.m.; Sept. 28: Charles Wright, 1 p.m.; Oct. 4: at Muckleshoot, 7 p.m.; Oct. 19: Darrington, 1 p.m.; Oct. 26: at Crescent, 1 p.m.; Oct. 28: Tulalip Heritage, 1 p.m.
