By Mike Maltais
Several candidates for the Liberty Bell High School varsity football team were on the playing field at LBHS on Sunday (July 27) following a one-day football camp at Eastern Washington University two days earlier.
Chip Jones, Jorge Lara and Ryan Kensrud, all incoming seniors, attended the EWU camp with coaches Brent Walker and Brian Wilbur last Friday (July 25), where Jones turned out with the quarterbacks and Lara and Kensrud practiced with the wide receivers and defensive backs.
“It was a great opportunity for our guys to pick up some early season pointers,” Walker said.
“After the camp concluded, we let Jorge attempt some field goals,” Walker noted. “After missing his first couple of attempts wide from 50 and 55 yards, he successfully made one from 60 yards off of the turf and without a tee.”
That got the attention of EWU’s head football coach, Beau Baldwin, who’s looking for a kicker for next year’s Eagles team.
“Coach Baldwin then wished him well and said he looked forward to seeing how Jorge’s season goes,” Walker said.
The camp will prove particularly useful for the Mountain Lions who are working hard to make up for delays caused by the recent wildfire activity in the valley and the presence of fire base camp operations on the LBHS campus.
Jones, Jose Dominguez, Garrett Jensen, Isaac Cordes, Finlay Holston and Eden Davis went through drills and conditioning exercises on the LBHS football field last Sunday under the guidance of Wilbur, Walker and former LBHS player Jordan Cruz.
The team is still awaiting word on who will be the new Mountain Lions varsity head coach as the interview process wraps up sometime next week.
In the meantime, several other Liberty Bell varsity football prospects have expressed interest in attending a football camp at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma this weekend, which is offering skills training for all team positions for grades freshman through senior.
