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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1981)
Ih u ri A ug 27 19 « I GRESHAM (O re ) O U IIO O K and SANDY (O re ) POST 7 » h . If (ire s h a m 's q uarterb acks can get (he ball into (he rig h t hands, Gabe Gom ez (fa r left > could provide some excitem ent this sear. 3 Gophers go for Gresham QB job There is good news and bad news for nine Wilco League football teams this year The good news is, Gresham, 7-2 in the Wilco league and a state quarterfinalist last year, lost T erry Summerfield, perhaps the best quarterback in the Wilco last year, to graduation The bad news is. Gresham coach Dick Flood has three newcomers ready to step in And he figures all three can get the job done for him So anyone who figured the quarterback situation was going to change always-tough Gresham into also ran Gresham bet ter look for another weak spot And it may be hard to find Juniors Tom Eubanks. backup to Summerfield last season, and Todd Nagel, plus sophomore Mike Palmer all are vying for the vacant signal caller position One thing is for sure, they w ill have to win the job by outselling, not outsmarting one another Each is a four-point student “ A ll three are intelligent,“ Flood says “ They're leaders of their classes That's a neat thing to work with ” aw hile All three can throw the ball It 's just a m atter of them getting knocked down a couple of times, throwing a few in- comp let ions to see how they respond.” Should they no, respond — heaven forbid — they all know the value of the handoff, a valuable commodity, indeed, with a fellow like senior tailback Mike Austin in your backfield S tatistically, Austin is the top returning back in the league and. barring injury, should be up to the task of defending his reputation If he isn't — heaven forbid, again — there are plenty of other speedsters ready to give it a try. including Brian Hugg, Hob Schnackenberg. Scot, Crook (who w ill be the Gophers' placekickeri. Darren Humphreys (the third Humphreys brother Flood has coached» and Mike Bayer, also a starter in the defensive secondary If anyone has the edge it might be Eubanks, simply because he already has logginl tim e on the varsity, hence he is somewhat used to the Gresham system At 6 3 Eubanks is the tallest of the three also the skinniest If he wasn't the quarterback. Flood might be tempted to attach notes to his leg and use him to ca rry in plays from the sidelines In front of the tailback. Gresham expects Guy Normand to develop into one of the top fullbacks in the league He already is a second team all Wilco linebacker Brian Kato and Kevin M ille r w ill back up there Flood has gradually opened up his wishbone option whatever offense over the pas, three years which has enticed some skilled athletes to try their hands at receiving “ Our receiving group is probably as good as we've had here," Flood says. Nagel spent much of last year hurt on the junior varsity and Palmer, who should also give the Gophers a formidable punter, was on the frosh team “ As fa r as playing experience goes, they are lim ite d ," Flood says “ I think they're all fine quarterbacks, they just need some tim e to prove themselves That's going to take Junior Gabe Gomez, one of the best — and. at 5-7. one of the smallest athletes on the team, is the top returnee at the split end position Phil Tarleton. with sprinter’s speed, and Tom Whipple are two more wide outs Ed Parks. Steve Belmore and Paul Maddox w ill play tight end in the Gopher offense. Graduation took most of the Gresham front line, but luck brought some of it back D a rryl Huffendick returns at quick tackle On the other side of center Jim Pick w ill be the large K irk Voss, who transferred over from Centennial Flood ex pects big things from the 6-5 Voss "H e ’s a pleasant addition,” he says. “ Austin might not mind running behind him.” Other tackle candidates are Chris Korwin and Rich Hager Greg Nash and K irk Wellnitz are returning lettermen a, guard Up from the JV are Pa, Baird. Vic Hixe, Steve Mick and Jeff Winters The Gophers have more experience on defense Both cor ners. Ben W illiams and Mike Shnki, are back Normand and Marty Coomler w ill be back at linebacker provided the latter recovers from a vertebrate problem, and Kevin Docken returns a, tackle Brian Baertlein backed up a, nose guard las, year Andre Aker and Pa, W illiams are penciled in tor duty a, defensive end. and Mark Water and Dan Smith are prim ary secondary candidates in addition to Bayer Some of wha, the Gophers lack in experience this year w ill t>e made up by their size, both physical and in numbers Gresham has a 45 member varsity and a 30-member sophomore squad Plus. *We might have better team size than in the past,” Flood says “ Maddox and Voss are 6-5. Eubanks is 6 3. Baird is 6-3 and weighs 190, Hagerty is 6-2 and 205. Mick is 6-2 and 200. Pa, W illiam s is 6-2, 185 ' It all adds up to wha, Flood hopes is another big season for Gresham i .. *: • »' v . DICK BAI T I S ì . . » ■■ • ■ • • y ‘ • • ' - • ’ ■ • >« i .., ■ ’ Z , . ■■■ .• ;■ v • ..
