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He practiced on the same football field, and sang the same postgame fight song – “I’ve got that T-Bird spirit down in my … ”
And Easton Hargrave, Tumwater’s all-league defensive lineman, even plays for the same coach, Sid Otton, who coached his father.
It’s a family affair for 11 Tumwater football players who are second-generation Thunderbirds, players whose dads also were coached by Otton.
“It’s a great school, a great tradition,” Hargrave said. “I’m glad I’ve gotten a chance to play for the same team, for the same coach as my dad did. It’s a great experience.”
Hargrave’s dad, Greg, was an all-state tackle in 1982.
“He doesn’t talk about what he did,” Easton Hargrave said. “He’s pretty modest. But he’ll talk about Tumwater football.”
By now, Otton, who has been at Tumwater since 1974 and is the state’s winningest high school football coach, is used to coaching players whose dads played for him. But he’s never had this many father-son combos on one team.
“We have a saying, it’s ‘Tradition never graduates,’ ” Otton said. “There’s a strong T-Bird tradition here. It’s a neat thing.”
Two of the T-Bird dads with sons on this year’s team – which plays Archbishop Murphy at 1 p.m. Saturday in the 2A state final – are now Tumwater assistant coaches.
Tony Prentice played on the 1986 Tumwater team that won its first 11 games and lost in the semifinals to Burlington-Edison. Rob Hinkle played for Otton in the early 1980s and has two sons on this year’s team – twins Daniel and Brennen Hinkle. Prentice has had two sons go through the program, Riley and Patrick.
“The lessons I learned from Sid are lessons I wanted my sons to learn,” Prentice said. “It’s an exceptional opportunity for both my older boys to be part of the T-Bird family.”
Prentice’s son Riley is a junior who plays fullback and linebacker. His oldest son, Patrick, was a running back a couple of years ago.
“They’re hearing the same messages and lessons I heard,” Prentice said. “They’re good messages. No reason to change them. I think our community is better off for it.”
At the end of each game, the Tumwater team goes to the stands and sings the team fight song with the fans. The fathers also sing along from their seats in the stands.
“It’s fun,” said Hargrave, whose younger brother Trevor is a sophomore lineman.
There are six other father-son links on this Tumwater team.
Chandler Rodriquez’s dad, Hildo, played for Otton in 1986. Michael Glasgo’s dad, John, played in the 1980s.
Taylor Wood’s dad, Craig, played for the Tumwater team that lost in the 1986 semifinals. Craig Wood ran back a kickoff for an apparent touchdown in that semifinal game, but the play was nullified because he stepped out of bounds.
Also playing on that 1986 team was Josh Williams’ dad, Eric.
Hunter Shaner’s dad, Kraig, was a linebacker on the 1981 team.
Minh Doelman’s father, Chris, was the school’s only three-year starter at quarterback and played in the early 1990s.
“That’s quite a few players,” said Pat Alexander, Otton’s assistant coach since 1976. “I think it’s wonderful that they’ve stayed in the Tumwater community. They’ve grown up with the same experience.”
Both Alexander and Otton had sons play high school football for them. Tim Otton, who played for his dad in the mid-1980s, as did his brother Brad, is now an assistant coach with his dad.
“You don’t know if you’ve been successful until 20 years after you’ve coached them,” Alexander said. “By then you see if they’ve become good citizens in the community. They’ve done that.”
Gail Wood: 360-754-5443 gwood@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/sports/blog
