High School Football -- Ingraham Eager To Put Losing Streak In Past

The first day of football practice was about to end at Ingraham High School. The team ran up and down a hill next to the practice field and followed with a series of 40-yard sprints.

"Are you guys tired?" barked first-year coach Tim Jacobsen.

"No, sir!" came the response from more than 30 players.

"Don't show me you're tired," said Jacobsen. "I'll take you out of a game."

Jacobsen has taken over a program that has gone winless the past two seasons and is trying to put some joy back in Ingraham football. With 18 consecutive losses, the once-proud Rams have the state's second-longest losing streak, topped only by Port Angeles' 19-game skid.

The streak includes a 1997 forfeit to Ballard after some Ram players and other students committed acts of vandalism at Ballard's temporary site at the old Lincoln High building in Wallingford.

The Rams get a chance to snap the streak early when they open against Class 2A Chimacum (0-9 last year) at Port Townsend on Sept. 10. Ingraham was scheduled to open against Eastside Catholic in a non-counter but Cleveland agreed to swap games and play the Crusaders.

"It was awful nice of Cleveland to do that and help us out a little bit," Jacobsen said.

Ingraham hasn't had a winning season since 1988 when it won the state big-school championship with Coach Ron Sidenquist by beating Kentwood 21-0 for the only state football title won by a Seattle public school.

The Rams were a Metro power with the late Tony Gasparovich, who compiled a 109-37-3 record from 1960-76 and won three Metro titles. Gasparovich was succeeded by assistant John Zeger, whose nine-year record of 45-24 included two Metro titles and an appearance in the 1978 state championship game, where the Rams lost to Snohomish 14-8.

Ingraham's failure to win a game last year baffled some coaches in the Metro League.

The 1998 Rams included All-Metro running back David Jones, who graduated.

The losing streak eats at players.

"I think about it every day," said R.J. Richter, a senior linebacker and fullback. "We all want to win some games this year. We have a real favorable schedule."

One reason Richter is optimistic is improved team chemistry.

"The last couple years we had a lot of arguing between players and arguing between players and coaches," he said. "Now, we have more team unity. There's no backtalking."

The Rams have four offensive starters back from last year's team - running back Tony Jones, fullback Richter (a converted guard), guard Sal Savago and wide receiver Tyree Lee. All start on defense, where the unit includes returnee Ryan Williams, a defensive end who is the only junior among returning starters.

The starting quarterback will be Dan Zack-Elvig, who got some starts last year as a sophomore.

One of the best newcomers is Dominic Pie, a quick senior who contributed to Ingraham's successful basketball season last winter and will play wide receiver and defensive back.

Pie is one of 14 seniors on the team.

Jacobsen had a head start in knowing his personnel because he was on Randy Jacob's Ingraham staff last year. Jacob had a 6-30 record in four years at the school.

Jacobsen, who grew up in North Dakota and played at North Dakota State, has one advantage Jacob didn't have - he teaches at the school so he is around his players all day.

One thing he likes is his team's work ethic.

"What this team has over any other team I've been around is their ability to work hard," he said. "My job has been easy as far as motivating them." ------------------------------- Metro football / In the '90s

How Metro League football teams fared in the 1990s

W-L O'Dea 93-9 Eastside Catholic 62-27 Rainier Beach 55-31 Seattle Prep 51-33 Blanchet 50-31 Lakeside 39-45 Chief Sealth 26-55 Ballard 24-57 Cleveland 24-57 West Seattle 19-61 Ingraham 17-63 Nathan Hale 16-65

CLASS 4A Franklin 57-32 Roosevelt 35-46 Garfield 34-43