With the football season set to begin on September 1, the Ballard Beavers will feature more running plays in their offense to balance their steadily improving passing attack.

The team is loaded with returning players looking to establish a winning pattern. Ballard returns nine starters on offense and seven on defense. "We have five seniors that are pretty good and we have a good group backing them up," said Head Coach Alex Barashkoff.

Last year Ballard finished its season with a 2 and 7 record. Their only wins came against Garfield 21-7 and Roosevelt 33-28. They lost a game to a weak Franklin that only won game.

While the offense clicked at times, the defense gave up too many touchdowns. Ballard allowed too many third down conversions.

The Beavers went to a football camp at Eastern Washington University this summer with full varsity and junior varsity squads. "It went well. We did not have our starting quarterback, but it was a very competitive camp," said Barashkoff.

The team's number one quarterback, Joey Bolinger was available when the team attended a passing tournament in Lacey and helped the Beavers win it.

Bolinger first showed his potential as a freshman in 2004, when he came off the bench to throw a last minute touchdown pass to beat Bothell at the Emerald City Kickoff at Qwest Field.

2005 was Bolinger's first as a starter. In the Garfield game, Bolinger threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to senior Daryl McIntyre, a 38-yard touchdown pass to Miles Schwaab and a 20-yard strike to Danny Hawkins for a third score.

Bolinger is a big tall quarterback, just like former Beaver Cole Morgan who is now playing for the Washington State Cougars. Morgan lead Ballard to the state championship game in 2003.

"Joey is trying to catch up with Cole. Cole was great here at Ballard. If Joey can be as successful as Cole, we'll be pretty happy. We really like Joey," said Barashkoff.

KingCo All-League wide receiver Schwaab is the team's deep threat and spends time on the defense at cornerback. "He does it all for us. He had a good year," said Barashkoff.

Junior Drew Plommer adds to the talent mix at cornerback. "The corners will make sure teams don't throw the ball over our heads," said Barashkoff.

Linemen Skyler Brown and Kellen Jones, both juniors will play on the defensive and offensive lines. Erik Sorensen, a junior, adds to the depth to both lines.

Junior Colin Matthieson is the middle linebacker and doubles at the fullback position. Safety Clayton Anderson is a senior who will contribute.

Tightend is set with senior Danny Hawkins playing the position for the third year. "He's a two-way player (also linebacker). He's a great kid," said Barashkoff.

If the team is to meet its goal of a balanced offense, running back Terence Garcia needs to have a strong year.

As far as predictions go, Barashkoff says the team will definitely be better. "All the kids are back and have much bigger expectations," he said.

Barashkoff says a 7 and 2 record would be nice and would qualify the Beavers for a playoff spot. "Once you get a playoff spot, you never know what happens," he said.

Ballard plays 3A powerhouse Bellevue in a non-league game. The game is the very last one on their 2006 schedule. Each KingCo 4A team will play a 3A opponent this season. If Ballard is in the playoffs at that point, going against talented Bellevue should help the team prepare for the post season said Barashkoff.

Skyline was the class of the league in 2005 with a perfect 9 and 0 record. The Spartans moved to the 3A classification this year. Eastlake was second best at 8 and 1,

Bothell and Woodinville 7 and 2, Inglemoor and Juanita 5 and 4, Redmond 3 and 6, Ballard and Roosevelt 2 and 7, Franklin and Garfield were at the bottom with 1 and 8 records.

The league is still tough even with Skyline out of the picture. Barashkoff says Woodinville and Redmond will be the top teams Ballard will face this year.

The 2006 schedule:

September 1 at Juanita, 7:30 p.m.

September 7 at Woodinville (Pop Keeny Stadium in Bothell), 7 p.m.

September 15 Redmond at Memorial Stadium, 8 p.m.

September 22 Franklin at Memorial Stadium, 5 p.m.

September 29 at Inglemoor (Pop Keeny Stadium in Bothell), 5 p.m.

October 6 Roosevelt at Memorial Stadium 8 p.m.

October 13 Lake Washington at Memorial Stadium 8 p.m.

October 20 Garfield at Memorial Stadium, 5 p.m.

October 27 Bellevue at Memorial Stadium, 7:30 p.m. (non-league).