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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 1982)
New Card coach faces thin deck CORBETT — New football coach Tyler Smith no sooner opened fall workouts than he was faced with his first pro blem. Numbers are down for the Cardinal grid program this season. Smith has just 26 players available for duty. “ We have to establish some stability and consisten cy,” says Smith, who is the Cards' third coach in three seasons “ All the coaching changes might be one reason the numbers are a little down. I t ’s a little upsetting to the kids But we might pick up some more kids later ” What Corbett does have Smith is hoping w ill be enough to improve on last year’s 4-5 season. What the Redbirds lak in depth, they can make up for in quality, especially on defense Back are all league defen sive end Bob Godat and Dave Schwartz, who was an honorable mention selection at linebacker. “ They tell me the reason Godat made all-league was that everybody was running a w a y fro m S c h w a r tz ,” Smith says. W hatever the case, in Godat and Schwartz, the Cards have two solid players to build a defense around. Lee N o rb y and M a tt Elwood figure to be impor tant cogs in the Corbett scheme, too. Norby is con sidered to have outstanding potential as a tackle on both sides of the line while Elwood will join Schwartz at the other linebacking spot in th e C a rd s O k la h o m a defense In the secondary. Smith will be counting on T.J. Henderson to anchor the team ’s pass coverage. Offensive standouts in clude returning q u a rter backs Ted Shuster and Jay Davis. Shuster started most of last year’s games and is the top returnee. Kevin Brandon, Shuster s backup last year, was not out for the squad at press time. Running backs will include Ed Dunlap, Elwood and Henderson The latter two will also fill the Cards split end spot. On offense, Corbett will run the I formation, Smith says. Corbett quarterback Ted Shuster ( I I ) will trigger Cardinal offense. “ We’ll use the run to establish our offense but we will throw when the oppor tunity presents itself,” he says. “ We want to have a strong running game and an efficient and effective pass Run-and-shoot returns to boost Lutheran attack If going 2-7 wasn’t bad enough, the Lutheran Bluejays also lost 16 out of their 30 players last year to graduation But third-year coach Jim Schlachter says the Bluejays will do just fine with their three or four returning starters. To take advantage of his team's quickness and minimize the ef fect of its lack of size, however, Schlachter will change the game plan a bit this year “ Since we have so few kids back it gives me a chance to experiment,” Schlachter says “ We’ll go to the run-and-shoot or the divide of fenses to spread things out. We’ll rely on speed because we won’t blow people off the line." Schlachter’s line averages only about 160 pounds, but he figures there’s enough talent there to help the Bluejays get on the scoreboard more often than last year. A key man in the spread offense will be junior running back Joel Maier. M aier, one of four brothers who have played for the Blue jays, started both ways last year. “ Joel’s not big but he’s very fast,” Schlachter says. “ Both his older brothers were leaders for us and I think Joel will be one too.” Senior Tom Burgess is the probable starter at quarterback, but will have to beat out a couple of younger players first. Burgess (5-11, 150) started in the defensive backfield last year and is quick enough to put points on the board, Schlachter says. Anything Burgess throws in the general direction of senior wide receiver Tim Brandt will be caught, Schlachter promises Brandt was named honorable mention all-conference last season Junior Mick Brandt (5-9. 150) isn’t the big gest lineman you’ll see this season, but Schalacter calls him *a fireball.” Brandt will be helped in the trenches by senior Scott Raedeke and junior Paul Staaz, a player Schlachter calls the hardest hitter on the team. Senior M ark Brandt, no relation to the other Brandts on the team, should find a lot of action at linebacker and running back. But the Bluejays have lost more than seniors Schlachter figures he’ll only have about 25 players out for the team this year, 12 of which will be freshmen Still, that’s not a bad number for a school with an enrollment of 140 Meanwhile, the Class A Northwest League lost two teams this year, reducing the par ticipants to six. That means the first four of nine games on the Lutheran schedule will be non-league en counters. Something Schalacter plans to make the best of. “ You can beat the right three teams and make it to state even if those are the only three games you win,” Schalacter says. “ I plan to use the first four games to get some of my younger kids ready. If we can get some people keyed up we’U surprise some people ' Surprises like the 63-0 pasting the Bluejays gave their rivals, Portland Christian, in last season s finale Schalacter s banking on that Please turn to Page 22. ing attack. It will probably be 60-40 or 70-30, somewhere along those lines.” Things were still far from settled in the Cardinal nest as the team prepared for its opening contest at Neah- team ” With another dozen or so players out, that job might be much easier O PEN IN G G AM E — Sept. 10 at Neah-Kah-Nie. JIM HAYS Kah-Nie. “ W ere going to have to move some people around, e s p e c ia lly on o ffe n s e ,” Smith says. “ We need to put them in spots where they’ll do the most to help the Gresham ©utlook in depth local news com plete local sports coverage KIDDER WATER SKIS CONNELLY WATER SKIS EPWATERSKIS FINAL BLOWOUT T.J.’s Labor Day Waterski Sale 30% off Every Waterski In Stock. Including Accessories. Hurry In For The Best Selection ‘»-S Athletics Tj Graaham Village Shopping Contar GRESHAM, or 647-1390 Vancouvar Mall VANCOUVER. WA KIDDER WATER SKIS CONNELLY WATER SKIS EPWATERSKIS
