Talented players cap prep careers in Barden Classic

YAKIMA, Wash. — Sure, games like today’s 15th annual Earl Barden All-Star Football Classic are great for fans. And the fans who pour into Zaepfel Stadium for the 1 p.m. kickoff will have plenty to cheer about.

But the guys who really love it are the coaches who have gotten to work all week in practice with the state’s best graduating small-school football players, a collection of talent and work ethic the likes of which those coaches otherwise never get to see on one field.

“I hate for this week to end,” says East coach Brian Dunn of Lakeside. “These kids have just been exceptional.”

One player Dunn and his assistants won’t soon forget is Tanner Knutson of Deer Park. A late addition to the game, he has become the East’s most impressive defensive back.

“Just absolutely a shut-down corner,” Dunn says. “We keep trying to throw on him, and we finally got to the point where I’m telling my quarterback coach, hey, find a different direction to throw. He’s just that good.”

So, too, has been the West’s Paoa Tuiavaive of Washington, who has made jaws drop not just on the field but after practice. When some players went to the Yakima Athletic Club one day, Tuiavaive put on four plates for a 225-pound bench press, plopped onto the bench and, without a spotter, popped off 23 quick reps.

Tuiavaive was one of four West team captains voted by their teammates, along with Idaho-bound lineman KYLE HOFFMANN of ORCAS, starting quarterback GREG HERD of STEILACOOM and linebacker J.J. QUINLAN of ARCHBISHOP MURPHY.

East team captains are running back DERRICK TALLEY of Chelan, quarterback DEREK TODD of Cashmere, linebacker CODY WEBER of PULLMAN and defensive back FIALELE COFFIN of CASCADE.

Dunn sings the praises of SELAH lineman ETHAN BERSING, who “has a motor that just goes crazy,” and JONATHAN BUCHANAN of East Valley, who is playing tight end because the East squad didn’t have any real experience at that position.

“He’s got great hands, soft hands,” Dunn said of Buchanan. “For a kid who had never played that spot, hey, he’d be all-league there right now.”

Also stepping into a new position is MATT PAUL of GRANGER, who played tackle for the Spartans but volunteered to play center because the East needed one. “And he’s doing a good job for us,” Dunn said.

A West player who has surprised coaches is diminuitive (5-7, 155) MERIDIAN wideout RYDER CHANCE, who’s “like 5-foot-nothing and I’m telling you, he can catch anything,” says West head coach JOHN SCHULTZ of CENTRALIA. So, too, can defensive back ANDRE MOORE of KLAHOWYA, who has made some nifty interceptions in practice.

Another East player who has been impressive in practice is WAHLUKE’s DAMON CHRISTENSEN, who’s listed at 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds but, says Dunn, “has gotta be bigger than that. He must be 6-5 and close to 300 — a big, strong kid, with great feet. Very, very tough.”

Other quick coaches’ impressions: ELLENSBURG defensive lineman BLAKE NICHOLS “is such a hard-working kid, and strong as an ox.” … BLAIR COLLINS of ROYAL: “Everything he does is impressive.” … 190-pound ADNA fullback JERED RODGERS is “one big muscle.” … When BURLINGTON-EDISON free safety STETSON SHEARER sees receivers “coming across the middle, watch out.”

The East’s MYCHAL LOPEZ of GRANGER, a quarterback-turned-wideout made one of the more sensational plays in practice this week when he went up in traffic for a ball that seemed sure to be either overthrown or defended, “and just flat-out took it down,” Dunn said. “He’s just a crazy athlete.”

Nearly 30 players in today’s game expect to be playing college football for the next four years. Several others will player another sport — or even two, like CHRIS SMITH of CONCRETE, who plans on playing both baseball and basketball for the Community Colleges of Spokane.

But the most interesting college athletic plan may be that of LYNDEN 300-pounder GUNNAR GROOTHUIS, who will be a lacrosse goalie at Limestone College in South Carolina. The club lacrosse team he plays on in Whatcom County was playing in a tournament in Delaware, where he was spotted and immediately recruited by Limestone coaches.

Today’s game is a homecoming of sorts for East coach Dunn; from 1992 through 1997 he coached at NACHES VALLEY, where one of his players was the Rangers’ current head coach, TY KIME. “He was one of my favorite kids — my captain in  his senior year,” Dunn said of Kime. “I’m so proud of him, coming back and being a head coach.”

The Washington State Football Coaches Association will award two $500 scholarships at halftime, going to the player on each team voted most inspirational by his teammates. … Ticket prices are $6 adults and $4 students for the game, which starts at 1 p.m. Gates open at noon.