High School Sports
ATM moves to new Class 2A Cascade Conference

By Jim Riley
Special to The Seattle Times

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Quarterback Kyle Wilkins has helped Archbishop Murphy go 26-1 the past two seasons.

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MILL CREEK — Forget the 26-game winning streak and back-to-back Class 1A state football titles.

The players at Archbishop Murphy have.

"We're not looking at what we did in the past. That's in the past," senior quarterback Kyle Wilkins said. "We're looking forward to working hard to get the chance to get back to where we were, but it's got to start with things like getting center snaps down. Small things first." Archbishop Murphy has played varsity football only three seasons and is venturing into more new territory this season. The private school near Mill Creek is moving up to Class 2A this season and has joined the newly formed Cascade Conference.

Coach Terry Ennis knows that means his team is in for a big challenge.

"There are probably a lot of high expectations from our fan base, but I hope the players and coaches are more realistic," Ennis said. "We're moving up, we have a difficult nonleague schedule and we graduated a lot of kids who played a lot of football."

Ennis, named The Seattle Times' Coach of the Century for high-school football in 1999, has three state championships to his credit, winning one in 1991 at Cascade of Everett. His overall coaching record is 236-78.

Wilkins, who is 26-1 in his two seasons of high-school football, said there is no secret to Archbishop Murphy's success.

"Mostly it's coaching and the dedication of the players," he said recently during a brief break in two-a-day practices. "We've been able to work together and get the hard work done and then use that to our advantage."
 
Wilkins, who is originally from Hawaii, is one of those rare players who not only plays offense and defense, but also is in on every play on special teams.

"I think that every player should want to be on the field every play," said Wilkins, who is 5 feet 10, 170 pounds. "What can you do on the sidelines other than cheer your teammates on? You want to be on the field to make things happen. You get tired, but you just go 100 percent."

Ennis appreciates Wilkins' willingness. "He's a big part of our offense, but he's an exceptional defensive player," Ennis said. "He's very tenacious and he plays every play because we're a better team when he's on the field."

Wilkins, who hopes to someday be an airline pilot, actually prefers flying to the ball on defense, and that's where he'd like to play in college.

"Eventually I'd like to play college football, but it's still a dream out there," Wilkins said. "I have to worry about the rest of this year and see what happens from there."

Ennis thinks he'll get the chance.

"He's not real big, but his strength and speed have developed," Ennis said. "I'd definitely put him in the category of a kid who could play in college. He was quick last year but this year he's even quicker. He's really developed as a defensive back."

Wilkins' isn't intimidated by bigger players or bigger schools, something Archbishop Murphy faces this season in a 2A league.

"If it's going to be harder, that's good because you can't get better unless you do harder things," Wilkins said. "I think we're going to have a really good football team."