North Kitsap's Sloman earns 2022 Kitsap Sun football player of the year award
North Kitsap football offensive coordinator Chris Richardson listed two catches among his favorite receptions by junior receiver Logan Sloman during the 2022 season.
The first came in the Vikings' Class 2A state semifinal win against W.F. West. Sloman caught a pass on third-and-short and raced toward the left sideline, beating multiple defenders for a 28-yard touchdown that helped North Kitsap rally for a 29-22 victory.
"His body was real beat up and his feet were bugging him and I don't think anyone was catching him there. He outran all the angles."
Richardson also loved the stick-nod route Sloman ran in the fourth quarter of the 2A title game against Lynden. Sloman absorbed a vicious tackle from Lions safety Kobe Baar, but held on for the first-down grab to set up the Vikings' game-tying touchdown.
"He hit me pretty hard," Sloman said with a chuckle.
Although North Kitsap ultimately came up short against Lynden, 31-24, Sloman made his mark on both sides of the ball for the 12-2 Vikings. He set single-season school records for receptions (71), receiving yardage (1,008) and receiving touchdowns (14) on offense, while leading all West Sound defenders with eight interceptions.
Sloman is the pick for 2022 Kitsap Sun football player of the year.
"Logan is certainly deserving of this award," North Kitsap head coach Jeff Weible said. "He has spent countless hours in the weight room to make himself strong and faster. He is a very smart football player that knows how to get open and how to cover people. He is very fast in the open field and has the ability to score anywhere on the field. Great leader for us on and off the field and is certainly a player who will play at the next level. We are blessed to have him back for one more year and I am sure he will be at the center of next season's successes."
With North Kitsap reaching the state semifinals in 2021 and made its first-ever championship game appearance this fall, Sloman said he can't wait to make another title push with the Vikings in 2023.
"I think we're going to be just as strong next year," said Sloman, who earned Olympic League 2A most valuable player honors in a vote by league coaches.
Growing up watching his older brother Tyler play football, first at Kingston High School and then at North Kitsap, Logan Sloman said he couldn't wait for the day to get his opportunity to shine.
"I always wanted to play high school ball," said Sloman, who began playing pee-wee football at age 6. "Tyler talked about it all the time. ... I wanted to be a part of that."
Sloman knew he'd be a focal point of North Kitsap's offense this fall. He didn't expect to play much on defense, but forced coaches to leave him on the field after he continued to make plays in the secondary. Out of his eight interceptions, six came in North Kitsap's four state playoff games.
"Offense is where I'm at, but I love playing defense so much," Sloman said. "It's so fun."
Sloman played at less than 100% in the final few weeks of the season, but he never failed to make an impact as the Vikings became the first Kitsap County football team to reach a title game since 1997.
"He was absolutely beat up," Richardson said. "He hardly practiced in the postseason."
For all the records he collected this season, Sloman said they were the result of a team finding success together.
"The stats are cool and all, but wide receivers are solely dependent on the O-linemen and the quarterback," he said. "It's pretty much their records as much as it is mine."
North Kitsap defensive coordinator Dave Snyder said the relationships Sloman has with teammates, including those he won't have a chance to play with ever again, are the things the player values the most.
"I've built such a good friendship with so many of them," he said.
Previous Winners
2002: Tieba Bropleh (LB/RB) Bremerton; Chris Carlsen (OL/LB) North Kitsap
2003: Jared Prince (QB/S) North Kitsap
2004: Jared Prince (QB/S) North Kitsap
2005: Kyle Pease (QB) South Kitsap
2006: Stefan Walker (QB) Port Angeles
2007: Caleb Brown (TE/S) Central Kitsap
2008: Howie McDonald (RB/LB) Central Kitsap
2009: Larry Dixon (RB) Olympic
2010: Kyle Kennedy (RB) Bremerton; Lou Hecker (RB) Kingston
2011: Sam Byers (QB/S) Kingston
2012: Mikey Lawrence (QB) Bremerton
2013: Aaron Dickson (FB/LB) Kingston
2014: Calvin Cardwell (RB) Bremerton
2015: Geordyn Shinard (RB/LB) Olympic
2016: Gabe Wallis (RB/LB) Klahowya
2017: Dax Solis (RB) North Kitsap; Ryan Brooks (OL/DL) North Kitsap
2018: Alex Refilong (RB) Central Kitsap
2019: Colton Bower (QB/S) North Kitsap
2020: No award given (COVID-19)
2021: Colton Bower (QB/S) North Kitsap
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: North Kitsap's Sloman named Kitsap Sun's top football player for 2022