Success is standard under coach Butch Goncharoff at Bellevue High. With a premier out-of-state contest and perhaps the fastest team in recent memory, national success (maybe even a national title) may be in the cards for the Wolverines.
Photo by Jeff Napier
The
Bellevue (Wash.) football dynasty continues to roll as it enters the 2012 season.
The Wolverines enjoyed a national Top 15 finish last season in the final Xcellent 25 rankings and they should be even better this year. In fact, the buzz in Bellevue circles suggests that this could be the most skilled Wolverines squad in more than a decade.
Add talented athletes to Bellevue’s remarkably precise Wing T-based offense and it's a recipe for points. Lots of them.
Gone is U.S. Air Force All-American Tyler Hasty, but Bellevue brings plenty of speed to the table. Junior running back
Bishard "Budda" Baker and senior running back
Myles Jack are both national-caliber recruits who helped Bellevue capture a 4x100 meter state track title this spring. Both will get plenty of carries and both may see time on defense.
Ari Morales and
Reuben Mwehla will also get some touches.
Ari Morales is likely to get carries in the run-heavy WingT system that has made the Wolverines successful.
Photo by Jeff Napier
Up front, where the real magic of the Bellevue offense lives, the team is also well-stocked, with
Nick Santa,
Reid Hartmann,
Cole Landes and
Darien Freeman back.
MaxPreps 2012 Preseason Top 25 high school football early contendersBellevue may be more passing-oriented than it has been in the past.
Jack Meggs and
Timmy Haehl are two dual-threat signal-callers who will give Bellevue the option to throw more if it chooses.
Defensively, Hasty’s loss will be felt in the backfield, where he excelled. However, Baker’s presence there helps, and the defense as a whole returns eight starters, including linebacker Sean Constantine.
Local look: “When a program wins nine state titles in 11 years and is willing to take on some of the nation's top teams, it is difficult to rate one season over another in terms of talent and success. This year, though, will be special for Bellevue. This might be the fastest Wolverines team coach Butch Goncharoff has worked with and, given his penchant for tinkering with his wing-T system, that's bad news for opponents. Anything short of a state title would be a disappointment for a team that, if all goes well, could contend for a national title.”
- Mason Kelly, Seattle Times
