We also had backups who were really good, we were able to run guys in and out and keep guys fresh. Nicholson: I had an unbelievable defensive line, offensive lines could barely block those guys, let alone Jerry. The coaches were all about that, we liked being the hammer instead of the nail.Ībrams: Jerry Jensen is one of the best there’s even been in the state at playing middle linebacker. McGowan: (On defense) for the most part everybody liked to deliver hits. Gilday: I think we passed maybe 50 times in 13 games. I can’t remember which coach it was, but he told me, “You can hit people on offense, too.”
Jensen: I was really a defensive-minded guy, and as a sophomore I didn’t get the opportunity to play offense, so I was just really focused on playing defense and being the best linebacker I could be. Sean McGowan (All-Wesco guard/defensive end who attended Holy Cross, which became Archbishop Murphy): We handed out pancake blocks like your mama flips flapjacks on Sunday.īrodniak: There was an article that talked about Jerry (who initially didn’t want to play offense) turning the corner at fullback when he became more physical and almost took people on like a tackler. He could see every player’s blocking or route running or throwing assignment, and no matter how many time we ran a play it was rare that Terry or one of the other coaches didn’t say, “Hey, you need to take a different angle at that, or you have to get off that block quicker.” Practices were intense, there were very high expectations on everybody to do everything right.
Jordy LePiane (All-state tackle/defensive tackle): Terry had a clear vision for how he wanted every play to look. Our line dominated almost every play of the game. Gilday: It began and ended with how great our line was. Jensen: Coach Ennis was amazing at teaching (the Wing-T). The Bruins responded by rolling through Wesco, including an impressive 33-0 victory over heavyweight Snohomish as they used the Wing-T offense to outscore their opponents 261-20 in seven league contests. And we didn’t really have superstars on the team, just a group of hard workers who put in a lot of offseason training and preparation.Ĭascade suffered an early setback with a 16-6 non-league loss to defending AA state champion Tumwater. We’d been under coach Ennis’ system since we were freshmen, so the senior class was very familiar with what Cascade football was becoming at that point. Travis Cruse (All-Wesco tackle/defensive lineman): As a team we had known each other and played together for quite a while, all the way back to middle school. He became our tailback and cornerback, and he gave us speed we didn’t have the previous year.ĭan Gilday (All-Wesco safety/receiver): We were the first generation of only being under coach Ennis, as he took the job when we were freshmen, so we didn’t know anything different. Kirk Nicholson (defensive line coach and special teams coordinator): We had a good team coming back, and we had a move-in that made us really good, a guy by the name of Ty Curley who was at Juanita the year before. Then Jerry was such a great fit at fullback. We just had a really good line that played both ways and played Terry Ennis physical, pound-people football. Roger Brodniak (starting cornerback until injured mid-season): It was an amazing group of seniors and (junior) Jerry Jensen.