Patience Finally Pays Off -- Kent-Meridian Football Enjoying Its Best Start Since '84

-- KENT

If you keep trying, they will come. Victories.

And finally, they have.

As a young Kent-Meridian High School football team toiled through back-to-back 1-8 campaigns, Coach Bruce Rick promised his players their hard work would pay off in time.

The time appears to be now. The Royals take a 3-0 record into tomorrow night's bout with Kentridge, their South Puget Sound League North Division opener.

It's their best start since 1984, when Rick Trestrail's club jumped out of the North Puget Sound League gate at 4-0. K-M finished 6-3 on the field that year, but later forfeited three of those early victories for using an ineligible player. Officially, the 1984 record wound up 3-6. Trestrail's crew was 7-2 the year before, and since then the Royals have had only one winning season, going 5-4 in 1986 under Paul Hatem.

Their only state playoff appearance came under Bob Peters in 1981, when they reached the Class AAA quarterfinals, the same year Kentridge went on to play in the Kingbowl.

If you've detected a ping-pong coaching pattern, you've latched onto one of the reasons Rick believes it's taken three years to get his program squared around. When he took over the program in 1989, he was K-M's fifth head coach in eight years and the seventh new face over a 12-year span.

Rick, who had been an assistant to former K-M Head Coach Robin Andrea in 1988, knew he'd have to be patient.

"Obviously, we wanted to do better quicker than what we did," he said, "but I knew it was going to take some time, especially with the lack of organization in the program. They needed some consistency."

Over the past two years, some habits besides losing became consistent. Such as hard work and improvement. And the belief it would one day pay off.

"The kids deserve it," Rick said of this year's early success. "They've seen a lot of down times, but they've never given up. They've always bounced back. I told them all along, `If you just persevere, you're going to get your reward.' I believe that's what's happening now. I told people last year if they'd come to our practices, they'd never believe we were 0-5. They would think we were 5-0 because of the work ethic the kids had."

The players believed Rick's promises.

"We've all been working hard through the first two seasons and it's starting to pay off," said senior quarterback Chris Schlecht, who became a starter early in his sophomore year. "We knew if we kept working hard, we'd have a good season. It just took us a while."

His first year, Rick started as many as six sophomores.

"It wasn't just to get them experienced," he said. "They played because they were our best athletes. They have some experience under their belt now, and I really believe that's the difference."

Kent-Meridian's administration has been patient.

"The administration expected this to be a three-year program," said Terry Bloomquist, who was the building athletic director when Rick was named head coach and now serves as activities coordinator. "That's when it's time to evaluate a head coach."

Dick Pruett, K-M's longtime wrestling coach who has been an assistant in the football program on and off for 26 years (currently on), expected the dividends to come this year, too, with seniors starting in 17 of 22 spots.

"It's the first group of kids Bruce has worked with for three years," Pruett said. "The seniors have been through it and we've got some pretty good athletes and they work hard. Bruce stated from day one that hard work makes dreams come true."

In the standings, last season probably appeared to be nightmarish, but the Royals were able to see a lot of silver linings in the clouds. Sure, their only victory came against Class AA Kelso by a point, 8-7, but they played most of their SPSL opponents tough. Five of their eight losses were by 13 points or less. They lost to Curtis, the two-time state champ, 19-7.

"We felt good about our year last year," Rick said. "We got to the level where we could compete with anybody. We played some of the top teams in the state and went into the fourth quarter with them. The kids knew they were going against better athletes and they knew the time would come when they were the better athletes on the field, and that's showing this year."

Schlecht credits much of the confidence to Rick.

"Coach Rick made us believe in ourselves, and that's helped out a lot," he said. "Last year, we found ways to lose. This year, we're finding ways to win."

The Royals haven't beaten a powerhouse yet. Their victories all have come against 1-2 teams. But they haven't just been winning. They've been winning big - 23-7 over Bethel, 42-0 over Sumner, 26-0 over Mountain View of Vancouver.

"Some of the players are concerned that people might think we're just playing crappy teams," Rick said. "I tell them that this (winning big) is what a good team is supposed to do to a team that's not that good."

The Royals consider tomorrow's game a big one. Not only is it their first league counter, but it's against a district rival. Kentridge, which lost its opener to ninth-ranked Auburn last week, is 1-2 and looking to turn the corner under new coach Marty Osborn.

hargers also have been 1-8 the past two years. Last season, their lone victory came against K-M. The year before, K-M got its only victory against Kentridge.

This week, the Royals aren't giving their 3-0 start much thought.

"A lot of teams would be happy to take in all of the `Good jobs,' " Schlecht said, "but our team is forgetting about those last few games and focusing in on Kentridge. This is the one we've got to get." -----------------------------

ROYAL DECLINE

-- A year-by-year look at Kent-Meridian High School football since 1966, when Coach Dennis Johnson began a successful 10-year reign:

YEAR RECORD COACH . --------------------------------------------. 1990 1-8 Bruce Rick . 1989 1-8 Bruce Rick . 1988 4-5 Robin Andrea . 1987 0-9 Robin Andrea . 1986 5-4 Paul Hatem . 1985 2-7 Paul Hatem . 1984 3-6 # Rick Trestrail . 1983 7-2 Rick Trestrail . 1982 1-8 Bob Peters . 1981 8-3 ## Bob Peters . 1980 2-7 Bob Peters . 1979 2-7 Dennis Johnson . 1978 1-8 Steve Richardson. 1977 0-9 Steve Richardson. 1976 0-9 Steve Richardson. 1975 2-7 Dennis Johnson . 1974 3-6 Dennis Johnson . 1973 5-4 Dennis Johnson . 1972 7-2 Dennis Johnson . 1971 8-2 ### Dennis Johnson . 1970 9-1 ### Dennis Johnson . 1969 7-2 Dennis Johnson . 1968 8-1 Dennis Johnson . 1967 8-1 Dennis Johnson . 1966 5-3-1 Dennis Johnson .

# Originally finished 6-3, but later forfeited three early victories for use of an ineligible player. ## Reached state quarterfinals.

### Lost NPSL-Metro League playoff.