RAINIER — For most high school football programs, it’s common knowledge the seniors who’ve grinded through their careers are rewarded by being named a team captain.
That used to be the case at Rainier High School.
Not anymore.
“I just wanted to change it up a little bit,” Mountaineers head coach Andy Bartell said. “A point of emphasis this offseason was to have more accountability. Why do you want to be in that role and what you brought to the table?”
Now in year eight at the helm in Rainier, it’s a new way for Bartell to identify the proper leaders for a program that turned its season around in the blink of an eye last fall. No longer were his captains handpicked by the roster, comparing it to a “popularity contest.”
He changed the process into a job interview. Literally.
An application followed by a sit down conversation with Bartell then eventually the decision. It put an entirely new pool of players into a bucket that previously didn’t exist.
“Knowing what a captain should do, it is about the team,” junior Kaynen Barger said. “Our team is a lot more high-energy.”
Barger, Elliott Drake, Keagin Howell plus freshmen Ryan O’Neal and Zander Bartell were named as the Mountaineers’ captains. They’ll now be front and center in their quest to return to the Class 2B state tournament for the second year in a row.
All it took for them to be amongst the final 16 teams was a four-game winning streak that included an eight-point triumph over Toutle Lake, a shutout win versus Mossyrock and a 52-38 thriller over Friday Harbor in a crossover.
Even though the 56-6 whimper at the hands of Newport in the Round of 16 ended the joyride, it almost never began after back-to-back heartbreakers against RSB and MWP.
“We just let them come to us,” senior Bryce Keller said. “We’ll be a lot more educated.”
Point of emphasis through the spring and summer? Start fast. And the Mountaineers have the horses up front to potentially do just that.
Barger, Keller, Blake Roberts and Lukas Sollars are back in the trenches for the position group coaches and players feel is the current strength. Six guys are listed at 6-feet or taller. Barger will be ready for the Week 1 kickoff against arch rival Tenino after having to miss the first four games last year due to transfer rules.
His primary goal of bringing the winning culture he experienced at Yelm two years ago to Rainier hasn’t budged one bit.
“Always pick (your teammates) up, no matter what,” Barger said. “I don’t want to start 0-4, I want to start 4-0. Having that mindset of not backing down.”
For the second straight season, it’ll be a freshman quarterback taking snaps. There isn’t a competition this time around.
O’Neal will take over as the starter after being a part of the Mountaineers middle school program that went 10-2 over seventh and eighth grade. He’s listed at 5-foot-6, one of the shortest players on the roster.
Still, there’s brimming confidence from Coach Bartell. In a non-padded practice, O’Neal was at his best on bootlegs and throwing on the run.
“It allows the misdirection and run game to be a little better,” Coach Bartell said. “Shrink the field down in half, a lot of quick throws so he doesn’t have the ball in his hand for so long. As he progresses, we’ll progress.”
The Mountaineers have given O’Neal all the respect needed to get him comfortable in the huddle.
“Ryan is pretty good,” Roberts said. “I have a lot of confidence in him.”
The skill positions will be filled by Xander Bartell at tailback along with junior Dominic Cano and senior Michael Gerrard. Howell will step into being a primary target after piling up nearly 400 yards of total offense last fall.
Keller, Barger and Roberts will anchor the defensive unit as will Jacob Hanson in the secondary. Rainier faced four teams that were seeded into the state brackets and allowed 144 points. It gave up under double digit points twice.
In Keller’s mind, it comes down to communication and assignment recognition.
“When you go out there, you want to keep believing in yourself,” he said. "You'll climb back up. As we’re practicing, (working on) new plays that can read the backfield better.”
Tenino isn’t the only 1A school on the Mountaineers schedule. They’ll take on another state qualifier in Rochester in Week 4 as well as 2B state tournament team PWV in Week 2. They currently do not have a Week 9 game.
And with just four C2BL East games this season, there’s no room for error. Especially for a team with aspirations to be in the final eight in 2B.
The goal for every new season is to beat the previous year by one game.
“We got 28 guys, but it is the right 28,” Coach Bartell said. “We feel like we should go toe-to-toe with Toledo and (Onalaska). Compete until the clock hits zero.”
