By Nathan Joyce
Maxpreps.com
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He might be the most famous assistant coach in the state.
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Jason Gesser, Washington State University's career passing leader, is trying his hand at coaching, helping out with the Federal Way High School football team.
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Gesser, who is originally from Hawaii, led the Cougars to the 2003 Rose Bowl. After college, he was signed by the Tennessee Titans as a free agent. The NFL didn't work out, and Gesser played with Calgary in the Canadian Football League.
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The CFL club allowed Gesser to play with Utah in the Arena Football League, which plays from January to June.
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When it was time to return to Calgary this summer, Gesser, 27, decided it would be better for his family to stay near his Puyallup home.
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"I really didn't want to go back," Gesser told the Seattle Times. "I like Arena ball a lot better than the CFL."
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Meanwhile, Federal Way coach John Meagher was looking for a quarterbacks coach, and was calling around trying to find one. When he called WSU, he talked with offensive coordinator Mike Levenseller, who put the two in touch.
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Gesser is hoping to eventually coach at the collegiate level.
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"This basically is my passion right now, coaching," Gesser told the Seattle Times. "My dream is to get back to Washington State and end up being the head coach there. I figured I had to start my journey somewhere."
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Football: Tough start for Darrington
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When Darrington begins its football season, it will have to deal with grief as well as their opponent.
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Longtime football coach Rob Wales lost his two-year battle with cancer on Aug. 5.
Wales taught and coached at the small logging town in Snohomish County for 18 years.
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Fred Emerson, who has coached at many schools and at Western Washington University, came out of retirement to coach the team this year.
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Football: Big Turnout at Kentwood
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Kentwood is a traditional state football power, and apparently everybody wants to be part of a winner.
That explains why 175 athletes turned out to play football for the Conquerors. Kentwood will have to make cuts to get the team down to manageable numbers. Cuts in football program are unusual in the state, but Kentwood only has so many coaches and so much practice time.
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"It's the worst thing you have to do," Kentwood coach Rex Norris told the Tacoma News Tribune. "You hate not letting someone have an opportunity."
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Football: Big Opening Weekend
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The state's high school football season begins Thursday with a good matchup. Lincoln of Tacoma faces Kennedy of Burien. Both teams are expected to do well this season.
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Probably the most anticipated matcup of opening weekend is Skyline vs. Bellevue in a KingCo 3A showdown. Skyline of Sammamish won the Class 4A state title and dropped to Class 3A this year as the state reclassification. Bellevue's streak of four-consecutive state titles ended last year, but the Wolverines are always a contender. Between Skyline coach Steve Gervais and Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff, there are nine state titles.
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Another big game opening weekend is at the Emerald City Kickoff Classic at Qwest Field. Eastlake of Sammamish takes on powerful Punahou of Honolulu in the 8 p.m. featured game.
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And one last big game, LaCrosse-Washtucna, a tiny B-8 team in Eastern Washington, can set the state record for consecutive wins if it beats Kootenai of Harrison, Idaho, on Friday. The Tigercats have won four straight B-8 titles and are looking for their 49th win a row. They are tied with Toledo for No. 1 on the all-time list with 48 straight.
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Cross Country: Mead Ranked No. 1
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Mead of Spokane was named the top team in the nation by the track and cross county Web site Dyestat. That's no surprise as Spokane is a national hotbed for distance running and the Panthers have dominated the state for decades.
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In an interesting twist, cross-town rival Ferris is ranked third in the nation. But the Saxons have won three-straight state titles and return most of last year's powerful team.
There has been a coaching change at Mead. Steve Kiesel takes over for the legendary Pat Tyson. Tyson had stepped down to be the interim track coach at the University of Oregon.