Peck replaces Baker, who resigned from Prairie in November after three seasons. The Falcons went 3-6 and tied for third in the 3A Greater St. Helens League this fall under Peck’s newly instilled spread offense.
Now, Peck’s first challenge as a first-time head coach is to take over a Prairie program that’s had one winning season in the past 20 years. It came in 2011 under Terry Hyde when the program went 6-4 and also reached the 3A state preliminary round. That, too, was the program’s last playoff berth since 1997.
While Prairie hasn’t had recent success in football, changing that culture first starts with creating one, and Peck is getting his players to understand what it takes to make a championship-caliber program.
That begins with year-round commitment, including multi-sport athletes. The day following the Falcons’ loss in the 3A Greater St. Helens League tiebreaker, 40 players showed up to weight-room workouts.
“That is new for this program,” Peck said. “Kids have the passion to be successful and want to be successful.”
Building a foundation of a family-first atmosphere is what Peck hopes will lead to success on the field, too. Glimpses of that were shown in 2017, and building off of back-to-back third-place finishes in the 3A GSHL is a start in the right direction.
“I coach the person first and athlete second,” Peck said. “If you’re not close and family-knit, you won’t achieve what you’re able to achieve. Let’s have fun and make it special.”
Prairie returns a core nucleus from its 2017 team, including quarterback Jayson Maddux, whose season ended prematurely with a broken collarbone as well as the majority of its offensive line.
“We’re excited to build off of what we started last year, and ready to pick it up in the spring,” Peck said.
Peck teaches PE and health at Prairie. He’s an ex-Division III quarterback at Whitworth University and a 2006 graduate of R.A. Long High School.
