Sandy post., August 27, 1981, Page 43, Image 43

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Aug 27 1981 GRESHAM (Ore ) OUTLOOK and SANDY (Ore ) POST
A new flight plan
Playoffs are (Hi Eagles'1 minds
Centennial football coach Gary Walls isn't
giving up on the 1981 season when he says his
team looks pretty good for next year.
It’s just that Walls knows the value of ex­
perience in his players aren't particularly
strong in that department. The Eagles are
talented, but largely untested Of the 35
players out for the squad, only nine are
seniors
“We have a lot of young kids,” Walls says.
“ Hight now they're learning everything we
do.”
Centennial knows about frustration, too
The Eagles were a far better team than their
record showed in 1980. The defense gave up
just 74 points in nine games but the team
finished only 4-5, the first sub- 500 season
since Walls took over the program in 1977
Among the setbacks were 6-0 losses to both
Gresham and Reynolds, a 10-7 setback at the
hands of Barlow and a last-second 13-7 loss to
Milwaukie that saw the Eagles on the 1-yard
line when time ran out.
Now the Eagles are in the position of
rebuilding their fortunes That’s not to say
Centennial isn’t strong in some areas,
however. Take the running back situation, for
instance Both 1980 starters, Craig Gilson and
Bill Bateman, are back plus the Eagles have
Charlie Craig, who was a starter last year un­
til a knee injury knocked him out for the year.
“The situation with our running backs is the
best we’ve had since Mark Watts played for
us,” Walls says. “Gilson is really a hard run­
ner, a tough fullback type of kid. Bateman is
just a gamer When the game starts, he’s
ready to go.”
The Eagles aren’t hurting at quarterback,
either Mark James and Mark Robison are
both in the running for the job. Robison, a
senior, served as backup to Scott Kai last
season while James, a junior, is also a
capable signal-caller
"It's really a dogfight between those two,”
says Walls "They’re fairly equal, so that
position will be a strength for us."
At the receiving spots. Ron Popiel figures to
be the leading candidate A senior, Popiel was
a key figure on last year's 4-5 team Mark
Brandt was another and should be again.
Jason Lehman and Matt Eisher give the
Eagles depth at those positions
Guards Duane Bishop and Brian McDevitt
and center Rob Guillory provide the nucleus
of returnees in the offensive line Steve
Robards is another candidate for a line posi­
tion,
Most of the offense will be staying on the
field when it relinquishes the ball Walls says
many of his offensive starters will go both
ways including one or both quarterbacks
If Centennial doesn't make the playoffs this
year, it won't be entirely inexperience that
kept the Eagles out "The competition this
year is much stiffer,” Walls says. "The
caliber of play in the Wilco League is the best
I’ve seen in five years Reynolds and
Clackamas have probably their best teams
this year and although Gresham might not
have their best team, they’re still going to be
very good.”
Walls also figures it may take a while for
his team to get it together “ We have a lot of
young kids who are very enthusiastic.” he
says. “ We have the potential to become a
very good football team but it will take us a
while to get meshed as a unit I think we’ll
start faster next year than this year.”
The bottom line for this season is how fast
the Eagles can put it together Experience
sometimes makes the difference, but youth
must be served.
JIM HAYS Eagle opponents will see a lot of Bill Bateman.
season. .
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