Perfect Start for Beavers

WOODLAND — The Woodland Beavers seem to keep one-upping themselves three weeks into the high school football season.

The offense makes a big play. The defense makes a bigger play. Oh, and then special teams says “Hey, what about us?”

It is all clicking for the Beavers.

Three games. Three wins. A bunch of points scored. No points scored against.

A new high school. A new football stadium. And, with the help of the community, a turf field at the new stadium.

A lot of changes are coming to Woodland. The new high school and stadium are schedule to open next fall.

The school is holding a fundraiser to help pay for an artificial turf at the stadium. Call it a brick drive, if you will. The bricks will be used in the walkway to the new stadium.

To see prices and to order, go to www.thatsmybrick.com/whswa. That will bring you to the WHS Faciliy Enhancement Project.

Freshman quarterback Wyatt Harsh threw a touchdown pass on his first high school attempt.

Sophomore linebacker Tristan Thomas, making his first career varsity start, returned an interception for a touchdown, in the first quarter.

Senior Eli Whitmire, meanwhile, has scored 11 touchdowns — seven on the ground, one reception, and three on special teams. Fellow senior Troy Flanagan has a defensive touchdown and has been one of the keys to the defense’s three shutouts.

It is as if the Beavers are playing football with the philosophy of anything you can do, I can do better.

But it only seems that way.

In fact, the Beavers will tell you they are off to such a fast start because they are playing for one another.

“It was crazy. The first quarter I had four touchdowns,” Whitmire said referring to last week’s win over Hudson’s Bay. “We were pretty much unstoppable every time we got the ball. Passing and running. We were mixing it up and going into the end zone. Our defense is part of it, too. I wouldn’t be scoring so many touchdowns if the defense doesn’t keep getting the ball back for us.”

“It’s pretty amazing. I don’t think anybody expected it this year,” Thomas said of such dominating performances.

Woodland graduated a talented group of seniors last school year. The Beavers also are moving up to Class 2A this school year. Yet, the team that went 9-2 last year has started 3-0 this year, with eight new starters on each side of the ball.

“We have a lot of talent and everybody is working as a team,” Thomas said. “Three shutouts. It shows.”

The competition will get tougher, coach Mark Greenleaf warns. True, the Beavers have not played any juggernauts. But shutting out teams is not easy.

“I’m really proud of our kids and how they have progressed through the first three weeks. This is a special group,” Greenleaf said. “A lot of these kids didn’t get the limelight last year, except for Mr. Whitmire. I couldn’t be more pleased with how our program is developing.”

It starts with the seniors, the coach said. They set the example.

“I want to be the role model and show how to do things right,” Flanagan said. “Off the field, too, we need to be teammates and have fun together.”

On the field, Flanagan said, each player is doing his assignment and nobody is trying to be the hero. One does not have to be a senior to lead, though. Harsh is in the rare position of playing quarterback — the ultimate leadership position on offense — while being a freshman. He said he has to be respectful of the older players.

“I don’t want to be that freshman who bosses everyone around,” he said.

Harsh said that first touchdown on his first pass of his career was an “adrenaline rush” and that words cannot describe what it means to be the starting quarterback as a freshman.

Thomas, meanwhile, said he was nervous the first few minutes of that first game. Until the ball was thrown his way.

“After that pick, all the jitters were gone,” Thomas said.

So, through three weeks, who’s got it better? Offense or defense?

Whitmire said offense is his favorite part of the game.

“The thrill of getting the ball and everybody’s chasing you,” he said. “It gets me pumped up to play defense.”

Harsh agreed that offense is his favorite. Of course, he does not play defense and also enjoys the benefit that the starting quarterback is not to be touched in practice.

Thomas said defense is “the best part of the game.”

Flanagan is a defense-first guy, too. “By far,” he said.

“Anywhere you go, offense is going to get most of the glory, unless you’re the Seattle Seahawks,” Flanagan said. “Our offense does deserve a lot of credit. Our defense deserves it fair share of credit, too.”

Together, the Beavers have something special going this season. They average 48 points per game. And no one has found a way to score off of them.

Top that.