New-look Braves open spring grid workouts

They entered spring practices with plenty of question marks, given hefty graduation losses after successive playoff appearances.

But if the new-look La Conner High football team doesn’t yet have all the answers or isn’t ready to issue any exclamation points, the Braves have made a statement over the course of a half dozen workouts.

That being they have the talent to once again contend for a league title and post-season berth.

It’s game experience — or lack of it — among many prospects on a young roster that remains the unknown quantity for a La Conner club that must re-tool in the backfield and rebuild its offensive line.

And they’ll have to do a lot of that on the fly come August, with conference realignment having created a five-team loop with only two non-league dates available to each school.

“In the past,” Braves’ head coach Johnny Lee noted Monday, “we’ve opened with four non-league games, and that gave us time to figure some things out. We won’t have that luxury this year.”

La Conner will play traditional Northwest rivals Concrete, Darrington, Friday Harbor, and Orcas in a home-and-away format, with all games counting in league standings.

The Braves aren’t shying from stern tests on the non-conference side, either, having lined up dates with Bellingham High and Bellevue Christian, both larger enrollment schools.

La Conner fans will likely recognize the team’s offensive and defensive schemes but perhaps not all the players. At least not at first.

“We lost seven two-way starters to graduation,” lamented Lee, the 2013 All-NW/Sea-Tac 2B Coach of the Year after guiding La Conner to its second straight league championship.

“Because so many of our players don’t have a lot of game experience,” he added, “we probably won’t be changing much. We’ll stick with what we’ve been doing in order to help avoid confusion.”

Plus it’s hard to veer from what’s worked in the past.

Under Lee, the Braves have emerged as a bona fide State title contender, twice pushing traditional powerhouse Morton-White Pass to the limit and in 2012 were in the semifinal round at the Tacoma Dome.

So expect La Conner to again go with multiple looks on offense, everything from a short-yardage bulls set to the pass-oriented spread formation. Maybe even a little Wildcat, as well.

Defensively, the Braves expect to go with their base 4-4-3, which could morph into a 4-2-5, if rival teams line up in the spread.

It was on defense last season where the Braves nearly upset Morton-White Pass. The Timberwolves escaped with a narrow 26-21 playoff win, surviving a late 63-yard pass interception return for a touchdown by La Conner’s Cameron Sherman.

Sherman is among the many regulars graduated from La Conner’s 10-2 club of a year ago.

A couple things, however, are certain. For one, La Conner will run behind returning All-League offensive lineman Jack Dixon. And the Braves will throw to a skilled and deep receiving corps comprised of flankers Cameron Hansen and Matt Finley and wideouts Taylor Swanson and Harrison Orkney.

But who will do the throwing?

That’s another of those looming question marks, said Lee.

“As of now,” he conceded, “the quarterback position is yet to be determined.”

What is a known factor thus far is the high level of enthusiasm shared by La Conner players and coaches.

“It’ll be a good challenge for us this year,” Lee said, “but we have a great group of kids and we’re excited to get going.”

Kickoff is in about 12 weeks.