MAKING A CONNECTION: Titans to rely on passing this season

Oh, yes, football is back.

And Olympia High School will help celebrate this holiday of sorts this Friday, when it welcomes Boone High for the annual Kickoff Classic. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 18, at Olympia.

“I’m just excited to coach football; everybody has been waiting for football to come back and, it’s back,” Olympia High head football coach Travis Gabriel said. “That’s the exciting part — to be able to be out there on Friday nights with these guys and go out there and play the game we love. I just do it for the kids, the community, the parents and the school.” 

The Titans will play the Braves during the Kickoff Classic for a pre-season game. Playing against Boone brings back memories to Gabriel; he coached the Braves from 2014 to 2018 prior to accepting the head-coaching position at Olympia. 

“My oldest daughter graduated from Boone, and my youngest is a cheerleader over there,” he said. “I’ll always have close ties with Boone.” 

STRONGER TOGETHER

The Titans have a senior-heavy team this year, with more than 30 players walking at the end of the 2023-24 academic year. 

Senior quarterback Juan Gainous is among those, and he is excited to enjoy his final season as a Titan.

“Our chemistry is above average,” he said. “I am excited, anxious and ready for it to start.” 

As a key element of the offensive, Gainous has gained the trust of his four senior starting wide receivers.

“The relationship between the quarterback and the wide receiver is very important,” Gabriel said. “That’s the only way you can be productive when throwing a football. Your quarterback has to know your receiver. They have to trust each other. They have to be able to be where they need to be at and I think they’ve been doing a good job at that. We’ve been hammering that throughout the summer.” 

Seniors Camren Ware, Joshua Evans and TD Cross and junior Xavier Tucker have been honing in their skills and working on having a strong chemistry and relationship with Gainous on and off the field. 

“Having a good relationship with your quarterback is the only way you can win games,” Tucker said. 

Each of the four receivers brings a different element to the passing game, which should give opposing defenses fits.

“We all complement (one another) with different skillsets as receivers,” Evans said. “We may not have the same strengths and weaknesses … but we are all elite at what we do. We are still getting better, so if one of us does one thing, we can all do it, so we push (one another) to be our best.” 

With a strong schedule this year, the Titans are eager to return to the field on Friday nights, and having a strong senior class has allowed them to help newcomers get a better feel for how to play like a Titan. 

“We think about our seniors, and we think good leadership,” Ware said. “I feel like as a team, we all are good leaders.” 

If one thing is for certain, Olympia is ready to be back, and the Titans cannot wait to showcase their 2023-24 iteration.

“If Olympia is going to do it, it’s going to be this year,” Cross said.