Latest / Whatcom Preps Podcast / Whatcom Preps Podcast Episode 434 - 2026 Squalicum Storm Football Preview

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Whatcom Preps Podcast Episode 434 - 2026 Squalicum Storm Football Preview · Whatcom Preps Podcast

• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Greetings and welcome into the Whatcom Preps podcast. This is
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: episode 434. It's the 2026 Squalicum football preview and I
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: am Tyler Anderson of Whatcom Preps. The Squalicum football season
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: preview is brought to you by the Bellingham Youth Football Club.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: So many great players have come through that program. and
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: have played for multiple varsity football teams over the years.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: And if you have a little one that is ready
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: to start playing football at the youth level, go to BellinghamYouthFootball.com
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: today and get signed up. Well, the Squalicum Storm just
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: were so close to making the postseason last year. It
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: was an interesting year for the Storm where there were just,
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: you know, Imagine a team that misses on the state
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: playoffs but defeated Anacortes. So it was a lot of
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: highs and lows for the Squalicum Storm last year. And
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: a lot of it hinged on that opening game of
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: the year with that 20-16 loss at Burlington Edison. And
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  Speaker 1: Burlington was the team that got that last spot. So,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: you know, going into this season, it's how can you
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: try to get that last spot or maybe a higher spot?
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  Speaker 1: So we'll talk about the Squalicum storm here and kind
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  Speaker 1: of see what they have to offer. Of course, the
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: head coach is Nick Lucy, who's in his 13th season
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: with Squalicum. 82 wins to just 38 losses. He is
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  Speaker 1: by far the winningest coach in program history. It's crazy, too,
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  Speaker 1: because when I started going out and doing these headshots
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  Speaker 1: and stuff, he was still very new at the time.
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  Speaker 1: And now he's the third longest tenured coach in Whatcom
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  Speaker 1: County behind Coach Lepp and Coach Planko. So that's pretty impressive.
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  Speaker 1: He's been doing it for a while and shows no
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  Speaker 1: signs of slowing down, which is great to see. Always
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  Speaker 1: love seeing his son running around during practice. You know that,
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  Speaker 1: you know, hopefully he'll stick around long enough to be
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  Speaker 1: able to coach him, and that'd be really cool. The
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  Speaker 1: home field, obviously, is Civic Stadium. Last year they went 6-4,
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  Speaker 1: like I said, just missing out on the state playoffs.
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  Speaker 1: Key losses from last year. There's a lot of big
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  Speaker 1: names here. Anson Oz Bjornsson, Joseph Boyd, Zach Watt, Cole Burke,
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  Speaker 1: Avery Wiener, Khalil Binta, Reese Knowlton, Bryson Vereen. So these
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  Speaker 1: are some big time players that they'll be without this
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  Speaker 1: upcoming season. But we'll talk about the top players returning
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  Speaker 1: here in just a little bit. Let's go over the
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  Speaker 1: games they played last year. Started off the season with
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  Speaker 1: that heartbreaking loss to Burlington Edison, 20-16. Turned around and
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  Speaker 1: beat Marysville Pilchuck, 67-0. Lost to Archbishop Murphy, 47-0. So
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  Speaker 1: you got a close game, a huge win, a huge loss.
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  Speaker 1: So they've kind of seen it all in their first
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  Speaker 1: three games. And then they back it up with a
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  Speaker 1: 54-7 win over Lakewood. And then the upset of the
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  Speaker 1: year in Whatcom County the next week where the Squalicum
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  Speaker 1: defeated Anacortes 24-21. Linden beat Squalicum the next week 27-17.
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  Speaker 1: Then Squalicum went to a non-league game by beating Port
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  Speaker 1: Angeles 49-28. Then they were defeated by Sehome 42-22. Then
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  Speaker 1: they beat Bellingham 44-0. But it wasn't good enough to
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  Speaker 1: get into the state playoffs, and they played a crossover
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  Speaker 1: game in Week 10 just to get that Week 10
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  Speaker 1: game in. where they beat 3A Edmonds-Woodway 14-12. So you
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  Speaker 1: look at this year's schedule, at least the nine-game schedule
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  Speaker 1: at the moment, and a lot of big games right
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  Speaker 1: out the bat. So you got week one, they're going
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  Speaker 1: to be playing Sehome at Civic Stadium. That's kind of
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  Speaker 1: the Whatcom County game of the week, I feel. It's
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  Speaker 1: the only game in week one where two Whatcom County
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  Speaker 1: teams are playing each other. Week two is the rematch
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  Speaker 1: with Anacortes. Uh, that will be at civic stadium. They
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  Speaker 1: will stay at home in week three when they take
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  Speaker 1: on Burlington Edison week four, they travel, they will stay
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  Speaker 1: on the turf as they travel to Sid Lambert field
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  Speaker 1: and take on Nooksack Valley at 7 PM on the 25th.
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  Speaker 1: That's week four. I love that game. Um, I'm trying
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  Speaker 1: to picture my head, but I don't think these two teams,
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  Speaker 1: both Whatcom County teams have ever played each other before.
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  Speaker 1: So that's kind of a cool thing. Um, I love
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  Speaker 1: when they cross over like that. I know I talk
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  Speaker 1: about it all the time, but Squalicum only gets one
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  Speaker 1: non-league game, so for them to keep it in the
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  Speaker 1: county is really cool. Next week, they'll be on the
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  Speaker 1: road against the defending state champion Wildcats at Archbishop Murphy.
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  Speaker 1: Week six, they will be on the road again at Sultan,
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  Speaker 1: and then they'll stay in Whatcom County for the rest
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  Speaker 1: of their schedule, where they'll host Lakewood, host Linden, and
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  Speaker 1: then there will be technically at Bellingham in the second
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  Speaker 1: game of the doubleheader at Civic Stadium to close out
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  Speaker 1: the season on the 30th. So it's going to be
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  Speaker 1: an interesting schedule. Again, I love the non-league game. Sultan
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  Speaker 1: added to the schedule, added to the conference. Marysville Pilchuck
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  Speaker 1: not in the conference anymore. So a few changes there.
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  Speaker 1: But for the most part, a lot of familiar opponents.
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  Speaker 1: Let's take a look at kind of who the returning
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  Speaker 1: players are will go position by position. And right off
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  Speaker 1: the bat, when you start off at quarterback, you got
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  Speaker 1: two players there competing. And I've been talking, it seems
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  Speaker 1: like I've been talking about this a lot with other teams,
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  Speaker 1: only three returning starting quarterbacks this year. So there's a
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  Speaker 1: lot of competition at quarterback going in. So you have
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  Speaker 1: the senior Phoenix price. Who's been the backup for a while.
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  Speaker 1: Typical pocket passer, you know, knows the position inside and out.
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  Speaker 1: And then you have Asher Osby Ornson, who's a junior
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  Speaker 1: played running back last season, and he's more of a
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  Speaker 1: running threat. So you kind of got, you know, two
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  Speaker 1: kids in two different classes that present two different skill types.
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  Speaker 1: And it's, you know, it might be one of those
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  Speaker 1: things where we'll just depends on the opponent or we'll
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: have to see, um, But it's nice to have options,
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  Speaker 1: and we'll kind of see what happens there. I wouldn't
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  Speaker 1: be surprised, whoever is the starter, I wouldn't be surprised
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  Speaker 1: that the other one, you know, isn't playing on the
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: field at times because you want your best 11 on
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  Speaker 1: the field. So look for that as well. At the
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  Speaker 1: running back spot, you know, Maddox Strickland really– did some
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  Speaker 1: good things last year before the injury, uh, ran for
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  Speaker 1: 179 yards, averaging 10 and a half yards of carry.
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  Speaker 1: So he was, he was a, you know, a home
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  Speaker 1: run threat. Every time he touched the ball, I did
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  Speaker 1: score a couple of touchdowns. Um, I do want to
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  Speaker 1: mention that Asher Osby Ornson last year carried the ball
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  Speaker 1: for 508 yards and eight touchdowns averaging five and a
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  Speaker 1: half yards of carry. He also caught 19 passes for
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  Speaker 1: 253 yards and three touchdowns. So, uh, He brings back
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  Speaker 1: the most carries and the most catches from last season,
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: although he might not be doing carrying or catching. He
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: might be doing throwing. So it's kind of a unique
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  Speaker 1: circumstance there. But Maddox Strickland did put up good numbers
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  Speaker 1: last year before the injury halfway through the season. Brock Scammell,
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  Speaker 1: look for him to maybe play some running back. He's
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  Speaker 1: been a tight end in the past. Last year, five
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  Speaker 1: catches for 22 yards. It might turn into more of
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  Speaker 1: him getting carries. He's kind of got more of a
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: running back build than a tight end build anyway, so
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  Speaker 1: it could work to his skill set more. Tucker Hofstede,
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  Speaker 1: just a sophomore, but I've heard a lot of good
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  Speaker 1: things about him. He did get a couple of varsity
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  Speaker 1: carries last year. Look for him to kind of get
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  Speaker 1: a few more this year. Hunter Calloway, a name that
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  Speaker 1: we know pretty well. from other sports, basketball and golf.
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  Speaker 1: He was thrown right into the mix as a freshman
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  Speaker 1: and to start on defense, did a great job. In
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  Speaker 1: his sophomore year, he was one of the best corners
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  Speaker 1: in Whatcom County. Last year, did not play football, had
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: an ankle injury and had to sit out the whole
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  Speaker 1: year and missed a chunk of the basketball season as well.
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  Speaker 1: But now as a senior, him coming back, that's going
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  Speaker 1: to be great. Look for him to be maybe get
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  Speaker 1: some carries, maybe be split out wide. Finding a way
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  Speaker 1: to get him the ball would be a huge benefit
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  Speaker 1: for them. And Alex Sabata is another kid that you
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  Speaker 1: could see kind of in that mold as well. So
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  Speaker 1: a lot of different guys that could be carrying the
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  Speaker 1: ball there. Split out wide. Look for Elias Laranaga. I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to say his name right one of these days.
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  Speaker 1: Elias Laranaga. A really athletic kid. We saw him kick
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: last year. Really, really good kicker. But watching him out
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  Speaker 1: at practice, it's definitely evident that he can do other
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  Speaker 1: things as well with the football. Jacob Trumper has played
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  Speaker 1: quite a bit. He scored a touchdown last year. And then,
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  Speaker 1: you know, like I said, Hunter Callaway, you could see
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  Speaker 1: him split out wide as well. At tight end, Ray Hoffman,
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  Speaker 1: who had a catch last year. Look for him to
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  Speaker 1: play some tight end. He's grown quite a bit. He's
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: about 6'4, 200 pounds, looks the part of a really
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  Speaker 1: good high school tight end. So that could really, really help,
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  Speaker 1: especially in the run game. So that's you know, that's
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  Speaker 1: a big time benefit to have. On the offensive line,
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  Speaker 1: you got a handful of returning players. I really like
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  Speaker 1: River Thompson, Talek McNutt, AJ Bursala. Those three guys have
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  Speaker 1: probably the most experience on the offensive line. And then
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  Speaker 1: it's kind of who's going to fill in the other spots,
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  Speaker 1: whether it's going to be Kai Den Hartog, Elijah Peterson, Finn,
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  Speaker 1: Colby Giles. Colby Giles was a tight end last year
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  Speaker 1: to had a couple of catches, but he could be
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: moved to the offensive line now, really athletic kid. So
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  Speaker 1: basketball player, I believe. So there's, there's options there. We'll
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: just have to wait and see, of course, when you
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  Speaker 1: got the offensive line coaches that they have, I mean, man,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, Stephen Ayers is, you know, what a blessing
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  Speaker 1: to have him. Yeah. There's, There are some guys there
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  Speaker 1: that know the offensive line pretty well, so that's a
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  Speaker 1: huge benefit for the Storm to have. On the defensive line,
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  Speaker 1: defensive front, it's going to be the traditional Squalicum Storm
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  Speaker 1: defense that you're used to, three down linemen, four linebackers.
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  Speaker 1: They like to rotate quite a bit of defensive line guys,
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  Speaker 1: so you can expect to see all those offensive linemen
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  Speaker 1: named that I just did. to be part of the
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  Speaker 1: defensive line, but maybe some other guys too. Eli Chavez
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  Speaker 1: could definitely get in the mix. I could see him
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: starting down there. Tucker Hofstet, Carlos Solis Cruz. So there's
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  Speaker 1: lots of guys that could also get in that rotation,
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  Speaker 1: keep the offensive linemen fresh for when they have the ball.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: That's going to be a big deal for them. The
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: Squalicum Storm linebackers has always been You know, a tremendous group,
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  Speaker 1: a great position group for as long as I can remember.
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  Speaker 1: They always have two great on the inside, two great
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  Speaker 1: on the outside. And I don't see it being much
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  Speaker 1: different this year. On the inside, Brock Scammell leads that group.
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  Speaker 1: Brock Scammell returns with 55.5 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks.
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  Speaker 1: And next to him looks like Noah Gilbert is kind
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: of holding on to that right now. So he might be,
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: you know, that next great inside linebacker in line that
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: Squalicum have had many of. On the outside, Asher Oz
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  Speaker 1: Bjornsson as an outside linebacker, huge playmaker last year on
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: defense as well. 54 tackles, eight tackles for loss, a sack,
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: two interceptions, two passes broken up, a forced fumble, a
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: fumble recovery. So he kind of did a little bit
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: of everything. And he just has that kind of playmaking
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: ability that you want on the edge of On the
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: other side, Maddox Strickland, again, was putting up big numbers
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  Speaker 1: before the injury. Finished the year with 11.5 tackles, two
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: tackles for loss, and a sack. He's really gotten more physical,
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: gotten thicker. He still has that speed. So look for
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  Speaker 1: him to have a big year on the outside as well.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: And I could see Phoenix Price getting in there, too,
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: on the rotation as an outside linebacker. defensive backs. I mean,
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: Hunter Calloway returning is huge for them. He was such
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: a great corner for so long. Nobody that is suiting
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: up in a varsity uniform in Whatcom County has more
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: passes broken up in their career this year than Hunter Calloway.
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  Speaker 1: So he's just a kid that knows how to play
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: the corner spot. He's kind of, and, and, you know,
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: Squalicum's had those guys where they have a really tall
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: corner on one side to just, and to say, Hey,
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: you just take away this, this, this player. And they'll
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: do it. I mean, Kai Posey is another great example.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: There's been guys like that where you have like a
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: 6-3 corner and you just rely on them to take
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: out one side of the field. And Hunter Callaway has
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: that ability to be that guy. Alex Zibata could do
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: quite a bit. He had seven and a half tackles
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  Speaker 1: last year, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble. You
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  Speaker 1: might see him on the other corner. Mason Sone as
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: a safety guy. 11 and a half tackles, two passes
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: broken up. Ray Hoffman has another safety. He also had
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: four tackles and a pass broken up last year. Imagine
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: a 6'4, 200-pound safety. So he'll probably be playing in
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  Speaker 1: the box a little bit every once in a while
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: and helping that run game. He kind of shows that
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: he would have the ability to do that. Kicking-wise, like
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: I said earlier, Elias Laranaga returns, and last year, He
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: had 38 extra points kicked and five field goals. So
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: obviously no problem going for field goals. They got all
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: the trust in the world that he could do that.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: And he's very, very good at it. And I believe
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: he's just going into his junior year. So he definitely
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: has that ability. Maddox Strickland has also kicked in the past.
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  Speaker 1: He led Whatcom County last year in goals scored in
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: the spring in boys soccer. So you know he has
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: that ability as well. look for either of them to
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: probably punt too. And what's nice about that is you
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: get a couple of guys that are threats back there. Um,
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: so you gotta be ready for that. They can take
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: off and run with it in the return game. It's
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: probably a lot of the same guys, you know, you
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: could see Strickland back there. You see Hunter Calloway back there. Um,
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: maybe Laranaga, um, Alex Ibata, Mason Sone. So there's a
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: lot of different options they have to return kicks as well. So,
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: it's a really interesting group right now. It's a, it's,
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of very, very good juniors. And so
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: they got a lot of playing time last year as sophomores. And,
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: you know, boy, sometimes if I had to say, what's the, what,
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: when is the biggest improvement happen in a high school
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: football player? It might be sophomore to junior year. Freshman
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: to sophomore year, I think is when you see the
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: biggest size, you know, growth, in a player just physically,
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: but as far as like knowing the game of football
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: and just being a better football player, I really think
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: it's sophomore to junior year. They already had some really
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: good sophomores last year that played quite a bit. I
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: think this year, uh, the knowledge of the game is
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: going to be really good as well. And I, I
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: see them being one of the top five teams, um,
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: you know, in the Northwest conference to a division, you know, I,
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: I really do see that. Um, they're just so well
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: coached and they have some key players back and, and, um,
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: they're really opportunistic. I love the defense. I mean, coach
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: Chalfant does such a great job and it seems like
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: every single year they have like two or three pick sixes,
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: like every year, year in and year out. And that,
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: you know, that really shows me how opportunistic they are
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: and how they have just a nose for the ball and,
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: and they, and they can put pressure on the quarterback
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: without bringing the house and and then that can allow
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: for errant throws and they make plays. And that's just
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: kind of been the squalicum storm way. So really curious
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: to see how it's going to go really excited about it. Um,
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: and what's in also, like I said, what's fun is that,
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: that week one game against Seaholm. So, you know, those
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: two have been battling out for a while for like,
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: you know, who's the team of who's this, you know,
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: city's best team. And, um, and boy, it's going to be,
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: it's going to be, uh, right off the bat in
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: week one, Bellingham is going to have something to say
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: about it when they face those teams later. Uh, but
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: it's going to be a good head up right off
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: the bat in week one. And, and Squalicum has had
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: those week one games where that game mattered an incredible
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: amount in terms of post season. So that's nothing new
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: for them. Um, and we'll just see if they're going
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: to be ready to play. I bet they will be really,
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: really excited about that. So, um, so good luck to
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: the storm this year. And again, thank you to Bellingham
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: youth football for, for sponsoring this episode. This has been
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: episode 434, the 2026 Squalicum football preview. I am Tyler
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: Anderson of Wacom Preps. Stay tuned for a little later
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: tonight where you'll get to hear the Linden football preview,
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: which will drop in a few hours. So be ready
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: for that. I will talk to you then.