The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, August 31, 2018, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 8A, Image 8

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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2018
ASTORIA FISHERMEN
FOOTBALL • VOLLEYBALL
Astoria looks for return to ‘Wreak Havoc’
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
ASTORIA
FOOTBALL
T
he high hopes for 2017
did not quite pan out for
the Astoria football team.
Coming off a league title
in 2016, the Fishermen were
hoping to at least match their
second-round showing in the
state playoffs. As it was, Asto-
ria lost a regional play-in game
at Estacada to finish with their
first losing record since 2014.
Will the 2018 team help
Astoria football get back on
track? It would be a good year
for it, as the Fishermen cel-
ebrate the 10th anniversary
of their one and only state
championship.
They’ve even brought back
the 2008 “Wreak Havoc” slo-
gan for 2018.
“We feel like if we stay
healthy, we’ll have a chance
to be a competitive team,” said
coach Howard Rub, entering
his 19th year at the helm.
A three-game stretch of
nonleague games (at Scap-
poose, home games vs. Stay-
ton and Estacada), followed by
the first league game at Sea-
side, Rub said, “by the end
of September, we’ll definitely
know where we’re at in life.”
THE COWAPA
Ordinarily one of the
toughest leagues in the state,
the Cowapa just got a little
lighter at the top. Defending
league champion and usual
state qualifier Scappoose is
gone, as the Indians jump to
the 5A level.
And in comes Molalla,
which was 3-6 as a member of
the Tri-Valley Conference.
So, the 2018 league title
will be up for grabs between
the three teams who always
seem to be chasing Scappoose
— Astoria, Banks and Seaside.
The Gulls have the inside
track, returning key players
from a team that finished sec-
ond behind the Indians last
Coach: Howard Rub, 19th
year
2017: 4-5 (2-3 league)
Playoffs: Lost regional
play-in at Estacada
All-league losses: Trey
Hageman, Zac Patter-
son, Tyler Ranta, Andrew
Schauermann.
All-league returners: Ben
Carpenter, Sr., Josiah
Hirsch, Sr., Ian Hunt, Sr.,
Balan Kolee, Sr., David
Merry, Sr., Henry Samuel-
son, Sr., Justin Villa, Sr.
Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian
Astoria quarterback Justin Villa has his eyes on a big senior season for the Fishermen.
year, and spent the better part
of the season ranked in the top
three before an upset loss in
the state playoffs.
“It will be real interesting
with Molalla being there, and
not having a great knowledge
of what they have going on,”
Rub said of the Cowapa’s new-
est addition.
“Banks and Seaside return
a lot of good players, and I
know coach (Kye) Johnson
believes that the Cheesemak-
ers are ready to turn a cor-
ner. So it will be a very tough
league season.”
The Fishermen not only
open the league season at Sea-
side, they must travel to Banks
for the second year in a row.
THE FISHERMEN
So where does Astoria fit in
the new-look Cowapa?
Experience shouldn’t be
a problem, with seven all-
league returners, including four
linemen.
The Fishermen offense is
always a unit to watch for the
rest of the Cowapa League.
After a preseason jamboree
at Seaside, Rub said, “the first
group showed some good signs
of where we’re at. Up front we
have a lot of returning players.
Most of our starters on the line
last year were juniors.”
And they’ve got size.
“Whenever you have Ben
Carpenter (6-foot-6, 375
pounds) being the first guy off
the bus, it gets people’s atten-
tion,” Rub said.
At the skill positions, Asto-
ria must replace quarterbacks
Karsten Johnson (graduated)
and Tristan Wallace (trans-
ferred to Knappa), along with
Tyler Ranta and Trey Hage-
man, who did a little bit of
everything.
On the plus side, “Ian Hunt
and Josh Olson are back at
receiver, and Tryton Matlock
has been real steady there,”
Rub said. “Junior Tristan Boyle
has also stepped up.”
At running back, he said,
“between Niko (Caruana) and
Ryan Stutznegger, we saw
good things out of both of them
at times” in the jamboree.
The quarterback position
will be manned by senior Justin
Villa, an all-league receiver last
year who has traded his No. 32
jersey for No. 5.
“Every once in a while it
might be in our best interest
to line him up at his more nat-
ural receiver position,” Rub
said. “In normal circumstances,
he would have a chance to be
an all-state receiver, but where
we’re at right now, Justin’s the
guy (at quarterback).”
At times in the preseason,
Rub said, “we’ve seen what
Justin can do with his legs
when he has to get out of the
pocket and run. There’s a rea-
son he had two punt returns for
touchdowns last year against
Valley Catholic. He’s danger-
ous in the open field.
“Our speed is going to be
better than average. And we’ll
rely on our experience up front
to keep the chains moving and
make some things happen.”
Defensively, “the first group
looked solid, but we need
to get some of our backups
varsity-ready.”
Josiah Hirsch returns at cen-
ter, with left guard Michael Wil-
liams, right guard Henry Samu-
elson, left tackle Grant Roe and
right tackle Dylan Ploghoft.
In addition, “Skylar Smith,
Marcus Rasmussen and Can-
non Kraft will be relied upon
to provide depth up front,” Rub
said. “And we expect big things
from David Merry at defensive
end.”
Other names to get famil-
iar with: “Marcus Soderstrom
has had a real good preseason,”
Rub said. “We hope to get some
solid play from Marcus. And
Taylor Hutchinson is vying for
time at split end and corner.
“Michael Moore, Bo Wil-
liams, T.J. Colvin and Dylan
Junes are four of our top
sophomores.”
Replacing all-league place-
kicker Andrew Schauermann
could be Taylor Palmberg, over
from the soccer program.
Astoria volleyball
primed for success
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
The most improved team
for the 2017 Cowapa League
volleyball season … Astoria,
hands down.
After going 0-10 in 2016,
the Lady Fish turned things
around big-time in 2017. In
her second year as coach, Jes-
sie Todd led Astoria to a 6-4
league record and a No. 7
ranking in the final OSAA
poll.
That put Astoria back in
the playoffs, where the Fish-
ermen swept past North Val-
ley in a play-in match to land
a spot in the Sweet 16.
Alas, Baker ended the
dream with a four-game win
over Astoria in late October.
The Fishermen return with
high expectations in 2018.
Astoria has already shown up
as the ninth-ranked team in a
preseason coaches poll.
“I’m really excited with the
group I have,” Todd said. “We
have 10 really solid kids who
mesh really well together. I’m
excited to see what they can
do. They’re motivated and
competitive.”
A large turnout will once
again give Astoria three teams.
“We have a great group
of athletes,” Todd said. “And
we had a good season last
ASTORIA
VOLLEYBALL
Coach: Jessie Todd, 3rd
year
2017: 13-9 (6-4 league)
Playoffs: Defeated North
Valley in play-in, lost state
playoff at Baker.
All-league losses: Chel-
sea Christensen, Corrin
Howard, Madi Landwehr.
All-league returner: Julia
Norris, Jr.
year. We’ve spent time talking
about how we’re going to con-
tinue that success. We want to
get back to state again.”
THE COWAPA
Valley Catholic swept
everything last year, finish-
ing 10-0 in league with both
the league’s Coach (Becky
Kemper) and Player (Lizzy
Osborn) of the Year.
Osborn is gone, but four
all-league players return. Sec-
ond-place Tillamook lost four
all-leaguers to graduation,
while fourth-place Scappoose
is gone completely. The Indi-
ans will now compete in the
5A Northwest Conference,
leaving the Cowapa with just
five teams and an eight-match
league season.
EARN COLLEGE CREDIT
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Astoria’s Julia Norris, No. 10, is one of the top returning volleyball players in the Cowapa League.
“The league is always
tough,” Todd said. “Losing
Scappoose is going to put an
interesting twist on it. It’s just
eight league matches, and that
will be different, having a bye
week.”
As for the league race, she
said, “Valley Catholic and Til-
lamook will be good, Banks
will bring it and even Seaside
will be better … you can’t take
anybody for granted.”
THE LADY FISH
Astoria finished with four
all-league starters last sea-
son, including first-team play-
ers Madi Landwehr and Julia
Norris. Of those four, Norris is
the only returner.
On the plus side, the play-
ers coming into the program
already have some experience.
“A lot of these freshmen
played club, so that puts us
ahead of the learning curve
DEL’S O.K. TIRE
WHILE STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL
AND GET A JUMP-START ON
YOUR FUTURE
CONTACT THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE
admissions@clatsopcc.edu
503.338.2411
coming in,” Todd said.
Astoria will be competitive
with their long list of returners,
including seniors Heaven Bar-
rett, Camille Campbell, Emilli
DeLong and Kes Sandstrom.
The talent doesn’t stop
there, as Kajsa Jackson, Hai-
ley O’Brien and Norris return
for their junior seasons.
Three sophomores on the
varsity roster are Kelsey Fau-
sett, Halle Helmersen and
Taja-Rae Tuimato.
“We definitely have some
height, and some good expe-
rienced players,” Todd said.
“Taja and Julia will both be
setting, and Kajsa will add
some height in the middle.
Kelsey and Emilli will do
some hitting, and possibly
Halle on the outside. Hailey
O’Brien will add some good
leadership defensively, as will
Camille.”
!
O
G MEN
R
E
H
S
I
F
Go Fishermen!
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