Sports
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Appeal Tribune, www.silvertonappeal.com
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Football previews
5 things to know about the
Mid-Willamette Conference
PETE MARTINI AND GARY HOROWITZ
STATESMAN JOURNAL
The Mid-Willamette Conference was
as competitive in football as any league
in the state last season, regardless of
classification.
Three teams from the conference —
Lebanon, Central and Dallas — were
among the four teams that made it to the
OSAA Class 5A state semifinals. A
fourth team, Silverton, was the No. 3
seed in the playoffs and finished 7-3
overall.
Lebanon also won the conference ti-
tle, and the state championship.
There are a number of changes in the
league this season, but it should remain
highly competitive.
“I think maybe it’s going to be a repeat
of last year. You start looking around,
and you’ve got some really good talent,”
Central coach Shane Hedrick said. “The
team that will surprise a lot of people is
Corvallis. They were 0-6 in conference
last year, but they’ve got a boatload of
talent coming back. If they can stay
healthy, to me, they will be the surprise
of the conference.”
Here are five things to know about the
Mid-Willamette Conference this football
season:
1. A new coach, a new era of
Silverton football
First-year Silverton High School foot-
ball coach Josh Craig has big shoes to fill,
but he has continuity working in his fa-
vor.
Craig replaces John Mannion, who re-
signed in April to take the same position
at the new Mountainside High School in
Beaverton. He compiled a 57-20 mark in
seven seasons at Silverton, which includ-
ed three state semifinal appearances
and a state runner-up finish in 2014.
Craig spent three years on Mannion’s
staff and was the head freshman coach
the past two seasons, so players are fa-
miliar with their new leader.
“What’s cool is all the sophomores and
juniors, I was their head coach as fresh-
men,” said the 26-year old Craig, a 2009
Silverton graduate. “Even the seniors,
obviously I’ve been in the program so
they know me. There’s not one kid I
haven’t directly coached at some point.
It’s not as if Craig inherits a rebuild-
ing project.
The Foxes are a perennial Class 5A
state playoff team coming off a 7-3 sea-
son, including a 4-2 mark conference
mark.
“I think we have depth and some great
pieces,” Craig said.
As one of the state’s youngest head
coaches, Craig realizes he has much to
learn. But he brings passion and energy
to the field.
“I don’t worry about it,” Craig said of
MOLLY J. SMITH / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Central quarterback Peter Mendazona, throwing during a practice in Independence, Ore., had a stellar junior season last year, completing 62
percent of his passes for 2,717 yards, 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
his inexperience. “There might be things
where age might be an issue, but for me
if I just focus on what’s happening here
on the field, the peripherals will take
care of themselves.”
2. How will Dallas replace Tanner
Earhart?
Last season, running back Tanner
Earhart was a beast for the Dallas foot-
ball team.
With 2,068 yards and 24 touchdowns,
the senior was named the Class 5A state
offensive player of the year and helped
the Dragons reach the state semifinals.
This year, Earhart is at Linfield Col-
lege, so how do you replace a star of that
caliber?
“You probably won’t. But we think the
guys that we have are top notch, and the
important thing is that we produce and
we’re successful,” Dallas coach Tracy
Jackson said.
This season, Evan Courtney likely
will be the lead running back for Dallas,
a team that has 22 seniors.
In a conference as tough as the Mid-
Willamette, it’s important to keep emo-
tions in check — not too high after wins,
not too low after losses. That starts with
the coaching staff.
“It starts with me. If I unload on them
because they lose a game, that’s stupid
coaching,” Jackson said. “Around here, I
take the heat. I blame the coaches for
losses, and we credit the wins on (the
players). But we just can’t be too high or
too low. We have to learn and move on to
the next game.”
3. Peter Mendazona enters third
year as Central’s starting QB
Central quarterback Peter Mendazo-
na had a stellar junior season last year,
completing 62 percent of his passes for
2,717 yards, 36 touchdowns and seven in-
terceptions.
His strong effort helped lead the Pan-
thers to the Class 5A state semifinals,
and he is hoping for another deep playoff
run this season.
“Our goal is to win the conference
championship and go far in the playoffs,
looking for that state championship,”
Mendazona said. “We just need to get
better at the little things and preparing
for the team ahead. I need to lead the
team on every drive and give us a chance
to win the game.”
Although he isn’t generating a ton of
recruiting buzz, Central coach Shane
Hedrick said Mendazona is one of the
state’s top returning quarterbacks.
In fact, Mendazona’s recruiting situa-
tion reminds Hedrick about what his son,
Grant, went through as a quarterback
recruit years ago.
“Why aren’t the college coaches after
(Mendazona) as much? Because he’s not
6-(foot)-3. I had a son like that about sev-
en years ago. He had one Division I
scholarship offer, and by the time it was
over, he had a pretty good career,” Shane
Hedrick said about Grant, who played at
Boise State and completed 70 percent of
his passes as a senior to lead the nation.
“(Mendazona) has those quarterback
fundamentals,” Shane Hedrick added.
“He’s smart, he’s athletic. He’s multi-
sport, which I firmly believe in. He’s got
a very good arm, very good accuracy.”
4. Silverton’s Levi Nielsen returns
See MID-WILLAMETTE, Page 2B
In Tri-River Conference, other
teams are closing gap on Regis
2. The post Bishop Mitchell era
begins at Kennedy
GARY HOROWITZ
STATESMAN JOURNAL
Competition is so strong in the Tri-
River Conference that every week in
league play is like a state playoff game.
Last season all five teams – Regis,
Kennedy, St. Paul, Santiam and Central
Linn – advanced to the OSAA Class 2A
state playoffs with Regis winning the
state championship and Kennedy mak-
ing the semifinals.
The Tri-River figures to be just as
competitive in 2017.
“Every year we have great athletes
and a lot of good coaches,” Kennedy
coach Joe Panuke said.
So who’s the favorite?
St. Paul and Santiam have the most ex-
perience coming back, but tradition is
with Regis and Kennedy.
“They both graduated a bunch of kids,
but they have such strong programs and
do such a great job,” said St. Paul coach
Tony Smith, whose Buckaroos begin
their fourth year in the Tri-River since
moving up from 1A. “I think the league is
probably more balanced than any year
we’ve been here.”
Here are four things to know about
the Tri-River Conference heading into
the 2017 football season:
1. Target remains for rebuilding
Regis
Regis enters the 2017 season with a
target on its back.
So what else is new?
The Rams reached the state semifi-
nals the previous two seasons before
breaking through in 2016. They out-
scored four playoff opponents 172-40,
and routed Stanfield, 53-14 in the cham-
pionship game.
“Being Regis, being a private Catholic
ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Brandon Piete, left, a senior running back and linebacker, practices with the Regis High School
football team on Thursday before the season begins. Piete is the team’s only returning starter.
school, it always seems like there’s a tar-
get on our back,” said fourth-year head
coach Kyle McGrath. “I think that target
is a lot bigger now.”
For the Rams to make another extend-
ed playoff run this season, they’ll need
major contributions from players who
were not in the spotlight a year ago.
Senior running back/strong safety
Brandon Piete is the only returning
starter.
“They still played on Mondays in their
JV games and got their work in,”
McGrath said. “They’re hungry. They’re
really excited to see Friday (games) and
how it goes for ‘em.”
It will be difficult to replace quarter-
back Bryce Piete, Brandon's older broth-
er and a two-year starter who excelled as
a playmaker and leader.
Juniors Anthony Barboza and Kirk
Scott, a transfer from Weston-McEwen,
are battling for the starting job.
“It will be different,” Piete said of not
playing with his older brother. “I never
really had a quarterback who wasn’t my
brother.”
The Rams will be tested early in their
season opener against Blanchet, which
reached the 3A state semifinals last sea-
son.
How do you replace Bishop Mitchell?
Well, you don’t do it with one player.
Mitchell, who rushed for 2,217 yards
and 28 touchdowns last season, is now a
freshman on the Portland State football
team.
“He was just a special kid. He was
humble,” Kennedy coach Joe Panuke
said. “You hope the younger kids see how
hard he worked and can learn from that.”
Panuke said the running game will be
a “three-headed monster” with seniors
Christian Larios and Anthony Garcia,
and junior Bryce Vandervort.
Another key player the Trojans need
to replace is two-year starting quarter-
back Brett Traeger. Sophomore Emorej
Lynk, a standout receiver as a freshman
last season, moves into the starting quar-
terback role.
The offensive and defensive lines will
be anchored by Nick Suing, a 6-3, 265-
pound junior.
3. Smith returns as starting QB at
St. Paul
It’s always a plus when a school re-
turns its starting quarterback and that’s
the situation at St. Paul with senior Hold-
en Smith, son of head coach Tony Smith.
Smith, who started on defense as a
sophomore, helped lead the Buckaroos
to their first playoff berth since return-
ing to 2A in 2014.
“It’s great with receivers and running
backs, but having experience at quarter-
back and the offensive line is huge,” To-
ny Smith said.
St. Paul has a major hole to fill at run-
ning back with the graduation of Fernan-
See TRI-RIVER, Page 2B