Since a season-opening loss to Los Osos down in Rancho Cucamonga, James Logan has begun to evoke memories of the old Colts' teams which used to dominate local competition.
After exploding offensively in a win over Dublin, the Colts rolled past Heritage in the Honor Bowl and then stunned San Leandro in the Battle of 880 last week when Mark Vargas nailed a field goal at the end of the game for the 21-18 victory.
"I knew if we were to have the ball last (against San Leandro), we would have an opportunity to win it," said Logan coach Ricky Rodriguez. "Adversity is a word that is used all the time in our program, and we overcame a lot of it on Friday night. But we also knew that we had to get right back in the lab and prepare for Washington."
One of the big keys for Logan in this match-up will be to corral the running ability of Douglas Turner, who had over 300 yards on the ground in an earlier win over Alameda. Of course, the opposite holds true for the Huskies as they head to Union City, as they will look to get Turner back on track after he was held in check during losses to Hayward and Dublin.
"We have a lot of juniors, and we got overwhelmed in our season opener, but some guys like Doug (Turner) have started to show maturity beyond their years," said Washington coach Will Edwards. "Our Alameda game is a good reflection of what we can be. We are young, and still learning how to win at the varsity level, with a majority of our leaders as juniors."
And while Washington would love nothing more than to get their junior running back going, James Logan keeps senior Chase Sims at the focus of each week's plan, and so far he has lived up to the expectations. Last week, Sims put forth another yeoman-like effort, carrying the ball 31 times for 166 yards and two touchdowns. In four games this season, Sims has compiled 791 yards and 12 scores on the ground.
"Chase looked me dead in the eyes prior to kickoff last week, and told me 'I got you Coach. If I have to carry the ball 50 times to win and lead our team, I will,'" Rodriguez said. "From that first possession, I knew we had a shot, and that was after the worst week of practice I had in my six years of being a head coach. But when we arrived to that game, there was an eerie calm about our team, and we knew we were in for a dogfight."
Last season, when the Colts rejoined the MVAL in Rodriguez's first season at the helm, Logan did so in the shadow of a Moreau Catholic team which would ultimately capture the league title. This year, non-league results have placed the bulls-eye on the Colts, and while they certainly expect to get a battle from the defending champions, this week represents the first step to reclaiming their throne in the Mission Valley.
James Logan has won nine straight games against Washington, dating back to a 14-7 Huskies' victory in 2008. The Colts won last year's meeting, 65-13, getting 174 yards and two scores on the ground from quarterback Shamoun Duncan-Niusulu. The last six meetings have all been decided by 27 or more points, and Logan has scored 52 or more points in each of the last three games between the two programs.
