The Mount Si High School football team tuned up for what is expected to be a strong 2008 campaign last Saturday night, as they hosted the Bothell Cougars in the annual Wildcat spring scrimmage at Mount Si High School. Bothell, who was the state 4A runner-up last fall, is coached by former Mount Si assistant Tom Bainter.

Two simulated games took place, one involving the varsity, the other involving the freshman and sophomore teams. Offensive, defensive, and special teams plays were run through in-game conditions with officials present. No score was kept and no time clock was used.

That said, there were a number of solid efforts, most notably of running back Sean Snead, who made his way into the end zone twice very early in the scrimmage.

Snead gave credit to his offensive linemen.

“Our line block was played really well, and without them I wouldn’t be able to do that,” Snead said. “You can expect a lot more of that this year.”

Wildcat coach Charlie Kinnune was pleased with how things went.

“We found out basically what we thought we were going to find out,” Kinnune said. “We’re a very strong, physical team up front, and we need some workout in the corner area on defense, we need some work on an outside backer spot on defense.

“We’ve got eight to ten weeks to go and to get ready for our first game, and we’re excited about this group.”

The coach also praised his running back.

“You know what, Sean is big, fast, strong, a really good combination,” Kinnune said. “We’re really excited about Sean on both sides of the ball. He’s a big time player.”

Realignment of Kingco 3A with the loss of Newport, Issaquah, and Skyline, all of whom are moving to 4A next year, is expected to benefit Mount Si greatly. Look for the Wildcats and Bellevue to be 1-2 in the league this fall and make long runs into the postseason. The Mount Si coach says fans will see a solid display this season.

“I think that they can expect a very experienced group that has a lot of Friday night playing time under their belt,” Kinnune said. “You’re going to get a team that isn’t going to make a lot of mistakes.

“We’re not going to turn the ball over,” he said. “We’re going to be very physical up front on both sides of the ball. I think we’re capable of winning a lot of games, as many as we’ve won ever.”

Snead knows where he wants to go this fall.

“I think we can do really well,” he said. “I think we can take it to state, obviously. That’s what our goal is.”