Spring's Spotlight - Macen Akers

   Macen Akers spends very little time on the sideline during an Everett football game.
   It seems to suit the Warriors' senior just fine.
   He plays quarterback. He plays defensive back. He's the team's punter, and he'll return punts and kicks as well.
   And he's become one of Everett's leaders, on and off the field, as the Warriors are off to a 2-1 start to the season.
   In Friday's 28-26 victory over Glendale, Akers was in the middle of many big situations.
   Glendale had the ball up 7-0 late in the second quarter, and Akers intercepted Jacob Jasper's deep pass attempt, and brought the ball back some 40 yards to set the Warriors up in position to either tie or take the lead.
   He converted a third down by running for 24 yards, then score a touchdown on the next play, and also ran in a two-point conversion.
   In the third quarter, with the Vikings ahead 13-8, Akers engineered a 15-play drive that lasted over six minutes and went nearly 80 yards. He handed the ball off to Logan Propst for the touchdown, before scoring another two-pointer himself. Early in the fourth, Akers scored his second rushing touchdown to give Everett a 22-13 lead.
   Glendale inched closer, but Akers again had an answer, on a fourth down from the Viking 6-yard line. He took the snap and didn't hesitate in running for the end zone, beating the defense to the goal line on the near side of the field.
   "A lot of times, Coach (Winston Redman) and I might see the same call," Akers said when asked if the play was by design. "It's just what we see out there, and it came off perfectly there to get a big touchdown."
   Everett is playing with heavy hearts this year, after former coach Tom Waltman passed away unexpectedly in July. Waltman was a football coach at many levels in the Warrior program, and was very close to many of the current players because he was a physical education teacher in the district, and beloved in the community.
   The team held a "Red Out" in the home opener, wearing shirts that had the letters TW and the number 23 with angel wings on either side, and they also run onto the field with the same design on a flag.
   "We have someone watching over us this year," said Akers. "That's always going to be behind us and with us all season. If we have nothing else to play for, that's what we play for. We play for Tommy Waltman, our family, and our community."