At Columbia High's opening jamboree, Bruins senior quarterback Hunter Wang skitters away from Goldendale's Simeon Messenger on Aug. 29
Chelsea Marr photoWHITE SALMON — Football is a numbers game, and Columbia High will attempt to rebuild the number of players in its program this season by playing an independent schedule.
Coach Shawn Friese and his staff have 41 on the roster heading into the Sept. 5 opener against visiting Hoquaim. That’s nearly double what projections were last spring — and before behind-the-scenes discussions started mapping out a season outside the Trico League.
“The conversation started with our numbers,” Friese said. Most of the 20 players who showed up for spring practices were freshmen and sophomores.
“I, and all the assistant coaches, we all feel the same way. [We want to give] the players a great football experience,” the coach said. “We reflected on that.”
Playing mostly underclassmen in the Trico League would be a potentially unsafe situation. “I wanted to make sure I’m doing my part of giving [our players] a great experience — the experience they deserve,” Freise said. “I want to get as many players out that want to come out … and teach them some things that go beyond football.”
He added that he also didn’t want to put other league programs in a situation of the Bruins potentially having to cancel games once the season started (which Columbia had to do in 2024). “Going independent was kind of the most out-of-the-box [option],” Friese added. “The more we started talking about it we realized we can make this work.
“The boys are really excited about football. The community has given great support. It makes me excited that so many guys want to be a part of [the program] whatever that looks like for us.”
Now it’s time to play some games. The Bruins will be led by returning senior two-way starters Humberto Pulido (linebacker, running back) and Hunter Wang (defensive back, quarterback), and junior returners Brody Landgren (slot receiver, linebacker) and Trenton Boydston (interior line). Junior Razo Salazar, a talented wrestler, is also back on the line, and senior Jordan MacCormack returns at receiver and in the defensive secondary.
“We have a lot of other returners, as well, that will help us — some that will be sophomores that played last year, who got thrown into the fire [as freshmen] because we had to have them play in varsity games,” Friese said.
The Bruins were 3-6 overall and 2-5 in the eight-team Class 1A Trico League in 2024 after a 1-8 season in 2023.
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