The sound of popping pads reverberated under the bright sunshine of a mid-August afternoon as the Eastside Bulldogs football team pushed themselves through a rigorous practice session at Bellevue High School.

The Bulldogs, who are in their third year of existence as a program that competes in the Northwest Junior College Football League, are composed of players from various community colleges in the area. Bulldogs’ head coach Kevin Bouwman said each player on the roster is required to be enrolled in a minimum of five credits per semester/quarter in order to be eligible to play on the team. Bouwman encourages his players to take a full academic load, which is composed of 12 credits. The Bulldogs roster has individuals enrolled in Bellevue College, Green River Community College, Seattle Central Community College, Tacoma Community College and Highline Community College.

“We have guys from different schools and classifications. We have guys who are 18 years old and fresh out of high school to guys who are 24 years old, who have kids,” Bouwman said. “It has provided an opportunity for these guys to continue on in their football careers and get back in school. The No. 1 goal is for these guys to get all of their grades and credits in order so they can transfer to four-year schools down the road. We want to make sure they are ready to go.”

Eastside Bulldogs Team President Doug Darlington agreed wholeheartedly with Bouwman’s assessment.

“This gives them an opportunity to be in school, play something they love and give them an avenue if they want to pursue a four-year degree and an opportunity to play ball. That is the genesis of the whole program and is why we started it,” Darlington said.

The Northwest Junior College Football League, which is comprised of Eastside, Lewis & Clark, Central Sound and Everett, isn’t large enough for any of its four teams to play a complete league schedule. The Bulldogs are planning on facing NCAA Division-III teams Linfield, George Fox and Pacific as well.

Newport High School 2015 graduate Mannie Davis is grateful to have the opportunity to continue his football career. Davis, who wreaked havoc on opposing offensive lines during his high school years as a stalwart defensive end, will make the switch to slot receiver for the Bulldogs.

“I started practicing with these guys in the spring once the high school track season ended. It has been great. It has given me an opportunity to have a fresh start and a clean slate,” Davis said. “The competitive level here is really high and is so much different from high school, because here you actually have to compete for starting spot while in high school that wasn’t always the case. The talent on this team is amazing. We can only get better from here.”

Skyline Spartans 2015 grad Elijah Nichols said he considered playing football at Santa Barbara Community College in Southern California but instead opted to suit up for the Bulldogs.

“It’s nice to stay close to home. We got a good program up here too. I think our team is going to be pretty good this year. It is going to be a lot of fun,” Nichols said. “We’re meshing really well together as a team, which makes it really fun. We have a lot of guys from different backgrounds and we’re all working together. It is really cool.”

Nichols, who will play outside receiver this fall, loves the way Bouwman approaches the game from a coaching standpoint.

“He is loud, aggressive and gets on us when he needs to. He is also a really chill guy but when its game-time, its game-time,” Nichols said with a smile.

Interlake 2010 graduate Baidar Oweis is in his second season with the Bulldogs. The 23-year-old wide receiver said he didn’t take football as seriously as he should have during his high school days.

“The Bulldogs gave me my first crack at playing after high school. I just want to take this opportunity and see how far I can go with it. I still have some juice left,” Oweis said. “My favorite route is the nine route (deep pass). I like to high point the ball and go up and catch it.”