Washington high school football: West Sound's Week 1 matchups for the 2023 season

One month. That's all the time remaining before West Sound's high school football teams reach Week 1 of the 2023 season.

Players and coaches who've been engaging in summer football activities are currently enjoying a two-week break, which is mandated by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, before preseason training begins around the state Aug. 16. Teams then have a little over two weeks to practice and prepare for season-opening games. All of West Sound's teams play Sept. 1.

Here's a look at each of the nine matchups on the slate for Week 1:

South Kitsap at Bethel

The Wolves' Sean Banks is one of three new head coaches in West Sound this season. The 2002 South Kitsap graduate replaces Dan Ericson, who guided the team for four seasons (2-8 in 2022) and is now the offensive coordinator at Olympic. Banks' first test is a Class 4A South Puget Sound League matchup against a Bethel team that beat South Kitsap 6-0 in Port Orchard in 2022. The Bison also have a new coach this fall in Travis Dormer and feature one of the top Class of 2025 players in the state in linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale.

Central Kitsap at Mariner

The 2022 season was a rough stretch for the Cougars, who lost their first eight games before topping South Sound Conference 3A foe North Thurston 23-21 in Week 9 and beat Rogers 27-7 in a nonleague title in Week 10. A year after losing to Bremerton in the season's opener, Central Kitsap begins 2023 with a pair of road games against Mariner and Bothell before beginning league play at home against defending 3A state champion Yelm.

North Kitsap at Mount Tahoma

Finishing as the 2A state runner-up in 2022 with a 12-2 record, North Kitsap will face the same nine teams during the 2023 regular season that it did a year ago. It's basically just the venues that will change (home games are now road games, and vice versa). It's quite possible that the Vikings' first two contests might be their toughest tests of the season. After travelling to Mount Tahoma in Week 1, North Kitsap hosts Tumwater before Olympic League play kicks off in Week 3.

Mount Douglas at Bremerton

It's not every day a team from Canada ventures to Kitsap County for a high school football game. That's who the Knights (7-3 in 2022) draw in Week 1 as Mount Douglas will be traveling from British Columbia. Also of note for this game: It's slated to be the first game Joe Kennedy serves as a Bremerton assistant coach since the 2015 season, when he began praying with students at the 50-yard-line. Put on leave and ultimately not rehired by Bremerton School District. Kennedy took his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled last summer that Kennedy's prayers were a private matter and he was allowed to resume coaching.

Eatonville at Olympic

Last season, the Trojans opened on the road against Eatonville in a Thursday game (the Cruisers won 47-27). The loss didn't deter Olympic's pursuit of a playoff berth. The team won its next seven games, placed second in the Olympic League standings and qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 2015. Eatonville, which reached the 1A state quarterfinals last fall, have a new head coach in Rex Norris. A longtime head coach at Kentwood, Norris replaces Gavin Kralik, who spent two seasons coaching South Kitsap from 2015-16.

East Jefferson at Kingston

The Ethan Goldizen era begins this season in Kingston as he takes over head coaching duties following three years spent as an assistant at the University of Puget Sound. Goldizen joined the Buccaneers in July after the unexpected resignation of Ron Earp, who lasted all of three weeks as head coach. Finishing 3-6 under head coach Billy Russo in 2022, Kingston knocked off East Jefferson 50-22 in Week 1. Russo is an assistant at Jackson High School in Mill Creek.

Bainbridge at Hazen

The Spartans (4-5 in 2022) are under new leadership as former North Kitsap assistant Dan Schoonmaker replaces Jeff Rouser as head coach. Bainbridge hosted Hazen in Week 1 last season, falling 25-20. It would be the first of three games during a four-week stretch that saw the Spartans lose a game by a margin of five points or less. Going 4-0 instead of 1-3 might have kept the team in the 3A playoff hunt.

Shelton at North Mason

It's the Bulldogs' turn to host the Mason County Cup against the Highclimbers. Shelton won last year's Week 1 matchup, 39-18. North Mason (1-8 in 2022) won three consecutive games in the series from 2017-19 but has dropped the last two meetings.

Klahowya at Coupeville

This will be the third consecutive season that the Eagles (1-8 in 2022) open against Coupeville. Klahowya prevailed 42-39 in 2021. Last year, the Eagles lost 41-21. This season, Klahowya plays three nonleague games in Weeks 1-3 before beginning its Nisqually League 1A schedule on the road against Life Christian in Week 4.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Washington prep football: West Sound's 2023 Week 1 schedule