Nisqually League football coaches recognized several East Jefferson athletes for their excellence on the gridiron this fall.

Four East Jefferson Rivals, all from Port Townsend High School, won First Team All-Nisqually League honors.

For his versatility, senior Cash Holmes won the coveted First Team All Purpose Award.

Rivals head coach Tony Haddenham called Holmes “hands-down the best athlete on the field,” and noted that Holmes “started as quarterback for me for three years,” combining a big arm with “shifty” scrambling skills.

Holmes also saw time as a receiver, during which Haddenham observed that he displayed “amazing route-running and hands.”

Haddenham called Holmes a “shut-down” defensive back, whom he lauded for having “the mindset of a leader, on and off the field.”

Senior Aaron Glanz earned recognition as a First Team Linebacker.

Haddenham praised Glanz’s “great athletic ability and leadership” as the team’s “lead linebacker on the field.”

The coach called Glanz a “ball hawk” on defense, and also noted his contributions on offense, as a runningback and backup quarterback.

Nisqually League coaches named sophomore Manaseh Lanphear Ramirez as a First Team Safety.

Haddenham said Lanphear has a “nose for the ball,” “loves to hit” and is very “coachable.”

Lanphear led the team with 99 tackles, averaging about 10 per game.

Assistant Coach Chris Storm praised Lanphear’s speed, and called him “consistently the best athlete on the field.”

Sophomore Jameson Henery, a veteran of select soccer teams, earned First Team Punter for his long, booming kicks.

On defense, Haddenham said Henery’s wrestling experience helped him become “one of the best tacklers on the team.”

On offense, Henery’s blocking and receiving skills led Nisqually League coaches to name him a Second Team Tight End.

Three other East Jefferson Rivals, all Chimacum athletes, also won Second Team All-League honors.

Senior Gary Zambor earned recognition as a Second Team Return Specialist.

Haddenham noted Zambor’s “speed” and “ability to read the field” helped him amass prodigious return yards, and score three return touchdowns.

Zambor distinguished himself on defense as a cornerback, and on offense as wideout.

Haddenham called him “a deep threat,” who forced teams “to double cover” him “on most plays and in most games.”

Sophomore right guard Phoenyx “Moose” DeAngelis made the Second Team Offensive Line.

Haddenham said, “Moose is a dog” who “loves contact.”

Storm, the Rivals’ line coach, called DeAngelis “super tough” and “super resilient,” a big, “naturally strong kid that just doesn’t run out of energy. He can play both ways, shake hands, and then play another game after that.”

League coaches named Noah Cervantes a Second Team Defensive Lineman.

Storm noted that, because Cervantes starts at center on offense, the team limits his time on defense.

Despite being a backup defensive end, Cervantes logged more tackles than any of the starting defensive ends on the team.

Storm called Cervantes “the most technical guy we have,” with “the most tools in his toolbox,” who just “outworks everyone,” and is “nastier pound-for-pound than any player I’ve ever coached.”

Tyler Martin, yet another Chimacum sophomore, won Honorable Mention as a Defensive Lineman.

Storm noted the defensive tackle is “always working, doesn’t wanna lose, keeps pushing through double teams” and “gets tackles in every game.

Storm added that DeAngelis, Cervantes, and Martin are “always getting after it” in the weight room, even in the offseason, and that the three sophomores should comprise the nucleus of a dominant line for the East Jefferson Rivals the next two years.