Bethel senior Happy Iona, a 6-foot-3 and 285-pound defensive tackle, gave a verbal committment on Wednesday evening to play at Oregon State University.

Bethel head coach Gavin Kralik said the Beavers are getting an excellent player.

“He’s extremely athletic for being 285 pounds,” Kralik said. “He runs very, very well. He’s very good at being a run stuffer and a pass rusher.”

Iona enters his senior season as a two-year starter — he played defensive end and outside linebacker as a sophomore and defensive tackle as a junior — but he missed half of last season because of disciplinary issues. Kralik said he has “worked hard to get ready for this season” in the classroom and the weight room.

Iona, who chose OSU over UW, WSU and Idaho, isn’t the only Brave to be offered a scholarship by a Division-I program. Running back Anthony Meray, the SPSL’s leading returning rusher, has been offered by Air Force and Kralik expects more opportunities for Meray as the season unfolds.

Here they are, The News Tribune's 21st Annual All-Sports Championship tabulations.

The winners are:
Class 4A: Mead
Class 3A: Seattle Prep
Class 2A: Burlington-Edison
Class 1A: King's
Class 2B: Colfax
Class 1B: Almira/Coulee-Hartline

To see the complete standings, click below.

=> Read more!

South Sound athletes played big roles in the all-state football games on Saturday.

In the 4A/3A game in Everett, Curtis' Stan Langlow delivered a victory-clinched hit to secure a 13-12 win for the East.

At the 2A/1A/B game in Yakima, Steilacoom's Greg Herd helped the West to a 31-13 victory over the East. Herd rushed for 70 yards, threw for 134 and ran and passed a touchdown.

Only 51 days until the start of fall practice...

This might signify that Facebook has jumped the shark, but The News Tribune's Preps Blog now has its very own corner of the social media giant's site.

You can find the TNT Prep Sports group right here.

Most of the information that we will post on the Facebook page will be the same as what you will find here. Some will be different. My hope is that the Facebook platform encourages more discussion and reader interaction than this blog.

Give it a look and try it out. It's free!

In this tough economic climate, school districts are looking everywhere to save money. In Florida, that includes reducing the number of regular season games.

On Monday, the Florida High School Athletic Association took the drastic measure of shortening the regular seasons of all sports except football. The FHSAA -- Florida's version of the WIAA -- voted to cut varsity seasons by 20 percent and sub-varsity seasons by 40 percent through the 2010-11 school year.

Here's an excerpt from an Associated Press story on the matter:

The rule change was designed to cut costs for Florida high school athletic departments, which are facing tough budget constraints.

"These are unprecedented times," board president Greg Zornes said. "People are losing their jobs as schools are cutting millions and millions of dollars from their budgets. Our job is to look out for all the schools."

At the WIAA Rep Assembly on Friday, executive director Mike Colbrese spent a considerable amount of time exploring cost-saving measures with the principals, athletic directors and coaches in attendance at the Spirit of Washington Events Center in Renton. Trimming games from the schedule was one option. But Colbrese made the point that while cutting games does reduce costs, it also eliminates opportunities for schools to make money through ticket and concession sales.

Let's be honest, at the vast majority of schools, football games bring in the most money. That's why Florida isn't cutting any football games. But that's not an excuse to slice and dice the schedules of non-revenue sports or JV and C-teams.

Under an experimental rule, some schools in districts 4 and 9 have been allowed to play more than one JV basketball game in a day in the last two seasons. This reduces travel costs for schools, saving them money. It's no coincidence that the Rep Assembly passed an amendment on Friday that would allow all schools to do this.

School districts are taking serious looks at their budgets and deeming what is expendable. I won't be surprised to see some schools forgo traditional rivalries and join or create leagues that will reduce travel expenses.

If expenses must be trimmed, what cost-cutting measures do you want to see implemented first?

Click below to read the complete story on Florida high schools trimming their schedules:

=> Read more!

After eight seasons at the helm of the Auburn Riverside boys basketball program, Tom Adams has announced his resignation.

Adams, who told coaches and players of his decision on Monday, led the Ravens to an 11-12 record in the 2008-09 season and a berth in the West Central District tournament.

"Coach Adams has not just been an outstanding leader within our basketball program, but he's been a real leader in our athletics department, more than once taking an opportunity to mentor other coaches," athletic director Doug Aubert said.

The job is open immediately. Contact Aubert at (253) 804-5159 for information regarding the position.

By my count, the following South Sound boys basketball head coaching positions are open:

Gig Harbor
Graham-Kapowsin
Jefferson
Auburn Riverside

Bishop Blanchet hires Bellarmine Prep assistant

Aaron Maul, a former assistant head coach at Bellarmine Prep, has been hired as the head football coach at Bishop Blanchet. Maul had been with the Lions for 12 seasons, serving as the defensive coordinator for the last six.

Here's my story on today's WIAA Rep Assembly and a list of the amendments and if they passed or failed:

BY DOUG PACEY
The News Tribune

Tick-tock, tick-tock, boys basketball has a shot clock.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Rep Assembly overwhelmingly approved an amended to implement a 35-second shot clock, passing the measure 42-11 on Friday at the Spirit of Washington Events Center in Renton.

Sumner athletic director Tim Thomsen, a voting member of the Rep Assembly and the basketball commission for the SPSL 3A, said coaches from that league were unanimous in their support of a shot clock.

“Our coaches see it as being beneficial to the game,” Thomsen said. “A shot clock is used at the (collegiate) level and this will help prepare those players who are going on. And we already have a shot clock for girls basketball.”

Washington becomes the seventh state to use a shot clock in boys basketball.

The Rep Assembly decided on the 35-second shot clock, instead of 30- and 45-second time limits, because that is what is used at the collegiate level.

Mike Colbrese, executive director of the WIAA, said the shot clock amendment had gained momentum in recent weeks.

“It wasn’t up until a few weeks or so ago that I thought it had a chance,” he said.

The Rep Assembly also took steps to keep football games from getting out of hand. A running clock will be used in all regular season and playoff games with margins of 45 points or more after halftime. A similar amendment for basketball games failed.

An amendment to make girls lacrosse a varsity sport was voted down, 41-11 with one abstention.

Two reclassification amendments – one that would combine the 1B and 2B classifications into a singular Class B and another that would create a private school classification – did not even make it to a vote.

Former Peninsula athletic director Karst Brandsma was given the Gareth Giles Award. Brandsma, who now serves as interim superintendent of Everett Public Schools, also helped oversee the 1A and 2A basketball tournaments at the Tacoma Dome and Star Track at Lincoln Bowl.

No decisions were made regarding the format of the basketball state tournament. The WIAA Executive Board will meet in July to review the formats and draw criteria of the state tournaments in all sports.

Colbrese said the board will look at all options to help schools save on travel costs, limit the time students are out of the classroom and increase the interest in the postseason. The WIAA will also try to solve the “riddle” of the Class 3A basketball state tournament, he said.

The event was the WIAA’s top revenue producer when it was played in the Kingdome. But since relocating to the Tacoma Dome, then KeyArena and Hec Edmundsen Pavilion in Seattle, and finally back to Tacoma, attendance and revenue have dwindled.

Attendance at the 1B and 2B hoops tournaments is lagging, too. Before it was split into two classifications, 28,000 spectators attended the Class B state tournament in Spokane. The same number of fans combined to pass through the turnstiles at the 1B and 2B tournaments this year.

The WIAA relies heavily on the revenue from the basketball state tournaments to support its other activities.

“Basketball is our sacred cow,” Colbrese said. “Is the cow getting a little skinnier? It is getting skinnier.”

Colbrese said no specific changes to the basketball, or any sport’s, state tournament have been discussed. A variety of options will be explored in July. Among the possible considerations are adjusting the draw criteria for state events, reducing the number of qualifiers and changing the location of venues. Colbrese noted that Washington is the only state to have a 16-team, double-elimination basketball state tournament.

“Every once in a while,” he said, “it’s good to take a look at yourself.”

Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271
doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com
blogs.thenewstribune.com/preps

To see what amendments passed, click below:

=> Read more!

The Bellevue football team, winners of six of the last eight 3A state titles, continues to look beyond Washington's borders for competition.

Two weeks ago, it was announced that the Wolverines would travel to Texas to face two-time defending 5A state champion Katy High School on Sept. 12.

Now, the Wolverines are trying to line up games against Hoover (Ala.) High School and Jenks (Okla.) High School for the 2010 and 2011 CBA Football Classic. Hoover -- you might recognize the name from the MTV reality series Two-a-Days -- would travel to Washington in 2010.

Bellevue will meet Sacramento Grant High School in the 2009 CBA Football Classic on Sept. 19 at Seattle's Memorial Stadium.

Bellevue is no stranger to facing out-of-state elite teams. The Wolverines exploded onto the national football scene in 2004 when they ended Concord (Calif.) De La Salle's record 151-game winning streak at Qwest Field. Bellevue followed that game with a win over highly-regarded Long Beach Poly in 2005.

Here are the rosters for the 3A/4A Washington State Football Coaches Association All-State game. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. June 27 at Everett'S Memorial Stadium.

EAST

QB/DB Josh Loera, Moses Lake
DB/WR Stan Langlow, Curtis
LB/RB Brandon James, Peninsula
WR/DB Clayton Homme, Southridge
LB/RB Dakoda Winsor, Hanford
QB Kevin Stringer, North Kitsap
WR/DB Justin Veltung, Puyallup
QB/DB Luke Schindele, Bellarmine Prep
QB Blake Bledsoe, Central Valley
R/DB Vaugh Kapiko, Lewis & Clark
WR/DB Aaron Roberts, Ferris
RB/DB Nick Bellomy, East Valley
DB/WR Rob Caballero, Columbia River
DB/RB Ronald Baines, Mount Tahoma
WR/DB Ashton Clark, Heritage
DB/WR Tanner Davis, Gig Harbor
LB/RB Howard McDonald, Central Kitsap
RB/DB Drew Parsons, Olympia
LB/TE Sean Barber, Puyallup
DL/OL Jeremy Girod, Fort Vancouver
OL/DL Steve Forgette, Heritage
OL/DL Briggs Helton, Wenatchee
LB Connor Elder, Enumclaw
DL/OL Ashton Miller, Evergreen (Vancouver)
OL/LB Nate Guthrie, East Valley
DL/OL Tuiasosopo Niusulu, Lakes
OL/DL Ryan Craig, Hanford
C/DL Bobby Nix, Bonney Lake
DL/OL Damien Anderson, Timberline
OL/DL Grant Cisneros, Sumner
WR/DB Guy Varsek, Camas
DE/TE Chris Mastin, Lewis & Clark
OL/DE Elliott Bosch, Ferris

Head coach: Greg Kittrell, Moses Lake. Assistants: Scott Devereaux, Wenatchee; Todd Griffith, Moses Lakes; Mike Hymes, Moses Lake; Jim Sharkey, Ferris.

WEST

RB/DB Taylor Cox, Jackson
QB/DB Jacob Allie, Lindbergh
DB/WR Kurt Stottlemyer, Bothell
WR/DB Jake Frauenholtz, Everett
RB/DB Jeff Gouveia, Auburn
RB/LB Patrick Ottorbech, Bothell
RB/DB T.J. Lee, West Seattle
DB/WR Nasser Kyobe, Meadowdale
QB/DB Nick Baker, Lake Stevens
DE/RB Jaren Saga, Mariner
WR/DB Aaron Grymes, West Seattle
WR/DB Spencer Hannah, Ferndale
RB/DB David Andre, Everett
DB/WR Marion Bactol, Eastside Catholic
LB/RB Ryan Sterley, Marysville-Pilchuck
LB/RB Sean Snead, Mount Si
OL/DL Olo'ofa Ta'a, Rainier Beach
LB/RB Paul Ena, Inglemoor
RB/DB Peter Nyguyen, Bellevue
LB/TE A.J. Carroll, Meadowdale
LB/OL Orin Paul, Ferndale
OL/LB Andru Pulu, Federal Way
OL/DE Zack Nielsen, Lindbergh
DL/OL Jerod Baker, Arlington
OL/LB Michael Stone, Marysville-Pilchuck
C/DL Drew Norris, Bellevue
OL/DL Hunter Blackmore, Kentwood
OL/DL Courtney Sanders, Hazen
OL/DL Quentin Hooks, West Seattle
C/DL Dillon Reagan, Issaquah
TE/LB Alex Hiebert, Mount Si
OL/DL Grant Engel, Skyline
TE/DE Sean Stuby, Issaquah

Head coach: John Ondriezek, Mariner. Assistants: Dick Abrams, Stanwood; Don Harney, Mariner; John Meagher, Federal Way; Tom Myhre, Mariner.

I just heard from Lincoln athletic director Char Davenport that Mike Merrill will be the Abes football coach in the fall.

Merrill has a lengthy resume, with head coaching stints at Mount Rainer (three seasons), Lake Washington (one season), Auburn Riverside (five seasons). Recently, Merrill has been an assistant coach and teacher at Clover Park. He also has been an assistant at South Kitsap.

In 2006, Merrill led Lake Washington to the round-of-32 postseason. When he was at Mount Rainier, he took the Rames to the playoffs in 2003, 2004 and 2005. He has twice been named a league's coach of the year. First in 1997 when he was the SPSL Coach of the Year when he was at Auburn Riverside and again in 2003 when he was the Seamount Coach of the Year.

Davenport said Merrill will teach at Lincoln.

It's not official, but the Narrows League will most likely become a multi-classification league with 4A and 3A schools.

Narrows League athletic directors, principals and superintendents attended a meeting Thursday night at Bellarmine Prep to discuss possible changes to the league beginning with the 2010-11 school year.

Here's my story in today's paper.

Among the possible modifications discussed was becoming a multi-classification league and the addition of schools. Representatives from the Bethel, Clover Park, Franklin Pierce, North Thurston, North Kitsap and Yelm school districts were in attendance. I was told that other members of the South Puget Sound League and Olympic League were invited, but could not get an exact count on what schools were represented. In all, 48 athletic directors, principals and superintendents attended the meeting.

There were no discussions regarding what schools would seek admission to the Narrows League or how many schools would be allowed to join. South Kitsap athletic director Ed Santos, head of the Narrows League realignment committee, said the meeting was called so schools can prepare for the upcoming reclassification in December. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Associations reclassifies schools every two years based on their enrollment of students in grades 10-12.

“The purpose of this meeting was to have an open and frank dialogue about what the Narrows League might possibly look like after the next enrollment cycle,” Santos said.

Tacoma School District superintendent Art Jarvis was in favor of the Narrows League going multi-classification. Currently, Wilson, Lincoln, Gig Harbor and Bellarmine Prep all "opt up" to 4A. But more school are expected to be 3A in the next enrollment cycle. If the league does not go multi-classification, Jarvis said it is possible that the Tacoma schools would leave the league.

“If the Narrows League decided they wanted to be 4A, we could very gracefully do something different in Tacoma,” he said. “What that would look like, who knows?”

Santos acknowledged that there is a "high probability" that the Narrows League will be a multi-classification league.

So, what should the Narrows League look like in 2010?

Here's a list of where the the state's high school football players have signed letters of intent.

Anacortes: Ryan Taylor, Central Washington

Archbishop Murphy: J.D. Melton, Central Washington; J.J. Quinlan, Central Washington

Arlington: Jerod Baker, Central Washington

Auburn Riverside: Jake Pele, Idaho St.

Bellarmine Prep: Lucas Schindele, Central Washington; Jeff King, Central Washington

Bellevue: Jamal Atofau, Washington St.; Cam Warren, Montana; Leonard Wolfork, Central Washington; Peter Nguyen, Montana; Sean Connors, Montana; Tommy Castle, Tufts

Bellingham: John Asplund, Eastern Washington; Jeremy Rick, Dartmouth

Bothell: Taylor Cox, Eastern Washington

Burlington-Edison: Stetson Shearer, Central Washington

Capital: Riley Wall, Central Washington; Donnie Johnson, Central Washington

Castle Rock: Zack Gehring, Eastern Washington

Charles Wright: Ishmael Stinson, Central Washington

Eastlake: Turner Lee, Central Washington

Eatonville: Cameron Homan, Eastern Washington

Edmonds-Woodway: Tony Heard, Central Washington

Eisenhower: Jordan Gaut, Central Washington; Taylor Elmo, Idaho

Vancouver Evergeen: Kyrell Hudson, Oregon St.; James Monk, Eastern Washington; Ashton Miller, Eastern Washington

Federal Way: Andre Barrington, Washington St.; Andru Pulu, Washington

Ferndale: Casey Locker, Washington St.; Jordan Crim, Central Washington

Ferris: Aaron Roberts, Montana

Foss: Allen Brown, Eastern Washington

Garfield: Deandre Coleman, California

Gonzaga Prep: Travis Long, Washington St.

Hanford: Kyle Wagar, Central Washington

Hazen: Courtney Sanders, Central Washington

Heritage: Ashton Clark, Eastern Washington; Steven Forgette, Eastern Washington

Hoquiam: Justin Taylor, Central Washington

Inglemoor: Paul Ena, Eastern Washington

Issaquah: Scott Stuby, Central Washington

Jackson: Taylor Cox, Eastern Washington

Kent-Meridian: Artise Gauldin Jr., Eastern Washington; Isaiah Walker, Idaho St.

Kennedy: Nolan Washington, Washington St.; D’Mario Carter, Central Washington

Kentwood: Hunter Blackmore, Penn

Lakes: Tuiasosopo Niusulu, Idaho St.; John Taufa, Central Washington; Anthony Wright, Central Washington.
Lewis and Clark: Chris Mastin, Washington St.; Vaughn Kapiko, Central Washington

Life Christian: Morgan Cox, Evangel University

Lynden: David Gaylord, Eastern Washington; Taylor Creighton, University of British Columbia

Lynnwood: Geoff Meinken, Stanford

Meadowdale: A.J. Carroll, Central Washington

Moses Lake: Billy Brice, Central Washington

Mount Rainier: Oscar Eason, Central Washington

Mount Si: Mike Nelson, Central Washington; Tyson Riley, Central Washington

Mount Tahoma: Ron Baines, Eastern Washington; Sylvester Harris, Central Washington

Mountlake Terrace: Billy Lechtenberg, Eastern Washington

North Kitsap: Evan TIdball, Central Washington

O’Dea: Grant Enger, Oregon St.; Allen Mooney, Boise St.; Chandler Gayton, Eastern Washington

Oak Harbor: Rodrick Rumble, Idaho State

Olympia: Kevin Rowe, Central Washington

Orcas Island: Kyle Hoffman, Montana

Othello: Jakob Scott, Eastern Washington

Prosser: Kirby Moore, Boise St.; Jordan Durbin, Central Washington

Puyallup: Justin Veltung, Idaho

R.A. Long: Scott Shelton, Central Washington

River Ridge: Dontavious Fleming, Central Washington

Rogers: Tyler VanSligtenhorst, Illinois St.

Royal: Blair Collins, Central Washington

Shadle Park: Bo Schuetzle, Eastern Washington

Southridge: Devin Jones, Central Washington; Clayton Homme, Idaho; Taylor Powell, Harding (Ark.)

Skyline: Gino Simone, Washington St.; Rob Tramonte, Idaho State

Steilacoom: Greg Herd, Eastern Washington

Timberline: Ronnie Hamlin, Eastern Washington; Josh Taylor, Central Washington

West Seattle: T.J. Lee, Eastern Washington; Aaron Grymes, Idaho

Walla Walla: Spencer Hessler, Eastern Washington

Washington: James Lautogia, Eastern Washington

Wilson: Desmond Trufant, Washington

If we've missed one you know about, send me an e-mail at doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com