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Juanita, Liberty football connections run deep
Members of the coaching staffs at the KingCo 3A/2A rivals are no strangers to each other
He had an idea.
The Patriots were playing Skyline and Tarantola, now Juanita's varsity coach, thought a swing pass to the flat would set up a big gain for the running back. It wasn't in the playbook. For one snap, it was as if Liberty went back to playing sandlot football.
It also proved to be a big mistake. The lateral hit the turf and was scooped up by the Spartans and returned for a touchdown.
"I stopped drawing up plays in the sand after that," said Tarantola, whose Rebels are 4-0 and ranked No. 7 in the state in Class 3A.
Even now, 11 years later, he still laughs about that play. He learned a lot from that moment and all the years he spent as an assistant at Liberty. Steve Valach took over as head coach the following season, setting in motion a career that led to tonight's 7 o'clock KingCo 3A/2A matchup between Juanita and third-ranked Liberty (4-0) at Liberty.
When it comes to the Patriots and the Rebels, the connections run deep. It starts with the head coaches.
"There will always be a special connection, because they know they played a special part in the turnaround of our football program," said Valach.
Two seasons into Valach's tenure, the Patriots had just two wins. The following season, Tarantola became offensive coordinator. Four seasons in, they had a total of seven wins.
It was a long process, but in Tarantola's final year, the Patriots finished 8-2.
"He was willing to give me the offensive coordinator position and let me run with it," Tarantola said of Valach. "That took a lot of courage on his part. It would be hard for me to do that."
This will be Tarantola's first trip to Liberty as an opposing coach, and there will be plenty of familiar faces. Brian Hartman, the Patriots' special-teams coach, was with Tarantola on the sideline during that infamous sandlot play. Andy Hall, Liberty's defensive coordinator, moved from freshman coach to offensive coordinator as Tarantola moved through the ranks.
Kyle Noble, Ken Gunderson and Bob Blair also are members of the Patriots' staff who worked with Tarantola. But it doesn't stop there.
Andy Arena, Juanita's defensive coordinator, was a student at Liberty and spent a year on the coaching staff. Like Tarantola, Eddie Antuna, who works with the Rebels' offensive line and linebackers, cut his teeth with the Patriots.
"There's been a lot of phone calls back and forth, for sure," Valach said. "It's fun because you respect them."
Mason Kelley: 206-464-8277 or mkelley@seattletimes.com
