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By Paul Delaney
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Former Sunnyside assistant looks to turn program around

It's Puzycki's time with Medical Lake football

 

Last updated 8/25/2022 at 9:26am

Paul Delaney

New Medical Lake head football coach Nick Puzycki conducts a workout with his team Aug. 18.

When Medical Lake High School went to hire another head football coach there were likely many capable candidates - and certain ah-ha moments in the interview process?

But what may have set Nick Puzycki apart from the pack was having been part of the significant speedy turnaround at Sunnyside High School in the Yakima Valley?

"His experience at Sunnyside and their program turnaround is significant," Medical Lake Athletics Director Dawn Eliassen wrote in a text message.

The soon-to-be 35-year-old married father of four was the offensive line coach under John Lobbestael where in two seasons, the Grizzlies, not only capped a 22-game losing streak but qualified for the state playoffs.

There was something else that stood out to Eliassen, who assumes the AD role held the past several years by Justin Blayne.

"I also remember the players on the committee being impressed by the fact that Coach mentioned working out with the players in the weight room as a way to show they all work together, are all committed to putting in the work," she added.

Puzycki replaces Jeremy Bahr who reportedly stepped aside after four seasons to take another job within the district. Puzycki will try to take what he learned as an assistant and pump a few more wins out of a program that has had just three victories in the past six seasons under a pair of coaches.

The Cardinals' last winning campaign was 2012 under Wes Hobbs when they went 6-3 and earned a first-round playoff berth.

Puzycki is a graduate of Kamiakin High School in Kennewick where he played four years at the 4A school, mostly on the O-line, but as a senior shifted to defense. He went on to earn his teaching degree in special education at Eastern Washington University.

Initially planning to head to Alaska to pursue hie career, that proved to be too costly.

"I was like, 'Alright, well, I need a job so let's apply up through the (Yakima) Valley and Sunnyside was just the right fit," Puzycki said. He coached the offensive line for the past seven seasons.

He's taught resource room in the middle school, resource room in the high school, behavioral classrooms in the middle school and just spent one year in Gen Ed.

"And now I will be teaching life skills at the high school medical Lake," Puzycki said. And another fulltime job as football coach of course.

Puzycki (pronounced Pu-zih-ky) was greeted with a turnout of 40 with a few more expected. He likes what he's seen in just a few short weeks of allowable summer contact.

"I look at this team that we have now that I took to camp and there's some real talented kids on the team," he said, adding "They should be doing pretty well this year."

Isiah Giles will be running the offense at quarterback and possesses a variety of critical skills. "He's a leader for us right now."

Offensively, the Cardinals will be running out of a two-back set, "That can motion all over the place into a one back," Puzycki explained.

Success will depend a great deal on a core of three experienced offensive linemen, Brodee Bahr, Gavin Chafee and Parker Acord. That trio will naturally swing to the defensive side, too, due to numbers.

"They're the leaders on the O-line, they're pushing the younger guys to get better," Puzycki said.

When on defense where they will operate out of a 4-2-5 set - line, linebackers and defensive backs - one of the people that will be leaned on is cornerback, Josh Henry. "He's been pretty consistent throughout the summer here," Puzycki said of the former cross country runner who chose football as a fall sport for his junior year.

Puzycki will get his first look at his team in a game-style setting Friday, Aug. 26 in a jamboree featuring host Lind-Ritzville-Sprague along with Colfax and Davenport.

The regular season starts Sept. 2 with a visit from Priest River and another home game, Sept. 9 with Rogers, a 2A school from the Greater Spokane League. That match-up was postponed from 2021 due to COVID.

Paul Delaney is a retired Free Press Publishing reporter and can be reached at pauldelaney53@comcast.net.

 

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