By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
Tulalip Heritage High School is well-known for its basketball program. With a pension for putting out a plethora of athletic wings and forwards year after year who captivate home crowds and wow opposing audiences, Heritage basketball has been the shining star of our reservation’s athletic program for years now. However, a stellar evolution is currently underway.
“I went through four years of high school sports at Heritage. During that time, our basketball teams were always better than our football teams,” reflected Heritage alum and current Hawks offensive coordinator Willy Enick. “There were a few times we got our butts whipped by other tribal schools, like a Muckleshoot or Lummi, so to be coaching up this next generation and to see them grow in confidence and believe they can get these big wins, it feels amazing.
“As a coaching staff, we want to prove Heritage isn’t only good at basketball. We’re good at football, too. We’re building a program that will be a powerhouse for years to come.”
Speaking of power. The gravitational pull of physically strong and dynamically daunting skillsets condensing on the gridiron by this year’s Heritage footballers has created a protostar on the Tulalip horizon. It first became visible after a 30-18 win over Concrete. Initial observations were confirmed after a 34-4 trouncing of Crescent. Now, that protostar is fully ablaze after decimating a tribal rival, the Muckleshoot Kings, 56-8 in front of the Tulalip faithful.
“We are forcing teams to spread their defense out because we have five skill players who can hit a home run at any time,” explained O.C. Enick. “With a dynamic quarterback, like J.J., he’s able to keep opposing defenses guessing with his feet and arm. He can make all the throws and, if pressured, can make players miss and scramble for big gains. We’re just trying to perfect this offense by spreading teams out and forcing them to play man on man, which benefits our athletes.”
To his point, here is the breakdown of the Hawks six offensive touchdowns:
- #15 Ziggy Myles-Gilford scores on a 70-yard pass from J.J. Gray.
- #3 J.J. Gray scores on an 18-yard quarterback run.
- #7 Nico Pablo scores on a 15-yard pass from J.J. Gray.
- #15 Ziggy Myles-Gilford scores on a 10-yard pass from J.J. Gray.
- #7 Nico Pablo scores on a 45-yard pass from J.J. Gray.
- #15 Ziggy Myles-Gilford scores on a 25-yard touchdown pass from J.J. Gray.
That’s a combination of short yard, intermediate gains, and big play production that will prove difficult to stop when dealing with a collection of athletes who can all break down a defense with speed and agility.
Plus, that’s just on the offensive side of the ball. The boys did damage on the defensive side as well where they routinely pressured Muckleshoot’s quarterback, wreaking havoc in the backfield for sack after sack, and made the most of their few opportunities when Muckleshoot managed to throw the ball. Tulalip Hawk #5 Amare Hatch scored on a 45-yard interception return for touchdown and #15 Ziggy Myles-Gilford scored on a 65-yard interception return for touchdown.
“We practice our safeties being over the top to help combat the ‘home run ball’ attempts that teams like to try when they start getting desperate,” said Hawks defensive coordinator Deyamonta Diaz. “On Amare’s pick, he was in his drop back zone and just read the route and quarterback’s eyes well with good inside alignment from the pre-snap. He couldn’t have baited him, nor read the route any better. That speaks to the focus we’ve been putting in to the defensive side of the ball in practice.”
With the home fans filling in around the fence line and sitting on the hill closest to the junior cheerleaders, they were treated to an amazing 56-0 lead early in the 4th quarter. With such an ample cushion, Hawks coaches were able to get their 2nd and 3rd string players some reps that could pay dividends later in the season.
Following the game, J.J. Gray, the Hawks quarterback responsible for all six of Tulalip’s offensive touchdowns, shared, “The offensive line blocked so well tonight. They gave me time to pass, or run, when need be. I grew up playing basketball and football since I was 4, so that athleticism always been with me. I trust in my quickness whenever I have a defender one on one in the open field, but I’m also not afraid of being hit by a bigger player.”
When asked how it feels to be quarterbacking an undefeated, 3-0 Hawks team, he responded with, “It feels great. Hopefully, we can go 9-0. That’s the dream.”
For their next game, Tulalip will host Lummi at Friday, September 27, in another battle by the bay. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm. It’s already been dubbed a neon glow game.
The high school’s booster club shares the following, “Tulalip Heritage students, families, and fans are invited to a night of unity as they rally behind their team for a big game against Lummi. Wear bright neon colors and glow sticks and bring lots of energy to the stands to create a glowing atmosphere and show unwavering support. Let’s glow out the field in a sea of Tulalip pride!”