From the Sidelines

Yep, it’s that time again. Football practices kick off Aug. 18 around the state and while we’re still a few weeks away, the work here is in full swing to get our schools previewed. With that in mind, I spent a few minutes on the phone today with Jason Rimkus, the first-year head coach hired last year to replace Sheldon Cross, who left after the season for a position on the Washington State University staff.

Rimkus said it took a bit of time to get his guys to buy in to the new system, much different than the one they ran under Cross.

“We do things different than we’ve done before – not that what was done before was bad, just different,” he said.

The biggest difference for the Saints from the Cross era to now will be a shift in the Interlake offense. The team ran a wide-open, no-huddle spread offense under Cross, a former college and European professional league quarterback. Rimkus, who played defensive back at Bothell and Pacific Lutheran University, will have the Saints operating under a more pro-style, west coast offense with an emphasis on the running game. Senior quarterback Matt Malos will return behind center, but talented running back Brett Kirschner leaves pretty big shoes to fill as he is now playing at Montana.

Rimkus said he loves what he has seen out of juniors Jacob Marks (fullback) and Jordan Todd (tailback) so far.

“They’re like thunder and lightning, sugar and spice, whatever you want to say,” he said. “They’re going to be our 1-2 punch this year.”

Rimkus mentioned the team ran the ball well at football camp this summer, breaking in their young lineman and really getting some good runs out of Marks and Todd. He said the biggest revelation might be the play of Malos on defense, stepping in at defensive back for the first time.

“He’s really showing some flashes,” Rimkus said. “What really surprised us was his hitting. He was lighting kids up at camp.”

Stay tuned for more as we get closer to football practice. Be on the lookout in a few weeks for our big football preview soon.