State Football: AAA Teams -- Newport Aims For Kingbowl Repeat, Not Rerun Of '91

Newport High School's Chris Dixon watched from the sidelines as a freshman the first time his Knights played in the Class AAA state title game at the Kingdome.

Then he watched as a horrified sophomore when the Knights lost their 1991 season opener to unheralded Woodinville nine months later.

"I think we kind of learned from that experience to watch for that kind of thing," Dixon said, "that kind of overconfidence."

When Dixon got the chance to start as a junior last year, the halfback became one of the main reasons Newport returned to the state-title game.His 194 rushing yards and four touchdowns in Kingbowl XVI were even bigger reasons why the Bellevue team went on to capture its first championship.

And nine months later, the Knights' memory of a start gone bad in '91 helps make Newport The Seattle Times' pick to win it all again in 1993.

Only three Class AAA teams have repeated as champion in 20 years of state football playoffs - Mount Tahoma, Juanita and Curtis.

"You have to not let No. 1 be a weight for you," said Coach Bob Lucey, whose Curtis Vikings beat Newport 30-14 in 1990 to become the last AAA team to repeat. "You've got to enjoy it. . . . It's especially hard if you go undefeated."

Newport capped a 13-0 season last year with a 48-21 victory over Puyallup at the Kingdome.

In a year when most of the top teams from last season are rebuilding after heavy graduation losses, Newport returns nine

starters to its wishbone offense.

Among those returning: the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Dixon, who rushed for 1,190 yards (7.9 per carry) and 16 touchdowns, and senior Tom Wagner, a 6-foot-1 quarterback who rushed for 846 yards and passed for 736 more (27 for 53), accounting for 17 touchdowns.

Only two starters return on defense, but head coach Dan Holden's experience and talent in teaching defense should turn that weakness into a strength by midseason.

The only team capable of beating the Knights this year may be Newport.

"I worry about that," said Tom Wagner, the senior quarterback. "Just the underclassmen, maybe they think just because we're state champs we'll have easy opponents."

Wagner doesn't worry about the seniors who fought to come from behind in eight of 13 victories last year. The seniors who remember the start gone bad in '91.

"We don't want to go out losers," Wagner said. "We've got to go out like we want to go. That's what we're going to get remembered for - this year. Nobody's going to remember our class for what happened the year before."

That might be the greatest motivator for the Knights from the KingCo Conference.

"I found it to be just a refreshing year," said Chuck Tarbox of 1985, the year his Juanita Rebels successfully defended their state title. "I found actually the tempo and interest in practice increased. It even did for the start of the season and continued every week. It built and built."

Tarbox, now the head coach at Eastside Catholic, also guided Juanita to the '86 title game, but the Rebels were beaten 14-7 by Gonzaga Prep that year.

"We never felt it was pressure," Tarbox said. "We felt it was excitement. We expected to win, and losing never entered our mind."

The idea of losing seems unfamiliar to the veteran Knights.

"That would be really hard," senior linebacker Joe Grzetic said after a pause. "We really won't feel too happy about that. We won't settle for it. A loss would devastate us, basically. I think anywhere (during the season). I feel we're the best team."

Grzetic is nowhere near alone in that feeling this season. Which says a lot about how far the Knights have come in one year. And says something about how tough it might be to go as far in the coming year.

"A year ago we were definitely the underdog," Holden said. "This year everybody has high expectations.

"We want to exceed those expectations."

-------------------------------------------------------. AAA football repeaters .

Since the state high-school football playoffs started in 1973, six Class AAA teams have made back-to-back state title game appearances - and three of them repeated as champions. Bellevue's Newport High will try to become the sixth in 1993. The six repeaters:

. Mount Tahoma. . 1979 Beat Rogers (Puyallup) 37-3. 1980 Beat Issaquah 21-3 . Juanita. . 1984 Beat South Kitsap 41-27. 1985 Beat Gonzaga Prep 28-13 1986 Lost to Gonzaga Prep 14-7 . Gonzaga Prep. . 1985 Lost to Juanita 28-13. 1986 Beat Juanita 14-7. 1987 Lost to Puyallup 27-21 . Kentwood. . 1988 Lost to Ingraham 21-0. 1989 Lost to Curtis 25-0. . Curtis. . 1989 Beat Kentwood 25-0. 1990 Beat Newport 30-14. . Puyallup. . 1991 Lost to Cascade 14-7. 1992 Lost to Newport 48-21.

--------------------------------------------------------------- Class AAA preseason football poll Seattle Times 1993 preseason state Class AAA football poll:

School 1992 record, playoffs.

1. Newport (Bellevue) 13-0, state champion. Nearly everyone's favorite with 9 offensive starters back.

2. Kamiakin (Kennewick) 6-3, did not qualify. A perennial Big Nine power, this might be Braves' best team.

3. Puyallup 12-1, state runner-up. Junior QB Brock Huard could lead Vikings to a third straight. Kingbowl.

4. Lakes (Tacoma) 7-2, did not qualify. With improved offensive line, some pick Lancers to reach final.

5. Cascade (Everett) 9-2, lost in quarterfinals. Top players graduated, but enough left to challenge state leaders.

6. Kentwood (Kent) 6-5, lost in quarterfinals. Might be school's best team since '89 Kingbowl squad.

7. Auburn 9-3, lost in semifinals. Playoff-seasoned Trojans believe they can be No. 1.

8. South Kitsap (Port Orchard) 8-2, lost in first round. Traditional power should at least be good enough to get this far.

9. Eisenhower (Yakima) 10-1, lost in quarterfinals. Made first state playoff appearance last year with 10-0 start.

10. Tumwater 11-1, lost in AA quarterfinals. Good program, good coach; T-birds have beaten top AAA teams in past. Others to watch (in alphabetical order): Bellevue (8-1); Curtis (Tacoma, 7-3); Jefferson (Federal Way, 4-5); Juanita (Kirkland, 2-7); Gonzaga Prep (Spokane, 8-2); Kelso (7-2); Kennewick (10-2); Lewis & Clark (Spokane) 7-1; Mead (Spokane, 8-2); North Thurston (Lacey, 8-3); Snohomish (3-6).