After they blanked rival North Thurston 24-0 last week, the Timberline Blazers set themselves up for a big matchup this weekend with Shelton to figure out who will take the Narrows 3A title. Northwest Elite Index recently caught up with head coach Nick Mullen and he talked about his team, his leaders and some of the top prospects on his roster.
“We have a lot of solid players and leaders on this team,” Mullen told NEI. “We just have kids who love to go out and compete and they play smart and hard, which, as a coach, you have to love that.
“I think we have some kids that have gone overlooked and I think they could be pretty special at the next level if someone gives them a chance.”
Seniors (2013 class)
LB Brandon Wetzel – “Brandon is just a football player. He’s about 6’1, 210 pounds and he was league MVP as a sophomore and junior. The kid is just a tackling machine. As a sophomore he had 87 tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss, three interceptions and four sacks and then last year, as a junior, he had 117 tackles, 17 tackles-for-loss and four sacks. I’ve gotten some calls about him, TCU likes him a lot and has made some calls about him, but nothing too serious right now.”
RB Spencer Crump – “He’s a really strong runner. Part of that is his size (5’10, 205) and because he’s just tough. We rely on him a lot. He was our offensive MVP last year as a junior when he rushed for 1,020 and 18 touchdowns. This year he’s over 950 yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s just a great back and very athletic.”
S/LB Mitch Cone – “(5’7, 185) He’s a smart player. He’s a real leader for us on defense. He’s got 40 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, two interceptions and a blocked punt this year. He’s a guy who is always in the right spot to make plays and he makes them.”
WR Levi Lambert-Wilson – “He’s got great hands and he’s very reliable for us as a receiver. He’s got 23 receptions for 200 yards and three touchdowns this year. He’s 6’3, 210 pounds, so he’s a nice big target for us.”
WR Justace Buhl-Brennan – “He’s another pretty big target for us. He’s just rock solid at 6’0, 205 pounds. He’s a really good slot receiver inside there and he’s super-quick. He’s got 15 receptions for 267 yards and three touchdowns so far this season.”
OL/DL Dayne Haddon – “He’s a big, physical guy (6’4, 235) and he plays both ways for us. He’s really athletic and he’s put up some nice stats on defense for us – 39 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss, eight sacks, and one interception on defense and 13 pancakes and no sacks allowed on offense. He’ll definitely play at the next level. We just have to find him the right spot.”
DL Stone Hart – “Stone mainly just plays on defense for us and he’s a beast up there at 6’3, 250 pounds. He’s got 13 sacks 46 tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss, he’s blocked a punt that he picked up and took back for a touchdown too, so he’s really, really athletic. He’s also into wrestling and won state at the 225-pound class last year.”
Juniors (2014 class)
S/RB Asan Neil-Evergin – “Asan is a really strong player. He’s 5’9 and 190 pounds and he is really, really instinctive. He mainly plays free safety for us and he has 42 tackles and seven tackles-for-loss on that side. Offensively, he doesn’t get many carries just because we like him so much on defense and we have a really good runner already (Crump). Next year he’ll get a lot more carries over there.”
FB/S Jeff Winstead – “Jeff plays safety and fullback for us. He’s not very big, but he plays big. He’s about 5’7, 190 pounds and he has 46 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, two interceptions and two sacks. He’s another really instinctive player. He’s already a good leader, but he’ll be even more of one next year for us.”
OL Sebastian Mikaele – “Just a really athletic and big (6’4, 255) kid. He’s given up no sacks and has 15 pancakes so far this season. He’s a kid to really keep an eye on.”
OL Dylan Reinhold – “Dylan is another big (6’1, 260), physical kid. He’s smart too. He plays center and he does our long-snapping so we rely on him to be a leader up front for us.”
OL/DL Cole Stevens – “Cole is 6’1, 280 pounds and he starts both ways for us. He’s probably going to be a better fit at guard at the next level. He’s got 11 pancakes and he’s allowed only one sack on the season.”
Sophomores (2015 class)
QB Gabriel Gutierrez – “Gabe isn’t really big (5’11, 140), but he’s smart with the ball and he’s pretty athletic too. He’ll be a kid we rely on a lot over the next two years and we’re really excited to see him grow in our system.”
