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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2015)
West Albany Brian Mehl is not a name-dropper. Mehl, the West Albany football coach, will not identify his starting players or even mention which ones are vying for which starting positions until the sea- son opener. “It’s against my coaching philosophy,” he said. He was willing to answer other questions, and that in- cluded identifying the players of last year who have graduated. The Bulldog seniors of 2014 included both quarterbacks, Joey Roos and Keaton Co- Quick Hits SEPTEMBER 2015, MCNARY FALL SPORTS PREVIEW, PAGE 13 rado; and safety JT Valenzuela. “We have a very solid run- ning back group, several good receivers and good offensive line return- ers,” Mehl said. “The quarterback posi- tion is an evolving process, with six boys competing.” He said the defensive line would be strong as well as the inside linebacker positions. The Bulldogs fi nished third in the Greater Valley Conference last year, losing only to Sprague, McKay and South Salem. They went 1-1 in the playoffs. Without making any conference pre- dictions for the coming season, Mehl com- mented: “I think it’s a competitive league. We get a mix of just about everything.” He did say that South Salem and West Salem should be tough. This is the sixth year in the West Albany program for Mehl and his second year in the head coaching job. Unlike most GVC coaches this year, Mehl will not be one of his own coordi- nators. Those jobs will be fi lled by Jared Hinkle on offense and Cole Touliot on defense. Darrell Mehl, the head coach’s father, will coach middle linebackers, and Austin Jones will coach outside linebackers. Other assistants are James Myrick, running backs; Derek Duman, wide receivers; Don Lien, defensive backs; Peter Zoumbokous, of- fensive line; and Cory Perkins, tight ends. “I’m very, very excited for the 2015 season,” Brian Mehl said. “We have a good core group of guys.” - Herb Swett, for the Keizertimes the linebacker positions. Other rotating defenders are Andresen and newcomer Griffi n Torrence. Ben Pearson, Tanner and Ronnie Thompson are in the secondary. Jensen did not know at this writing who all of his special teams players would be, but Andresen is a punter and Zeke Aleman a long snapper. Looking at the rest of the conference, the coach sees Sprague, West Salem and South Salem as the toughest foes. He notes that they not only have been strong but also are returning many fi rst-string players. Jensen, who has been the Vikings’ head coach since 1990, is his own offensive co- ordinator and quarterback coach and is adding the duties of secondary coach. The defensive coordinator is Perry Herbst, who also coaches the defensive tackles. Other assistants are Bobby Larkins, de- fensive ends; Jeff Turner, inside lineback- ers; Andrew Garrett, outside linebackers; Tim Hoppe, defensive backs; Greg Evers, wide receivers; Anthony Mancuso, slots; Alex Etta, running backs; Ron Morris, of- fensive linemen; and Eddie Galvan, tight ends. “We’re really excited here,” Jensen said, “with the amount of experience return- ing from last season.” - Herb Swett, for the Keizertimes Forest Grove Forest Grove, one of the newer mem- bers of the Greater Valley Conference, is rebuilding. Coach Dwight Jensen noted that his Vikings were 3-6 last year, 3-5 in confer- ence. He has to replace a few key players who graduated this spring, including wide receivers Cam Kemper and Cody Fletcher and middle line- backer Keagen Tsenti. Returning starters on offense are wide receiver Ben Pearson, quarterback Taylor Jensen, fullback Hunter Lep- ari, halfbacks Tanner Heikus and Marcus Estrada, tackles Ben Godfrey and Noah Coro- na, guards Bobby Taylor and Austin Brown and tight end Wyatt Andresen. Taylor and Brown also play on the defensive line, as does Corona Godfrey. Estrada, AJ Turner and Lepari rotate at ATTENTION CELTIC PARENTS During Football, Volleyball, Lacrosse and Soccer season… If you come in for any type of service work and give us the code word : SCOREBOARD you will receive a Dutch gift card! Go CELTS! 6558 Wheatland Rd N - Keizer 503-390-2850 www.keizerautomotive.com 4765 River Rd N in Keizer 503-363-9000 Open Every Day of the Week 7:30 am to 3:00 pm Where breakfast is served all day!