EVERETT – For Mariner High School football player Anthony O’Dell, Saturday was supposed to be a chance to prove that he could play with the big boys.
Due to a minor, yet untimely, injury, O’Dell might not get that opportunity.
The Central Washington University recruit broke the middle finger on his left hand during Thursday’s morning practice, and it appears he will be held out of the East-West All-Star Game on Saturday.
“It’s kind of a disappointment,” the 6-foot-3, 270-pound lineman said while watching the afternoon practice in street clothes. “But the way I look at it, I’ll still have four more years of playing football. I’m out here having fun with all the guys and knowing I can hang with them.”
O’Dell got his finger caught in a teammate’s pads during morning drills, and although he lobbied to tape it up and continue, the trainers weren’t taking any chances.
Dick Nicholl, who will coach the West team, could not confirm whether O’Dell will be held out of Saturday’s game.
“He’s a good kid, and a good player,” Nicholl said. “He was going to play both sides of the ball for us on Saturday. … It’s just one of those deals. It’s the nature of the game.”
O’Dell is the only player to suffer a significant injury during the first four days of practices. He said that if he had his way, he would still be able to play.
“Most definitely,” O’Dell said. “If possible, tape it. Tape is my friend.”
Although he has a full ride to play football at CWU, O’Dell was excited about the idea of participating in an all-star game that includes 24 players who will compete at the Division I level next season.
“I know myself that I can play with these guys, and I proved it here in practice; I’ve been laying guys out,” he said. “They’re Division I people, and that just shows I can play. You’ve got to play the best to know that you are the best. That’s what I was hoping Saturday would be about.
“But you never know what’s going to happen.”
Secret weapon: If the East squad has a marked advantage Saturday, it should be in the kicking game.
Bellarmine wide receiver Ben Hannula was an all-state punter as a junior, and he handled punting duties all three years he was on varsity.
The West team, meanwhile, has been holding open tryouts for punters all week. Their top three candidates fail the eye test, each tipping the scales at or above 250 pounds.
Mike Mayer, Snohomish’s 270-pound lineman, has been part of the rotation even though he’s never punted in a game before, while 250-pound running back/defensive end Johnie Kirton was only a part-time punter at Jackson.
But the likely candidate to handle punting duties Saturday could be Newport’s Adam Hineline, a 266-pound lineman who had never punted before this week.
“The (all-star) coaches have said I have a strong leg,” Hineline said. “I tried to tell (the Newport) coaches that, but they never listened.”
The all-star game doesn’t invite specialists, which is a point of contention for the coaches. Nicholl had one of the top kickers in the state while coaching at Mercer Island last year – Tyler Odegard was a recruited walk-on at USC.
“When they pick the coaches in January, they ought to let that coach find a punter and a kicker,” Nicholl said. “Maybe have them come in Thursday (before the game) and just let them kick. It allows two or three or four more kids to be a part of the game, and it also makes for a better kicking game.”
A different kind of bowl game: The players got a break from the practices and meetings Thursday afternoon, when game officials took them bowling.
The event afforded the players an opportunity to loosen up while keeping their competitive fire.
“It was fun,” said Oak Harbor running back Blake Ward. “We got to get out and joke around. We hadn’t really gotten a chance to do anything exciting yet.
“Well, bowling’s not that exciting, but you know what I mean.”
For the record, Renton receiver/defensive back Quinton Jackson claimed to have the top score on the West team (160), while Pasco running back/linebacker Mike Welch claimed to have rolled an East squad-best 167.
“I’m in a bowling league,” said Welch, perhaps echoing a statement heard throughout Pasco on Friday nights.
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