FERNDALE -Ferndale coach Jamie Plenkovich makes no attempts to hide the fact that he wasn't pleased with the results of the 2011 season, which ended with the Golden Eagles out of the state playoffs for the first time since 2002 and only the second time in the past 15 years.
"Frankly, we were all disappointed with how we performed last year," Plenkovich said. "That obviously starts with me, through our coaches and right down to the players. We've all got to take responsibility for that, and we're all pretty competitive. We want to get better; there's no doubt."
Whether the Golden Eagles end up being better or not won't be decided for the next couple of months, but there's absolutely no doubt they'll be different. With only five returners on each side of the ball, Plenkovich and his staff have plenty of decisions to make.
"We've got a lot of guys that are in the mix to be on the field on Friday nights," Plenkovich said. "We have three, four guys at a number of different positions that are taking reps with guys we see as our Friday night players. We're continuing to evaluate each guy after each and every practice, and we'll continue to do that once the season starts to make sure we put the player we feel gives us the best chance to succeed out on the field each week."
That starts at quarterback, where Ferndale looks to replace three-year starter Jake Frost, extends forward to the offensive line, where only Cameron Ivy and tight end Cameron Massey return, and out to the receiving corps.
Fortunately, the Golden Eagles return their leading rusher and receiver from last year in senior running backs Alex Conley and Richmond Baardson, along with Daniel Ewald.
"All three of those guys had significant playing time for us last year," Plenkovich said. "They know what's going on. The thing I've liked about their leadership so far, is nobody is outworking them on each and every rep they've taken. They're leading the way in terms of getting things done in practice, and that's contagious with our other guys."
Conley and Baardson, along with returning junior Cooper Clark, also figure prominently in a defensive secondary Baardson has already nicknamed "The Sharks."
"That's the first I've heard of it, but I'll take it," Plenkovich said. "Those guys have played pretty fast. Hopefully that will be the strength of our defense. Obviously, if you've got some studs back there, you're less likely to give up big plays."
Ivy and Ewald should anchor a linebacking crew that will include Sam Alexander returning from injury, while Massey returns at defensive end and Kameron Mckay at defensive tackle on the line.
"I think all the competition (to start) in practice has raised our intensity this year," Plenkovich said. "We want to be more physical than we were last year. There are some things we want to hang our hat on as a football team at Ferndale, and some of those things we didn't get done last year. We want to get back to being a classic, hard-nosed football team."
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
ALEX CONLEY
Sr. RB/DB
Conley led the Golden Eagles with 790 yards and 14 touchdowns last year. Ferndale will look to him to set the tone with his hard-working attitude.
RICHMOND BAARDSON
Sr. RB/DB
Baardson returns as Ferndale's leading receiver and is part of an extremely talented secondary that will be asked to step up while the rest of the pieces fit together.
CAMERON IVY
Sr. OL/LB
A returning two-way starter, the Golden Eagles need Ivy to be a leader with so many new faces on the field along the offensive line and among the defensive front seven.
THREE KEYS TO THE SEASON
1. Patience, patience, patience
You don't replace half of a starting lineup and not go through growing pains. Ferndale can't let early struggles keep it from improving, as this team surely won't be the same in Week 9 as it is in Week 1.
2. Size doesn't matter
Last year, Ferndale tried to rely on its bulk up front. The Golden Eagles figure to be much smaller this year, meaning they need more intensity and hard-nosed play.
3. Stay focused
As the only NWC 3A school, Ferndale needs to win as many of its seven 2A/3A games as it can to secure a good postseason spot - a big change from the past four years, when only two regular-season games really mattered.
2012 SCHEDULE
Aug. 31 Vancouver (B.C.) Notre Dame 7 p.m.
Sept. 7 Sehome* 7 p.m.
Sept. 14 at Garfield (at Seattle Municipal) 7 p.m.
Sept. 21 at Burlington-Edison* 7 p.m.
Sept. 28 Squalicum* 7 p.m.
Oct. 5 at Sedro-Woolley* 7 p.m.
Oct. 12 Bellingham* 7 p.m.
Oct. 19 at Lynden* 7 p.m.
Oct. 26 at Anacortes* 7 p.m.
*NWC 2A/3A game
2011 RESULTS (5-5, 4-2 NWC, 2-0 NWC 3A)
at Squalicum W 49-7
O'Dea L 24-21
at Arlington L 44-27
Blaine W 34-7
at Lynden L 27-7
at Mount Baker L 21-14
Sedro-Woolley* W 28-0
Shorecrest W 45-0
at Mount Vernon* W 30-13
CLASS 3A QUAD-DISTRICT PLAYOFFS
at Mercer Island L 21-14
*NWC 3A game
2011 STATS LEADERS
RUSHING Att. Yards Avg. TD
Alex Conley* 100 790 7.9 14
Tanner Dawson 79 492 6.2 6
Kyle Prather 74 491 6.6 4
PASSING Cmp. Att. Yards TD Int.
Jacob Frost 28 82 620 4 7
RECEIVING Rec. Yards Avg. TD
Richmond Baardson* 9 215 23.9 1
Cory Clark 6 112 18.7 1
Alex Conley* 2 87 43.5 2
*Returning player
2012 ROSTER
No. Player Yr. Ht. Wt. Pos.
2 Andrew Higginson-Fernandez Jr. 5-7 145 WR/K/P
3 Wyatt Dunn Sr. 6-0 170 WR/K/P
4 Luke Melton Sr. 6-2 170 WR/DB
5 Cooper Clark Jr. 6-2 175 WR/DB
6 Eli Melton So. 5-10 140 WR/DB
7 Richmond Baardson Sr. 6-0 175 RB/DB
8 Kyler Schemstad Fr. 6-0 170 QB/DB
9 Cameron Massey Sr. 6-1 200 TE/DB
11 Ian Barnes So. 6-3 150 QB/DB
12 Klinton Maassen Jr. 5-11 185 QB/LB
13 Robert Hardin Jr. 6-3 170 QB/DB
15 Zachary Cutsforth Sr. 6-1 200 RB/DB
17 Kyle Baker Jr. 5-8 145 QB/DE
18 Christian Skjold So. 5-8 155 RB/LB
20 Dalton Neer So. 5-10 155 RB/LB
21 Nick Stewart So. 5-8 140 WR/DB
22 Anthony Fleck Jr. 5-6 175 RB/DB
23 Joey Akers Jr. 5-10 170 RB/DB
25 Sam Alexander Sr. 5-11 205 RB/LB
26 Brandon Hall So. 5-11 157 WR/DB
27 Alex Conley Sr. 5-8 195 RB/DB
28 Gabe Duncan So. 5-10 150 RB/DB
29 Bailey Slaughter Jr. 5-10 195 RB/DL
30 Marcus Nightingale So. 5-10 205 RB/LB
32 Brady Bauthues Jr. 5-11 165 RB/LB
34 Daniel Jones So. 6-1 170 RB/DB
35 Josue Ayala-Paheco So. 5-8 155 WR/DB
36 Robert Semu Jr. 6-0 180 RB/LB
38 Daniel Ewald Sr. 6-0 190 RB/LB
40 Isaih Morris So. 5-7 140 WR/DB
41 Patrick Condon Jr. 5-9 175 RB/LB
42 Ryan Pringle So. 5-10 150 RB/LB
43 Gabriel Ayala-Pacheco Sr. 5-10 215 RB/LB
44 Cameron Blecha So. 5-9 145 RB/DB
45 Hank Hilts Sr. 6-1 215 RB/DL
50 Nate Carlson So. 5-8 190 OL/LB
51 Kyle Kinley So. 5-11 265 OL/DT
52 Brenden Pardee-Tiffany So. 6-1 220 OL/DE
54 Kyle Maassen Jr. 6-0 220 OL/DE
55 Miguel Mungarro So. 5-11 160 OL/LB
56 Cameron Ivy Sr. 6-0 225 OL/LB
58 Antonio Esteban Sr. 5-9 210 OL/DT
59 Kolby Bellefeuille Jr. 5-8 210 OL/LB
60 Alex Moulthrop So. 5-10 300 OL/DT
61 Johnny Wiley So. 5-11 180 OL/DT
62 Cody Tilton So. 5-11 155 OL/LB
63 Aron Brackinreed So. 6-1 260 OL/DT
65 Anthony Pace Sr. 5-11 215 OL/DT
66 Josh Woods Jr. 5-6 180 OL/DT
67 Kameron Mckay Sr. 6-3 200 OL/DT
68 William Lucero Jr. 5-10 265 OL/DT
70 Hunter Grunhurd Jr. 6-1 210 OL/DE
71 Levi Turner Jr. 5-11 205 OL/DE
72 Joel Quanz So. 5-10 180 OL/DT
74 Dakota Black So. 5-9 180 OL/DT
75 Justin Egbert Sr. 6-4 230 OL/DT
76 Luke Robinson So. 5-10 230 OL/DT
77 Colin Wagner Jr. 6-1 240 OL/DT
79 Antonio Ysasi Jr. 6-2 200 OL/DT
80 Cole Bos So. 6-3 170 TE/DE
81 Nick Stewart So. 5-8 140 WR/DB
82 Cody Downs Jr. 5-7 160 WR/DB
83 Michael Dostal So. 5-9 160 WR/DB
84 Branden Peppar Sr. 5-10 165 WR/DB
64/85 Kyler Brudwick So. 6-0 195 OL/TE/LB
86 Mitchell Zwade Sr. 5-8 160 WR/DB
87 Jacob Hardin So. 5-10 150 WR/DB
88 Cody Colon So. 5-10 145 WR/DB
89 Ronald Abel So. 5-6 150 WR/DB
Reach DAVID RASBACH at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2271.
