Newport (Bellevue) Knights: 2019 Washington high school 4A football preview

Here is an inside look at the 2019 Newport (Bellevue) Knights football team. Links: Newport (Bellevue) team page | 2019 schedule | Roster 2018 IN REVIEW 1-8 in

Here is an inside look at the 2019 Newport (Bellevue) Knights football team.

Links: Newport (Bellevue) team page | 2019 schedule | Roster

2018 IN REVIEW

1-8 in 4A KingCo Crest (fifth place)

COACHING RESUME

Drew Oliver, sixth season

19-33 record

RETURNING STARTERS

Offense - 5. Defense - 5.

TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS

RB Nathaniel Chang, 5-6, 160, sr.

OL Keir Lopez, 5-7, 190, sr.

QB Nolan Rouse, 6-0, 175, sr.

OL Jackson Slater, 6-3, 280, jr.

RB Nirun Turner, 5-9, 175, jr.

TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYERS

DB Miles Frazier, 6-0, 160, jr.

LB Nate Moore, 6-0, 180, jr.

DB Nolan Rouse, 6-0, 175, sr.

DB Nirun Turner, 5-9, 175, jr.

LB Dylan Whisler, 5-11, 190, sr.

THREE TO SEE

Nolan Rouse, quarterback

Has to direct all the redirection - then figure out when it is his time to take off and run

Jackson Slater, offensive lineman

Second-year starter is the one pushing defenders bak in triple option rushing attack

Nirun Turner, running back

Returning leading rusher (nearly 700 yards) can break off big play at moment’s notice

OUTLOOK

If you look at what the Knights bring back, they have pieces to run a potent triple-option ground game -- just not a lot of them.

Oliver, a Newport alum who came over from Hazen in 2009, played plenty of underclassmen last season. They should be better-equipped to challenge the mid-tier teams of the league in 2019.

Rouse shared the signal-caller job with graduated Tre Louis last season, but it is his alone heading into his final year. And he has athletes everywhere -- especially Turner, an all-KingCo Crest first-teamer in 2018, and Chang, who will do much of the damage on the ground.

The offensive line should be one of the better ones in the division, led by Slater, a KingCo Crest second-teamer at tackle, Lopez and tight end Josh Hoffmann. The rushing attack averaged 321.0 yards per game last season, its best mark since Oliver’s first year in 2014 (374.9) when Newport reached the 4A semifinals.

2019 SCHEDULE

Sept. 6: Rainier Beach, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13: Bellevue, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20: Mercer Island, 7 p.m.

Sept. 27: at Skyline, 7 p.m.

Oct. 4: Issaquah, 7 p.m.

Oct. 10: at Inglemoor, 7 p.m.

Oct. 18: at Eastlake, 7 p.m.

Oct. 25: Mount Si, 7 p.m.