The number of gridders turning out for Enumclaw High coach Don Bartel and company has swelled from around 35 on a reliable basis in 2008 to at least 70 this season.

“These guys have been working (hard) the last couple of weeks learning the plays, running the plays and then watching film of themselves learning and running the plays, sometimes late into the evening,” Bartel said. “As the number of kids that turned out this summer clearly indicates, Enumclaw may once more be becoming a football town again.”

There is plenty of reason for hope after Enumclaw made it to the postseason in 2008 for the first time in years with a 5-3 mark in league and a 5-5 record overall. The biggest question that the Hornets will have to answer though, is how it will fill the holes left by graduation.

Many of the bright prospects on this year’s EHS team will be 48-minute men, playing on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

On the offensive side of the football, things begin with quarterback Riley Carel.

“Riley is not a quarterback in the truest sense of the word, but he is getting a little better every day,” Bartel said of his senior signal caller. “He gets it done with his fearlessness, sheer athleticism, confident leadership and a competitive edge that you cannot instill into a player.”

The offensive line should be well fortified by left tackle Jordan Grant, Joe Glick, Markus Hammond, Kevin Knapp, Jeff Wiltse and Caleb Nelson.

According to Bartel, there is a healthy competition going on for the cherished two running back positions.

“Not very many positions on this squad are chiseled in stone yet, so competition is fierce at most positions, but particularly at running back,” he said.

Senior Andrew Gamblin frequented the backfield with last year’s tenacious tandem of Wyatt Hampton and Jon Roy Bathum. But the position must be earned in the Hornet camp, so Gamblin will playing king of the hill to stave off the likes of Jake Christiansen and Austin Grau, a couple of junior workhorses, and last year’s placekicker Andy Holdener.

In his junior season, Holdener has convinced Bartel that he is good for more than just kicking off and splitting the uprights.

The receiving air force will consist of Terenn Houk and Coleman Clyde.

“I really want to get after it with our passing attack this season,” Bartel said. “Enumclaw is no longer a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust group.”

He is confident his bunch has the physical ability and intellect to make these plays work.

“These guys are a sharp and talented group and I think that they are really going to raise some eyebrows this year,” Bartel maintained.

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