It all starts with the head of the household and his heritage. Vincent DeSimone left his native Italy 30 years ago for a more prosperous future in America, but he brought his taste in food.

"We eat pasta every day," said DeSimone, his voice still seasoned with his native accent. "The kids ask, 'That's all we're going to eat again?' "

DeSimone usually delivers when it comes to things he loves. He's always serving up his favorite dish or giving one of his crash courses in how to play soccer. For the first time, he's coaching soccer at the high-school level.

That means DeSimone, who has coached all three of his children for years in youth soccer, gets to send off the middle one, Mariner High School senior Mike DeSimone, in style. Nick DeSimone, a junior, gets to be part of brother Mike's final season on the Mariner boys soccer team before the older sibling heads off to the University of Washington.

"It will be very emotional, so hopefully it ends in a good way," Mike said of capping his career playing for his dad and with his brother. "We're really pushing each other to the limit, making each other better. Having it all in the family, it's a good feeling."

No one pushes Mike DeSimone around on the soccer field. His three years on the Mariner football team only added to the toughness he already possessed.

If pasta built part of Mike DeSimone's 6-foot-2, 220-pound physique, passion likely fills out the rest. Weightlifting and hard work finish off the equation. He doesn't look like your typical fleet-footed forward, but he sprinkles speed with smash-mouth.

"He plays physical," said Vincent DeSimone, 44, of Mike. "That's his game."

The DeSimone clan deserves much of the credit for Mariner feasting on its competition. The Marauders, in the Mukilteo School District, entered the week 8-0-1 overall and 3-0-0 in the tough WesCo South Division.

"I wasn't able to finish my dream that I wanted in soccer by playing professionally in Italy," Vincent DeSimone said. "So I passed it on to Michelina, Mike and Nick. Getting to coach the boys now, I think, is the best thing that's ever happened to me in a while. It's a sentimental thing for me now. It's been a blessing for me."

Despite long hours together this spring, the DeSimones haven't tired of one another. Dad leans heavily on Mike and Nick and demands more of them.

"I expect way more from them than other the kids," said Vincent, who also coached his family's oldest child, daughter Michelina, in youth soccer. "I push them, and the others have no other choice than to follow."

Vincent DeSimone's two sons accounted for 18 of 27 goals and 11 of 25 assists for the Marauders during their first nine matches. Mike piled up 10 goals and seven assists, and Nick delivered eight goals and four assists.

"They play off each other really nice," Vincent DeSimone said.

Mike, a four-year starter who also played football for three years, attempts to cap off his Mariner soccer career by being named to the All-WesCo South first team for a fourth consecutive season.

A first-team WesCo South punter as a junior, he has become known for his goal-scoring ability, tallying 48 goals so far in his four-year career. His football duties included kicking field goals and punting in addition to his fullback and linebacker responsibilities.

"Both sports are really fun, but I've always had a different kind of passion for soccer," Mike said. "You can let loose a little more in football, but in soccer there's a limit to how physical you can be."

Pitcher recovering

A line drive hit Lake Stevens' Krista Crosson in the face.

Now comes the recovery for Lake Stevens senior pitcher Krista Crosson, who took a line drive off her mouth in a 1-0 fastpitch win over Cascade High School on April 18.

Crosson (5-1), one of the top pitchers in the state, will miss four to five weeks with a fractured jaw, Vikings first-year coach Sue Van Wyhe said.

Crosson, who will play next season for Loyola University in Chicago, spent two nights in a hospital to have her jaw reset and wired shut.

"I've never seen the ball come off the bat that fast," Van Wyhe said. "There's no possible way to react. Most of us were just absolutely shocked how fast it came off. She's lucky it wasn't her eye, her nose or her life.

"There's definitely a hole in our team."

Crosson's father, Charlie, helps Van Wyhe coach the Lake Stevens fastpitch team and watched from just outside the team dugout. The Vikings entered the week 9-1 overall and 8-0 in WesCo North.

Around the county

• Mariner's Tommy Craddock signed a letter of intent last week to play basketball at North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound senior led the Marauders with averages of 15.7 points and about 12 rebounds last season.

• The Everett Hawks improved their record to 5-0 Thursday with a 64-62 home victory over the Tri-Cities Fever in National Indoor Football League action. With 24 seconds left, Everett quarterback Albert Higgs scored on a 22-yard touchdown run — his only rush of the game — and the Hawks' Travis Salter stopped a two-point conversion attempt by the Fever with 14.2 seconds left. Everett's Anthony Simmons piled up 242 all-purpose yards, 193 on kickoff returns.

• Lake Stevens senior Clint Osborn took first in the boys shot put on Saturday at the Pasco Invitational track meet, registering the second-best mark in the state this season at 59 feet, 11 ½ inches. Kamiak senior Kelly Spady captured the 3,200-meter run in 9 minutes, 20.45 seconds. Chase Mancuso, a senior at Kamiak, easily took top honors in the discus (179 feet, 1 inch).

• Girls winners at Pasco included Everett junior Cori Moore, who won the 800 (2:17.54) and finished third in the 400 (58.54). Cedar Park Christian junior Jane Larson won the 1,600 (5:05.58). Snohomish sophomore Kara Sporrong won the 3,200 (11:00.97).

• Overcoming rain was the biggest obstacle on Saturday at Evergreen Speedway as Shane Harding won the NASCAR Speedway Chevrolet Super Stock main event. The 50-lap feature was moved up on the racing card to avoid wet track conditions. Tony Bunkleman took the NASCAR ministocks.