Boulder City feels its ready to contend in the 3A

By Case Keefer (contact)

Monday, Aug. 23, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

Frank Badgely could safely label himself the most versatile player in Southern Nevada.

As a sophomore last season, Badgely played on Boulder City’s offensive line as a guard. He’s now preparing to be the Eagles starting running back as a junior.

“We needed a guard and we brought him up from the JV where he was a tailback,” Boulder City coach Alex Kazel said. “He’s a very athletic, tough kid so we knew he’d be able to handle it.”

Kazel said Badgely’s transformation back to running back shouldn’t be a difficult one because it’s his natural position.

He’ll also run behind the same experienced offensive line he was a part of last season. Multiple linemen have more than one year of varsity experience, including senior center Bleu Huxford and junior tackle Billy Rotroff.

“We’re expecting big things from those guys,” Kazel said. “We were pretty young there last year, but we’ve got a little more experience back this time around.”

One of the team’s other leaders is senior Jack Lamarca, who will start both ways at receiver and defensive back.

Boulder City had a solid year in 2009, finishing 5-4 in the regular season before bowing out against Truckee in the 3A state semifinals.

But Kazel and the Eagles are not pleased with the status quo. Their team goal this year is to take things a step further.

“We want to build on what we did last year,” Kazel said. “We’ve got to take what we did last year and build on it, for sure, but we want to not only get to the playoffs but go beyond.”

As always, Boulder City’s first game will have the intensity of a playoff battle. Boulder City travels to Basic for the annual Jug Game on Friday Aug. 27.

The Eagles haven’t beaten the rival Wolves since the mid-1990s.

“You always plan to get it back,” Kazel said. “We’re going to show up ready to play and get the Jug back to Boulder City. We’ve fallen a little short the last two years. But at the same time, our school is maybe the size of their freshman class.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or case.keefer@lasvegassun.com. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.