Losing Is No Joke At Tyee -- New Attitude Could Halt Totems' 24- Game Losing Streak
-- SEATAC
Coach Steve Doutrich has heard the jabs aimed at his Tyee High School football program.
Still, he was stunned by the joke an unknown incoming freshman offered him during registration last week: A little boy went to court and the judge told him, "You're going to live with your father." The little boy said, "But my father beats me." So the judge said, "OK, you're going to live with your mother." The boy said, "But my mother beats me, too." The judge asked the boy where he wanted to go and he said, "I want to go to Tyee, because they never beat anybody."
Doutrich didn't laugh. He and his coaching staff are serious about keeping Tyee from being the laughingstock of the tough Seamount League.
The Totems have the state's longest high-school footbal losing streak - 24 games.
Their last victory came in the third game of the 1988 season in a nonleague game with Class A Foster, 14-6. That ran their record to 3-0, with the other victories coming against two other small schools, North Mason and Sequim. Tyee lost its final six games of 1988, including all five Seamount contests.
The Totems' most recent Seamount victory came in the next-to-last game of the 1987 season against Liberty, 21-20.
Tyee, the smallest school in the Seamount League with a large developmentally disabled population, has not had a winning season since 1977, their first season in the Class AA Seamount League after leaving the Class AAA North Puget Sound League. That team went 6-3. Over the past 10 seasons, Tyee has won just 16 games.
For the past 2 1/2 seasons, the Totems haven't just been losing. They've been losing bad. At halftime of their season opener with Kennedy last year, they trailed 55-0. The final was 62-0. In their final two games of the year, the lost 63-0 to Renton and 51-0 to Mount Rainier. They were outscored 35-454 for the season, with their closest loss by 17 points.
Two years ago, Tyee started turnouts with only 20 players. At yesterday's first turnout of the 1991 season, 40 boys showed up. Doutrich and his staff believe the tide is turning.
"We feel we're in a lot better shape than we were in yearspast," said Doutrich, who was an assistant at Tyee for two years before becoming head coach in 1984. "It's still going to be the same old thing. We're still going to be thin in numbers, but you can't sit around and dwell and cry on that."
He said the biggest improvement is the stability of the coaching staff. Grant Allen, a 1983 Tyee graduate, is in his fifth year with the team. Walt Hunt, a 1981 Highline product who played on four University of Washington bowl teams, is back for his third season as an assistant. Phil Pompeo, who has a wealth of experience with semi-pro football teams, returns for a second year after joining the staff just before the 1990 turnouts. He is installing a new option offense this season and predicts better results.
Tyee's weight room, which Pompeo called "garbage" when he first saw it last year, is now respectable after numerous fundraising activities and weight training was offered year-round. The school now has an active booster club as well.
The staff is taking a more disciplined approach this season, which also should make a difference, Doutrich said.
"If somebody thinks they're playing the old Tyee, we'll be ready for them," he said.
The players appear to be taking a positive, yet realistic, approach. They're not talking 9-0. But they're not talking 0-9, either. Losing 6-0, rather than 60-0, would be a step in the right direction.
"Our main goal is to be competitive and pull off our first win," said Jason Reynolds, a senior running back and defensive back. "We know that's something we're capable of this year. The talent seems to be more spread out than it has been . . . My goal as a senior is to change what everybody thinks of us. I think we can do it."
Pompeo does, too.
"We have kids who want to win," he said. "But people have to be taught how to win. It's not something you get by watching television."
Tyee has a large sophomore class and this year's team will be young. Only six or seven seniors are expected to play. The coaches think the Totems can begin to turn the corner this year and put together a winning season by 1992 or '93. Pompeo, in fact, won't discount the possibility of a string of victories this fall. After all, the Totems haven't lost one yet this season.
"We want to be in the Kingbowl like everybody else," Pompeo said. "Our goal is the same as any team in the state for right now. But the main thing is these guys want to earn some respect. They want to make football something they can be proud of. And the way to do that is by being competitive. If you keep the game close, you've got a chance to pull one out. When you're down 55-0 at halftime, a fumble isn't going to make the difference."
Reynolds doesn't expect miracles - not yet, anyway.
"We're just building everything up, step by step," he said. "I'd like to be around to see the day Tyee wins the Kingbowl. I don't see that happening in the next couple of years, but we'll be around."
And, someday, the Totems plan to have the last laugh.
. TYEE'S FOOTBALL WOES. . State's longest losing. streaks for prep football. . 24 - Tyee. 21 - Cleveland. 20 - Stadium. 19 - Elma. 17 - Port Townsend. 14 - Sumner, La Center. 12 - Wahluke, Mountlake Christian. 11 - Yelm. 10 - Ingraham, Mark Morris. . Tyee's streak. . -- 1988. White River 21, Tyee 7. Mount Rainier 34, Tyee 14. Mount Si 26, Tyee 12. Enumclaw 26, Tyee 21. Liberty 57, Tyee 14. Tahoma 64, Tyee 0. -- 1989. Kennedy 43, Tyee 7. Highline 34, Tyee 14. Mount Si 33, Tyee 7. Hazen 35, Tyee 0. Lindbergh 27, Tyee 0. Evergreen 22, Tyee 0. Liberty 20, Tyee 9. Renton 21, Tyee 6. Mount Rainier 30, Tyee 8. -- 1990. Kennedy 62, Tyee 0. Highline 51, Tyee 6. Mount Si 38, Tyee 0. Hazen 49, Tyee 0. Lindbergh 48, Tyee 6. Evergreen 43, Tyee 16. Liberty 49, Tyee 7. Renton 63, Tyee 0. Mount Rainier 51, Tyee 0. . Tyee, by the season. . 1990 - 0-9 (0-9 in Seamount). 1989 - 0-9 (0-9) in Seamount. 1988 - 3-6 (0-5 in Seamount). 1987 - 4-5 (1-4 in Seamount). 1986 - 1-8 (1-4 in Seamount). 1985 - 1-8 (1-4 in Seamount). 1984 - 2-7 (2-3 in Seamount). 1983 - 1-8 (1-4 in Seamount). 1982 - 2-7 (2-4 in Seamount). 1981 - 2-7 (0-6 in Seamount). 1980 - 4-5 (1-4 in Seamount). 1979 - 0-9 (0-8 in Seamount). 1978 - 2-7 (2-7 in Seamount). 1977 - 6-3 (6-3 in Seamount). 1976 - 5-4 (2-3 in NPSL). 1975 - 3-6 (1-4 in NPSL). 1974 - 1-8 (0-5 in NPSL). 1973 - 2-7 (0-5 in NPSL). 1972 - 1-9 (0-9 in NPSL). 1971 - 2-7 (1-7 in NPSL). 1970 - 3-4-2 (3-3-2 in NPSL). 1969 - 5-4 (4-4 in NPSL). 1968 - 2-6-1 (1-5 in NPSL).