Document 6441574

Navigators get their money's worth - Northwest Christian High School - The Olympian - ...
Page 1 of 3
SUBSCRIBE | MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION | DELIVERY ISSUES | E-EDITION | CONTACT US
Olympia Weather
Sunny 82°F
Hi/Low: 84°/54°
SIGN IN | BECOME A MEMBER
NEWS
SPORTS
High School Sports
OPINION
LIVING
College Sports
Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH
ENTERTAINMENT
Outdoors
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Motorsports
GOVERNMENT
OUTDOORS
Sounders FC
Seahawks
Golf
MULTIMEDIA
Mariners
CLASSIFIED
Huskies
PLACE AN AD
Cougars
Today's Events
• Television Schedule
• Prep Sports Galleries
• The latest high school schedules,
rosters and stats.
Navigators get their money's worth
Northwest Christian: Two donors paid for the school to start a
football program three years ago
Print
email
Buzz up!
Real Estate
Apartments
COMMENTS (0)
RECOMMEND (3)
Sponsored Links
PHOTOS
To get permission to start a football
program at Northwest Christian High
School, Pete Fulton, a long-time coach,
said he’d volunteer.
And, with the help of two anonymous
donors, he’d also write the school a check
for $25,000 to cover startup costs.
“As soon as the check for $25,000 showed up, they were
convinced,” Fulton said. “It was a financial decision.”
Because of Fulton’s dream to bring football to Northwest
Christian, and because of two men willing to write checks to
make that dream a reality, the small Christian school in Lacey
got a football team three years ago.
Cars
Cruise
specials for
those 55 or
older
GAIL WOOD; The Olympian | • Published September 03, 2009
He made a convincing argument.
Jobs
One of the great perks
of reaching age 55 is
having... More
More Articles


How much could a credit card bailout
save you?
What your doctor may not know
TOP JOBS
Dietary Cook
Evergreen Nursing & Rehab
Registered Nurse Unit Manager
Evergreen Nursing & Rehab
Chemical Dependency Councilor / Youth Prevention
Skokomish Tribe
MANAGER, DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Fulton has taught at Northwest Christian since the school opened 11 years ago and wanted to get back into coaching. He
was the head coach at Timberline High School for five years in the 1980s and was an assistant at North Thurston eight
years.
“As a Christian, the Lord confirmed it to me that this was something he wanted me to do,” Fulton said. “Everything just fell
into place.”
Accounting Clerk
Chehalis Tribe
find
All Top Jobs »
Football both filled a niche in Fulton’s life and gave a school with an enrollment of 210 a chance at having Friday night
lights.
“Part of it’s personal. My wife died. I don’t want to go to Arizona for the winter,” Fulton said about his decision to get back
into coaching. “And I feel young around the players.”
There have been some growing pains. After going 1-18 the first two seasons, Northwest Christian went 2-8 last season,
losing three games in the closing minutes. With no home field, the Navigators play their “home games” at Rainier High
School. However, the team now practices on campus for the first time and doesn’t have to go across the street to practice
on the baseball field at Chinook Middle School.
Coming off a two-win season, Fulton returns six starters on offense and seven on defense. He’s optimistic.
“We’ve got team quickness in the skill positions,” Fulton said. “The potential is there.”
At quarterback, Ben Connor and Gabe Wadsworth are sharing time. Connor, a senior, has started at quarterback since he
was a sophomore. But Fulton wants to move him to fullback to better utilize his running skills.
“Gabe has some things we can’t coach. He’s 6-1,” Fulton said. “Ben has been an excellent runner and we want to get him
the ball more. This year he’ll be running a lot. We hope it’s at fullback.”
The turnout is down this year. Only 24 turned out, about 16 fewer than usual. To compensate, Fulton will start up to six
players both ways.
“We’ve got talent,” Fulton said.
Just not depth.
“We have 15 really talented young men,” Fulton said. “That should convince everyone that we don’t recruit.”
Fulton is impressed with his offensive line, which includes center Michael Heemstra, guards Caleb Fritz and Dan Collins –
all returning starters.
http://www.theolympian.com/2009/09/03/958790/navigators-get-their-moneys-worth.html
8/5/2010
Navigators get their money's worth - Northwest Christian High School - The Olympian - ...
Page 2 of 3
“We have five pretty good linemen. We need some help with the backups,” Fulton said. “If our line play isn’t too good, we
might put Ron Holmes in there.”
Holmes, one of Fulton’s assistant coaches, was an All-American defensive tackle at the University of Washington in the
1980s. Fulton coached Holmes at Timberline.
All of Fulton’s assistants – Holmes, Terry Shaw, Jeremy Clark, Ben Briggs and Wayne Rankin – are volunteers. Yet they
all share the same goal – to win.
The school has embraced the team. Fans – parents and students – travel to games at South Bend, Willapa Valley and
Naselle.
“Sometimes we have more fans than the home team,” Fulton said. “It’s been a great experience.”
Northwest Christian opens the season against Pe Ell on Friday at Rainier.
Gail Wood: 360-754-5432
[email protected]
NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN
Navigators
LAST YEAR
2-8 overall, 2-4 league
HEAD COACH
Pete Fulton, fourth year
COORDINATORS, SETS
O: Fulton, Ben Briggs, spread
D: Terry Shaw, 3-5
RETURNING STARTERS: 7 offense, 6 defense
G/DE Dan Collins, 6-2, 180, sr.
C/DT Michael Heemstra, 6-0, 220, sr.
WR/DB Fess Doelman, 5-8, 145, sr.
WR/DB Airick Owens, 5-11, 145, sr.
G Caleb Fritz, 6-1, 190, sr.
QB/RB/FS Ben Connor, 5-11, 175, jr.
RB/LB Steve Dunn, 6-2, 195, jr.
COACH’S OUTLOOK
“With a change in our offense, we should be very entertaining to watch. We have five very quick and strong runners. We
hope to compete for the playoffs. Last year could have been better. We could have been 6-4 instead of 2-8.”
NOTABLE
Team’s homecoming game will be at Rochester or Rainier. The Navigators don’t have a home field.
SIMILAR STORIES:
•
•
•
•
•
Season of firsts for Navigators
NWC girls advance to semis
NWC girls advance to semis
Steelers coordinator: Roethlisberger never better
Navigators won’t repeat as champs
Community Publishing Guidelines
COMMENTS
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register
Submit
Comments:
0
Showing: Newest first
More comments on this story:
http://www.theolympian.com/2009/09/03/958790/navigators-get-their-moneys-worth.html
8/5/2010
Navigators get their money's worth - Northwest Christian High School - The Olympian - ...
Page 3 of 3
Most Viewed Articles
•
•
•
•
•
Great Wolf reports loss
Seattle police find runaway working as prostitute
Documents expose government surveillance
County fair looms large in Lacey
Small 1.5 quake reported near Tacoma
Ball Chains and
Military Dog Tags
Ballchain
Manufacturing Co. Inc.
manufactures Military
Dog Tags, ball chains,
Olympia Apartments
Apartments in olympia
washington Updated
Daily. The Most
Detailed Apartment
Photos on the Web.
www.ballchain.com
ApartmentsMonthly
U.S. Military Rings
Buy your Military Ring
direct from the factory
and Save up to 50%
OFF.
Join the Reader Network
www.dunham-mfg.com
Click here and sign up with our Reader
Network to offer your view.
Do you want The Olympian to keep you
in mind when we canvass the community
for opinions?
Ads by Yahoo!
Site Map
News
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
South Sound
Northwest
National News
Business
Odd News
Stock Market
Education
Environment
Traffic
Weather
RSS Feeds
Corrections
Government
•
•
•
•
•
•
Elections
National Elections
State Government
State Workers
Legislature
Under the Dome
Opinion
•
•
•
•
•
•
Letters to the Editor
Editorials
Ask the Editors
Editorial Board
Reader Network Form
Caption Contest
Sports
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
College Sports
Cougars
Golf
High School Sports
Huskies
Mariners
Motor Sports
Seahawks
Sounders FC
Tacoma Rainiers
Winter Sports
Outdoors
• Fishing Blog
• Northwest Outings
• Tides
Announcements
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Obituaries
Death Notices
Births
Marriages
Divorces
Occasions
Crime
Traffic
Lottery
Place Obit
Place Legal
Submission Forms
Blogs
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Multimedia
Ask the Editors
Around South Sound
Education Blog
Let's Talk Fishing
Olympian Site Blog
Outside Olympia
Pet The Blog
Prep Sports Blog
Sports Dept. Blog
The Business Blog
The Politics Blog
Columns
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Busy Mama
Chef's Kitchen
Chip Shots
College Update
From The Publisher
Health Matters
Marianne Binetti On Gardening
Nature's Journal
Notes From The ER
Soundings
The Bookmonger
What's Cooking with Karyn
Where Do I Take My
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Local Video
Local Galleries
Today in Photos
Nation & World Galleries
Your Videos
Your Photos
Mobile website
Map the news: Newsgarden
Photo Reprints
Living
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Horoscope
Home & Garden
Health & Fitness
Religion
Books
Community Involvement
Travel
Entertainment
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Celebrity News
Events Calendar
Nightlife
Movies & Trailers
Theaters & Showtimes
Food & Drink Reviews
Dining Guide
Arts
TV Listings
Games
Contact
•
•
•
•
•
•
Home Delivery Service
Newsroom
Advertising
Online Services
Forms
Purchase Photos
Data Center
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
School Employee Salaries
Thurston County Salaries
City of Tumwater Salaries
City of Olympia Salaries
City of Lacey Salaries
Health Inspections
Property Transfers
Special Reports
•
•
•
•
Joe Hyer's arrest
Mechele Linehan
Lakewood Shooting
Building Heights
Classifieds
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apartments
Olympian Classifieds
Classified Ads Deadlines
Place An Ad
CUSTOMER SERVICE: Terms Of Service | Privacy Policy | About Our Ads | Copyright | Subscriber Services | Contact Us | Place An Ad | Newspapers In Education | Ethics Policy | About Us | About
McClatchy
PARTNERS:
Other McClatchy Newspapers
©2010 The Olympian
http://www.theolympian.com/2009/09/03/958790/navigators-get-their-moneys-worth.html
8/5/2010