Let the lights shine: It's prep kickoff time

Flip the switch. It's time for Friday Night Lights in the state of Washington.

We may be tucked up here in the upper left-hand corner of the nation, but our kids know how to play football. The number of graduates from state high schools playing in the NFL and at major colleges proves it.

With the first kickoff approaching, questions abound. Let's get to them.

Q: Who are best players in the state?

A: Garfield defensive lineman Deandre Coleman is generally considered the top recruit. He has committed to Washington. Another hot prospect is Desmond Trufant from Wilson of Tacoma. He is a defensive back and the younger brother of Seahawk Marcus Trufant.

Overall, this isn't considered a banner year for recruiting in the state.

The No. 1 junior is Skyline quarterback Jake Heaps. He led the Spartans to the Class 3A state championship last season as a sophomore. Evaluators of football flesh rank him as one of the best junior QBs in the country.

Q: What position looks the strongest this year as far as producing college talent?

A: Defensive backs. But it's not as clear cut as last year, when NCAA Division I offensive linemen abounded, or 2006, when there were quarterbacks galore.

Q: What are significant local league shifts?

A: Issaquah, Skyline and Newport of Bellevue are moving from KingCo 3A to KingCo 4A because of increased enrollments. Juanita is dropping from 4A to KingCo 3A.

Franklin is dropping from 4A to 3A and moving from KingCo to the Metro League.

Auburn and Auburn Riverside are moving back to the South Puget Sound League 4A North from SPSL 3A.

New members of SPSL 3A are Lakes and Clover Park (of Lakewood) and Peninsula (near Gig Harbor).

Foster of Tukwila is joining the 3A Seamount League. North Kitsap moves from 4A to 3A and leaves the Narrows League for the Olympic League.

In the middle of the state, Kamiakin, Kennewick and Southridge are moving from 3A to 4A in the Columbia Basin League (the Big Nine to old-timers).

Q: Any new schools this year?

A: At long last, Snohomish has divided into two high schools, and the new one is Glacier Peak (3A). Snohomish School District administrators who persuaded voters to approve a second high school at the risk of fewer state championships for dear old Snohomish High are true diplomats. Their next assignment should be the Israeli-Palestine dispute.

Q: What are some of the big games to watch?

A: On Friday night, defending state 2A champion Prosser plays at 4A Redmond, which has an NFL-sized line. Both teams have talented senior quarterbacks — Jordan Durbin for Prosser and David Gilbertson (son of Seahawks assistant Keith) for Redmond.

I can't wait for 4A Bothell to play at 3A Bellevue on Sept. 12. Bothell was the 4A state runner-up the past two years, and Bellevue has won five 3A titles in seven years.

Bellevue thinks big and has put together a four-game slate at Qwest Field on Sept. 20, when it plays California High School of San Ramon, Calif. The Woodinville-Eastlake game at Qwest could be the best of that day.

Bellevue picked the other games for that day carefully (Bothell-Redmond, Kamiak-Shorewood, Woodinville-Eastlake) with an eye toward drawing fans to help pay the rent.

A brief diversion: I was standing in the pro shop at Willows Run Golf Club in Redmond on a summer day in 2007 when a brigade of golf carts headed out for a shotgun start. It was like watching the Union army arrive at Gettysburg.

"What huge tournament is that?" I asked an assistant pro.

"Bellevue Football Booster Club," he replied.

The WIAA Kickoff Classic this Saturday has a slate of five games. The one I want to see most is 3A Kennedy vs. 4A Kentwood at 5:30 p.m. Hawaiian power Punahou (presidential candidate Barack Obama's alma mater) faces Central Kitsap in the featured game at 8 p.m.

KingCo 4A has gone to two divisions this year and will have a championship game the final week of October. That game will have plenty of juice as it will be a true league championship. The Metro League has a true league-championship game, too, but there is rarely suspense because you can write in O'Dea as the winner and be right 90 percent of the time.

Q: What coaching changes most interest you?

A: By the count of prep stats guru David Maley, there have been 50 head-coaching changes in the state. It's a sign of the times because coaching is becoming nearly a year-round job and burnout is high. Here are the changes that most intrigue me.

Archbishop Murphy's Dave Ward: Won the 2006 4A title at Oak Harbor; was the choice to fill the shoes of the late Terry Ennis and interim coach Rick Stubrud at the school near Mill Creek.

Ballard's John Bowers: A go-getter who was recruiting coordinator and secondary coach on the Western Washington football staff last year. His wife, Joanne Bowers, is Washington's gymnastics coach. Bowers was on the staff at Bowling Green University and helped at Bothell in 2006 after his family moved west, so he knows KingCo 4A.

Enumclaw's Don Bartel: A good coach, good teacher on the field and in the classroom. Bartel was a crackerjack graduate assistant at WSU, but he just likes high-school football and was defensive coordinator at Eastlake before getting this opportunity.

Juanita's Shaun Tarantola: Juanita has had one winning season this decade. Tarantola played at Sammamish of Bellevue and has KingCo roots. He did a good job at Evergreen of White Center. Juanita is dropping from 4A to 3A and that should help. Don't forget that Juanita was a force in the 1980s, winning back-to-back 4A (then AAA) titles in 1984 and 1985.

Lake Washington's Ray Roberts: The ex-Seahawk will try to revive the Kangs, who suffered through an embarrassing 0-9 season last year. The Kirkland school was sailing early this decade until a principal who was later relieved of his duties fired coach Tim Tramp.

Mercer Island's John Williams: Well-traveled Bill Heglar coached the Islanders last year, but there wasn't a full-time teaching job for him and this summer he took the athletic-director position at Kentlake. This is the first year since 1968 that Heglar hasn't been a head coach somewhere in the state. His stops have been at Lacrosse, Rosalia, Newport of Pend Oreille County, Interlake, Bellevue, Seattle Prep, Decatur and MI. Williams is a former Chief Sealth head coach who was on the Skyline staff.

Skyline's Mat Taylor: He takes over for Steve Gervais, the only coach to win six state football championships. Taylor was Skyline's receivers coach. Gervais is now a UW assistant.

So, let's tee it up. We're losing summer but gaining football. To me, that's not a bad deal, especially on Friday nights.

Have a question about high-school sports? Craig Smith will find the answer every Tuesday in The Times. Ask your question in one of the following ways: Voice mail (206-464-8279), snail mail (Craig Smith, Seattle Times Sports, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111) or e-mail csmith@seattletimes.com