2B
|
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2022
|
APPEAL TRIBUNE
Boys
baseball, basketball)
Continued from Page 1B
(Class of 2003 — baseball)
After a solid career at McNary, Bibens-Dirkx thrived
at Chemeketa, where he set the career wins record. Af-
ter spending one year at the University of Portland, he
was drafted in the 16th round.
In 16 years of professional baseball, he has a 76-67
record with a 4.36 ERA.
In two seasons with the Texas Rangers, he compiled
a 7-5 record with a 5.27 ERA.
11. Rocky Gale,
North Salem
(Class of 2006 — baseball)
A four-year starter and ﬁrst-team all-state player
for the Vikings, Gale rocketed up the charts in college.
Gale batted .347 his senior year at the University of
Portland was ﬁrst-team all-West Coast Conference
and the conference defensive player of the year in
2010.
He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2010 and
has played 11 years in the minor leagues, batting .261 in
786 games, including for AAA Louisville in 2021.
Gale has played four years in the major leagues, bat-
ting .108 with one home run.
10. Thalo Green, South Salem (Class of 1996 —
basketball)
The 4A state player of the year in 1996 after leading
the Saxons to the state championship, he averaged 16.5
points and 8.1 rebounds in his career at South Salem.
A four-year starter at the University of Washington,
Green averaged 10.9 points per game as a senior.
He later played 12 years of professional basketball in
Australia.
Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers guard Avry
Holmes (12) reacts after defeating the Louisville
Cardinals 66-62 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
JOSHUA S. KELLY-USA TODAY SPORTS
7. Josh Davis, Salem Academy (Class of 1998 —
basketball)
The most successful boys basketball player to come
out of Salem in recent history, Davis was a standout at
Salem Academy, where he was ﬁrst-team all-state in
1998 after averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds per
game.
In college at Wyoming, he was an all-American se-
lection and the Mountain West Player of the year twice
when he averaged 14.3 and 13.5 points per game.
The Continental Basketball Association player of
the year in 2004, he played four seasons in the NBA
among his 12 seasons of professional basketball, aver-
aging 2.3 points per game in 67 games in the league.
6. Dante Rosario,
Dayton (Class of 2003 —
football, basketball, baseball)
A state champion quarterback in football (2004)
and shortstop in baseball (2005), Wong was one of the
most versatile athletes.
He played three years at Oregon State, including on
the 2007 College World Series winning team before
being drafted by the Colorado Rockies.
Wong played 10 seasons and over 1,000 games of
minor league baseball, accumulating a career .239 bat-
ting average.
Another overlooked small school athlete, Rosario
was dominant at Class 2A Dayton.
He was the 2A state defensive player of the year in
2002 and rushed for 1,238 yards and 27 touchdowns in
leading the Pirates to the state championship.
And he was a ﬁrst-team all-state basketball player,
including leading the Pirates to state championships
in 2002 and 2003.
At Oregon, he moved between positions, but still
caught 94 passes for 1,003 yards and 11 touchdowns,
and rushed for two more.
Rosario was drafted by the Carolina Panthers and
played eight seasons with the Broncos, Dolphins,
Chargers and Bears, catching 116 passes for 1,235 yards
and eight touchdowns.
8. Bill Swancutt, Sprague
(Class of 2001 — football, basketball, baseball)
5. Tyrell Williams, Cascade (Class of 2010 —
football, basketball, track and ﬁeld)
One of the most dominant all-around athletes
Sprague has seen, Swancutt was the two-time Valley
League player of the year in football and a ﬁrst-team
all-league player in basketball, including leading the
Olympians to the 2000 state championship game.
At Oregon State, he was the co-defensive player of
the year as a defensive end and recorded 37 sacks and
60 tackles for loss in his career.
Drafted by the Detroit Lions, he played three years
in the NFL for the Lions, Raiders and Ravens.
He was most highly thought of in sports like basket-
ball (he was all-state in 2010) and track and ﬁeld (sec-
ond in 4A 200 meter dash in 2010), he was a diamond
in the rough as a receiver in Cascade’s wing-T oﬀense.
At Western Oregon, Williams blossomed in football
as a three-time ﬁrst-team all-conference player by
catching 184 passes for 3,169 yards and 24 touch-
downs.
As a free agent with the San Diego Chargers, he
made his presence felt with 1,059 yards and seven
touchdowns in his breakout 2016 season.
In ﬁve seasons in the NFL, he has caught 199 passes
for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Obituaries
4. Travis Lulay, Regis
(Class of 2002 — football, basketball, baseball)
9. Joey Wong, Sprague
(Class of 2006 —
football, baseball)
Robert Raymond “Bob” Ebner
KEIZER - Robert Ray-
mond Ebner, resident of
Keizer, died on January
7, 2022.
Robert (Bob) was born
on June 30, 1933 in Mt.
Angel, Oregon, the son
of Raymond Ebner &
Bernadette (Lux) Eb-
ner. Bob grew up doing
farm work, and attend-
ed North Howell Grade
School, Mt. Angel Grade
School, and Mt. Angel
Prep. In 1953 Bob joined
the Air Force as a Jet En-
gine Mechanic and was
stationed at Portland
Air Force Base until his
honorable discharge in
1957. During his time
in Portland, he met his
future wife Patricia (Pat)
Geschwill at a dance in
Mt. Angel. On January 3, 1959 Bob and Pat were
married and they moved to Seattle, Washington
where they had three children: Randall, Loren &
Diane. Bob worked at Boeing on missile design
until 1972 when the family moved to Keizer. Bob
worked for the State of Oregon, first at the Men-
tal Health Division as a Systems Analyst, then at
the Department of Veteran’s Affairs as a Systems
Supervisor, retiring in 1996. Bob was a member
of St. Edward Catholic Church, The Knights of
Columbus and the Keizer Elks Club; he enjoyed
dancing, extensive travel, woodworking and gar-
dening. Bob is lovingly remembered by his family
for his kindness, friendliness to others, generosity,
his quick smile and sense of humor.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia; son, Loren of
Missoula, MT; daughter Diane Schelske, son-in-
law Steve Schelske, and grandson Nicholas Schelske
of Aumsville; brothers William of Nyssa and Paul
of Beaverton. Bob was preceded in death by his
son, Randall, his sister Mary Ann Perreira, and
brothers Richard, Phillip and Lawrence.
Family and friends may pay their respects to Bob
at Keizer Funeral Chapel on January 24th from
12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. Memorial contributions
may be made to the Father Taaffe Foundation and
the St. Edward Catholic Church building fund.
A memorial event celebrating Bob’s life is being
planned for a later date.
Lightly regarded by some despite his extensive ac-
complishments at Regis High School, Lulay was one of
the most successful professional athletes to come
from the Mid-Valley.
At Regis, he was the 2A co-oﬀensive player of the
year in 2001 in football and led Regis’ basketball team
(2002) and baseball team (2001) to state champion-
ships.
At Montana State, he led a resurgence in football,
passing for 10,746 yards and 81 touchdowns, leading
the team to three Big Sky championships.
He spent time with the Seattle Seahawks and New
Orleans Saints, though he never played in a regular-
season game. But he did play in NFL Europa for the
Berlin Thunder in 2007.
But it was in the Canadian Football League where
Lulay made a career.
In 10 seasons with the B.C. Lions, he passed for
21,352 yards and 127 touchdowns along with rushing
for 2,148 yards and 23 TDS. He had his greatest success
in 2011 when he led the Lions to the Grey Cup and was
named the Most Valuable Player of that game as well
as the league’s Most Outstanding Player.
3. Ryan Bailey, McKay (Class of 2007 — track
and ﬁeld, football)
Until his senior year at McKay, Bailey was an injury-
prone, largely unknown athlete. After it, he was on a
path to the Olympics.
Mostly healthy in his senior season of track and
ﬁeld, Bailey set state records in the 100 and 200 meter
dashes, and won Class 6A state championships in
both events.
In 2009, he was a junior college national champion
at Rend Lake Community College in the 55 meter dash
(indoors) and 100 meter dash (outdoors) before leav-
ing college to run professionally for Nike.
He placed third in the 100 in the 2012 Olympic
Trials, then placed fourth in the event in the Olympics.
In that Olympic Games, Bailey ran on the silver medal-
winning 400 relay team (that medal was later vacated
because one of his teammates was convicted of dop-
ing).
2. Ryan Allen, West Salem (Class of 2008 —
football, basketball)
He was the state’s best punter in his senior year at
West Salem, but it was when he left the state that he
found the most success.
After spending a couple years behind Johnny Hekk-
er at Oregon State, Allen transferred to Louisiana
Tech, where he won the Ray Guy Award (for best col-
legiate punter) in 2011 and 2012.
After beating out an incumbent punter for the start-
ing job with the New England Patriots, he became a
special teams ace for the next six seasons and won Su-
per Bowls with the Patriots in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Allen played eight years in the NFL, including stints
with the Falcons, Titans and Colts.
1. Jed Lowrie, North Salem (Class of 2002 —
As a high school athlete at North Salem High
School, Jed Lowrie was one of the best inﬁelders and
pitchers in the state. But once he left the conﬁnes of
Salem, he excelled.
Playing for Stanford, Lowrie was the Pac-10 player
of the year and was twice an All-American in 2004 and
2005, then was drafted in the ﬁrst round by the Boston
Red Sox in 2005.
He made his major league debut for the Red Sox in
2008 and is now playing his 13th year in major league
baseball, appearing in 1,118 games with a .260 career
batting average, including hitting .290 in 2013.
Lowrie is currently playing for the Oakland Athlet-
ics, the team for which he has played in six of his major
league seasons, including his 2018 All-Star year.
Other athletes considered
Andy Armstrong, West Salem (Class of 2016 — foot-
ball, basketball, baseball, swimming)
Luke Atwood, McNary (Class of 1997 — football,
baseball)
Joey August, South Salem (Class of 2005 –— foot-
ball, basketball, baseball)
Andy Avgi, Woodburn (Class of 2011 — football, bas-
ketball)
Ben Bartch, Blanchet (Class of 2016 — football, bas-
ketball, track and ﬁeld)
Jordan Bishop, West Salem (Class of 2008 — foot-
ball, basketball, track and ﬁeld)
Bryce Bohlander, McNary (Class of 1998 — football,
basketball, track and ﬁeld)
Blake Borsberry, West Salem (Class of 2010 — wres-
tling)
Grayson Boucher, Salem Academy (Class of 2002 —
basketball)
Santos Cantu III, Sprague (Class of 2020 — wres-
tling)
Jordan Carter, McKay (Class of 2010 — basketball,
tennis, golf)
Kory Casto, North Marion (Class of 2000 — base-
ball)
BR Cook, Sprague (Class of 1996 — baseball)
Stephen Copeland, McNary (Class of 1999 — foot-
ball, basketball, baseball)
Hayden Craig, Dayton (Class of 2012 — football,
basketball, baseball, track and ﬁeld)
Cody Crawford, Cascade (Class of 2013 — football,
wrestling, baseball)
John Dibala, Silverton (Class of 2006 — wrestling)
Jeﬀ Dunn, Dallas (Class of 2001 — golf, basketball)
Tanner Earhart, Dallas (Class of 2017 — football,
wrestling, baseball)
Junior Espitia, South Salem (Class of 2012 — foot-
ball, basketball, track and ﬁeld)
Brett Evert, North Salem (Class of 1999 — basket-
ball, baseball)
Connor Fohn, South Salem (Class of 2015 — foot-
ball, basketball, baseball)
Jay Goﬀ, Cascade (Class of 1999 — football, basket-
ball, track and ﬁeld)
Tony Gonzalez, McKay (Class of 2009 — football,
wrestling, track and ﬁeld)
Anthony Gould, West Salem (Class of 2019 — foot-
ball, track and ﬁeld)
J.D. Groves, McNary (Class of 2002 — football, track
and ﬁeld)
Brandon Griﬃn, Sprague (Class of 2012 — wres-
tling)
Tre Hale-Edmerson, Sheridan (Class of 2011 — foot-
ball, basketball, track and ﬁeld)
Adam Hansen, McNary (Class of 2010 — swim-
ming)
A.J. Hedgecock, Dayton (Class of 2012 — football,
basketball, track and ﬁeld)
Casey Horn, North Salem (Class of 1998 — wres-
tling, soccer)
Justin Hubbard, Amity (Class of 2001 — football,
basketball, track and ﬁeld)
Jordan Jenkins, West Salem (Class of 2008 — foot-
ball, basketball, baseball)
Joe Jones, Scio (Class of 2004 — football, track and
ﬁeld)
Aaron Koch, McNary (Class of 1995 — football,
wrestling)
James Lee, McKay (Class of 1998 — football, track
and ﬁeld)
Micah Masei, West Salem (Class of 2017 — swim-
ming and track and ﬁeld)
Kyley McCrae, McNary (Class of 2006 — football,
basketball)
Mike McShane, South Salem (Class of 1996 — bas-
ketball)
Ahmed Muhumed, West Salem (Class of 2017 —
cross country, track and ﬁeld)
Jeﬀ Nunnenkamp, Sprague (Class of 1997 — tennis)
Tanner Omlid, Central (Class of 2012 — basketball,
football, baseball, track and ﬁeld)
Noel Paulson, Cascade (Class of 2000 — cross
country and track and ﬁeld)
Greg Plater, McKay (Class of 2007 — basketball)
Coby Proctor, Stayton (Class of 2011 — football, bas-
ketball, golf)
Teagan Quitoriano, Sprague (Class of 2018 — foot-
ball, basketball)
Ben Rash, Stayton (Class of 2020 — football, bas-
ketball, track and ﬁeld)
Marty Reid, North Salem (Class of 1999 — basket-
ball)
Josh Riddell, McKay (Class of 2004 — football, bas-
ketball, baseball)
Alex Roth, West Salem (Class of 2013 — basketball,
track and ﬁeld)
Shiloh Rowland, McNary (Class of 2000 — basket-
ball)
Sean Santana, McNary (Class of 2004 — wrestling)
Chase Sexton, West Salem (Class of 2008 — foot-
ball, basketball, track and ﬁeld)
Brett Smith, West Salem (Class of 2011 — football,
basketball, track and ﬁeld)
Cade Smith, West Salem (Class of 2015 — football)
Ryan Thompson, Cascade (Class of 2010 — base-
ball, basketball)
Simon Thompson, West Salem (Class of 2019 —
football, track and ﬁeld)
Josh Vanlue, South Salem (Class of 2002 — football,
basketball, baseball)
R.J. Veliz, Woodburn (Class of 2019 — football, bas-
ketball, baseball)
Rob Vian (Class of 1998 — football, wrestling, track
and ﬁeld)
Mickey Walker, McNary (Class of 2015 — baseball,
basketball)
Junior Walling, McNary (Class of 2020 — football)
R.J. Williams, Cascade (Class of 2008 — football,
basketball, track and ﬁeld)
Tony Wilson, Sprague (Class of 2008 — football,
basketball, baseball)