Walla Walla Blue Devils: 2019 Washington high school 4A football preview

Here is an inside look at the 2019 Walla Walla Blue Devils football team. Links: Walla Walla team page | 2019 schedule | Roster 2018 IN REVIEW 2-9 in 4A

Here is an inside look at the 2019 Walla Walla Blue Devils football team.

Links: Walla Walla team page | 2019 schedule | Roster

2018 IN REVIEW

2-9 in 4A Mid-Columbia Conference (fourth place)

COACHING RESUME

Greg Lupfer, first season

RETURNING STARTERS

Offense - 4. Defense - 4.

TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS

WR Dylan Ashbeck, 6-1, 200, sr.

OL Omar Cruz, 6-1, 205, jr.

RB Ryan Moore, 5-10, 170, sr.

TE Joe Terry, 6-0, 195, jr.

RB/WR Josiah Wik, 5-6, 175, sr. 

TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYERS

DL Omar Cruz, 6-1, 205, jr.

DB Ryan Moore, 5-10, 170, sr.

DB Ethan Naftzger, 5-8, 145, sr.

DL/LB Cole Schmidt, 6-0, 210, sr.

LB Joe Terry, 6-0, 195, jr.

THREE TO SEE

Dylan Ashbeck, wide receiver

Offense needs his open-space ability, and he will play a number of positions

Cole Schmidt, defensive lineman

He is the scariest of pass rushers to face - an overachiever with no half speed or quit

Josiah Wik, all-purpose

With good hands and plenty of wiggle, top special-teams returner will play all over field

OUTLOOK

It is a bit of a homecoming for Lupfer, who played at nearby Dayton and at now-defunct Walla Walla Community College before coaching at six different FBS schools.

And the Blue Devils could use an infusion of ideas into their offensive game plan. In seven of their losses last season, they scored 10 or fewer points.

That is why Lupfer will move his best athletes -- Ashbeck, Moore and Wik -- all around to get them in good open-field matchups, even though the offense will primarily be about ball control.

Amid the rebuilding effort, one of Lupfer’s other primary aims is to try to reconnect the school’s storied football past to the present (he has already reached out to ex-WaHi and NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe). He also knows alumni will start coming around when the Blue Devils win games.

2019 SCHEDULE

Sept 6: Southridge, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13: at Hanford, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20: Chiawana, 7 p.m.

Sept. 27: at Hermiston (OR), 7 p.m.

Oct. 4: at Richland, 7 p.m.

Oct. 11: Kamiakin, 7 p.m.

Oct. 17: at Kennewick, 7 p.m.

Oct. 25: Pasco, 7 p.m.

Nov. 1: Wenatchee, 7 p.m.