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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2021)
2B | SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS Trio from 1B the end.” Loomis’s football career in particular is one that showed incredible grit. Said Johnson, “Skyler Loomis is the single-tough- est kid I have ever coached. From a devastating knee injury last year in our first practice in full pads, to becoming the ultimate wrecking ball in our back- field this year, he has dis- played how tough he is time and time again this year.” With the uncertainty of even being able to play football this season, Loomis’s comeback after losing his junior year was a true testament to what hard work and resilience can bring, as well as a true tale of victory. “He will go on to be an incredibly successful man because no adversity will ever stop him from accom- plishing what he needs to do,” said Johnson. The program has been quite meaningful for Blankenship as well, who was named First Team Quarterback and Honorable Mention Defensive Back. Blankenship explained, “Siuslaw football is more than just football — it is 91 years of a brotherhood that started back in 1929. From a football standpoint, Siuslaw football is a hard- nosed team that will run it down your throat play after play.” Blankenship, whose prowess on the field as a quarterback was literally unmatched this season, described one of the aspects of the Vikings foot- ball program that makes it unique to others. “Siuslaw football teams are closer than most other teams because we have guys that have grown up Honors from 1B Honorable Mention Of- fense: Skyler Loomis — RB Avery Hart — OL Honorable Mention De- fense: Elijah Blankenship — DB SHS Cross Country Fishing from 1B through the month of March. The Alsea River remains open to steelhead fishing through April and then closes on April 30. Trout fishing in streams opens on May 22. The later returning wild brood- stock fish are providing the majority of the catch now and typically peak in February and March. SALMON RIVER: Winter steelhead Winter steelhead fishing closes on the Salmon River on March 31. Trout fishing in streams will open on May 22. The peak for win- ter steelhead on the Salmon River is typically January to March. Last updated 3/31/21. NOTE: Reminder, the Salmon River hatchery remains closed to walk in anglers. Anglers can use access points upstream and downstream of the hatch- ery to access those tradi- tional fishing locations. SILETZ RIVER: Winter steelhead Steelhead fishing on the Siletz River improved last week with the bump in river levels but has slowed down now with the low and clear conditions. The Siletz River remains open NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS Siuslaw head coach and Viking football alumni Sam Johnson (center) walks with the team onto the field at the start of the April 9 game against Sutherlin. The Viks ended the season at 3-3, including a final-game romp over the Bulldogs. together since kindergar- ten,” said Blankenship. “Being isolated in a small town on the coast, we don’t have many kids transfer- ring in, and we can’t just transfer to a different school when things get tough. We learn to stick together and make it work.” Blankenship’s commit- ment to the team was unquestionable in his eyes. “I have many reasons why I chose to keep playing foot- ball after my sophomore year,” said Blankenship. “For starters, my love for the game of football is too big to just walk away from after two bad seasons.” With his faith unshaken, he would not be stopped. But it was another reason that made the promise of the next two years even sweeter. “Ever since I was young, my class (Class of 2021) and the Class of 2022 have always played really well together, and we knew we had the potential to be a good team,” explained Blankenship. “Late spring of my sophomore year, we found out Sam (Johnson) All-League: First Team: Rylee Colton Brea Blankenship Gracie Freudenthal Chad Hughes Sam Ulrich Kyle Hughes Jaxson Jensen Braden Linton Second Team: Jane Lacouture year-round for steelhead fishing and provides opportunity through April for winter steelhead and then summer steelhead typically start to show up in decent numbers in May. Fish are now distributed throughout the river from the boat sections up through the gorge. Mid- February to mid-March is typically the peak for Siletz winter steelheading. The 4-mile bridge (aka Steel Bridge) in the Siletz gorge is open to motorized vehi- cles on the weekends only. Anglers can walk/bike in the road during the week- days. There is a parking area located at the 1-mile gate where anglers can walk/bike upstream from there. WILSON RIVER: Steelhead Steelhead fishing on the Wilson is low and clear which makes fishing chal- lenging. Fishing has been slow recently, but there are still a few being caught and pressure has been light. There are still a few hatch- ery and wild steelhead (catch-and-release only for wilds) throughout the sys- tem. The Little North Fork and the South Fork of the Wilson closed to steelhead fishing April 1. Remember to handle and release wild had been hired as our new coach, and that brought hope. I’ve known him since I was a little kid, and I knew what a great guy he was; very positive, energet- ic and encouraging.” Blankenship also remembered Sam’s older brother, John, who coached his eighth-grade team. “It was a great experi- ence,” said Blankenship. “The Johnsons have a long history of football knowl- edge and success. Most importantly, Sam played Siuslaw football and we knew he could get it back to what it was — and should be.” The tradition of Vikings football reaches far into the past, and the coaches who kept it going were the heart of the program. Len Lutero spent 29 years at the helm of the Vikings’ football ship, coaching players that including his predecessor, Tim Dodson, who coached for 20 years after Lutero retired — and mentoring Sam Johnson along the way. It is no surprise that Johnson coming on to Corduroy Holbrook Dylan Jensen Jacob Blankenship All-State First Team: Rylee Colton Second Team: Brea Blankenship Chad Hughes Sam Ulrich Third Team: fish with care! There are some great resources avail- able in the regulation book (page 15) and on the ODFW website. YAQUINA RIVER: Winter steelhead Winter steelhead will start to show up in the Yaquina/Big Elk in December and typically peak from January to March. Fishing closes on the Yaquina/Big Elk on March 31 and will re-open on May 22 for trout fish- ing. COOS RIVER BASIN: Bottomfish Boat and bank anglers (on the jetty) are still catch- ing rockfish and lingcod inside lower Coos Bay. Smaller jigs with a twister tail or 1-ounce jigging spoons have been working to catch rockfish. Lingcod are being caught on bigger jigs or by suspending a fro- zen herring around the rocks. The daily bag limit for marine fish is 6, which includes a one fish sub-bag limit for China, copper and quillback rockfish. Anglers can still harvest 2 lingcod per day. Trout fishing in streams and rivers opens on May 22. UMPQUA RIVER, SOUTH: Winter steelhead After a slow season, most anglers are eyeing coach brought hope and inspiration to the student athletes he would have under his wing. It certainly served to carry Blankenship through his final two years on the team. “I am so thankful to be a part of Siuslaw football, and for coach Johnson turning the program around,” said Blankenship. “Although the past four years have had a lot of adversity with two tough seasons and COVID, I would not trade these last four years for anything. Not only have they helped me grown as a man, my team and I grew really close as brothers.” Johnson recognized how special his time with Blankenship was as well. “For me, the highest praise I could ever give someone is that they remind me of my dad and brother John in how they represent themselves in every facet of life,” explained Johnson. “Elijah Blankenship does just that. Elijah will go down in my book as the most impactful player in the history of Jaxson Jensen Gracie Freudenthal Honorable Mention: Brayden Linton Jane Lacouture MHS football: While the league didn’t hand out individual rec- ognition, the performance of senior JJ Neece is nota- ble. The senior receiver, other opportunities. But there are still fresh steel- head returning to the South and little angling pressure. Don’t forget to turn in snout from hatch- ery winter steelhead for a chance to win a gift card PACIFIC OCEAN AND BEACHES: Bottomfish, surfperch Boat anglers have been doing very well catching nice size lingcod and rock- fish when the ocean swells are down. Bottom fishing is open to all depths through May 31. The daily bag limit for marine fish is 6 fish, which includes a one fish sub-bag limit for China, copper, and quill- back rockfish. Anglers can still harvest 2 lingcod per day. Anglers must release all cabezon through June. Anglers may also choose to fish the offshore longleader fishery outside of the 40-fathom regulato- ry line, which is open year- round. The longleader fishery has a daily bag limit of 10 fish made of yellow- tail, widow, canary, blue, deacon, redstripe, green- stripe, silvergray, chillipep- per, and bocaccio rockfish. No other groundfish are allowed and offshore long- leader fishing trips cannot be combined with tradi- tional bottomfish, flatfish Siuslaw football.” Siuslaw’s final senior completing his fourth sea- son with the Vikings is Newlan, who earned the honor of Second Team Defensive Line. According to Newlan, “Siuslaw football means more than most things in life because it’s a family — it’s a brotherhood — and it gave me a sense of pur- pose.” Newlan’s commitment to the team also came from a place of faith and trust in the program. “I chose to stick it out because I had faith that something would change,” said Newlan, “and that change happened junior year when our coach saw our potential and pushed us to be our best.” Newlan is another player who identifies with grow- ing from a boy to a young man as a result of his time playing Vikings football. “Being in this program, I learned how to face adver- sity, I learned how to be a better person, and I learned how to be a leader,” said Newlan. “The most important thing that came out of this program is the family members we gained. All of those guys that chose to stick with the program mean a lot to me; I’ll always remember them and I will always remember our coaches that were there with us along the way.” The coaches will certain- ly remember Newlan as well. According to Johnson, “Christian Newlan is a kid who gave me everything he had from day one. He was all in and would do what- ever it took to make sure our line was prepared to go to battle every Friday night.” Another quality Newlan brought to the team was camaraderie and spirit. As Johnson said, “He loved those around him and cele- brated the successes of oth- ers on and off the field. He displayed every practice and game how much he cares for those around him. To me that is the greatest quality of a young man: how well he can celebrate the success of those around him, because it teaches him how to love those around him.” Loomis, Blankenship and Newlan have given their all to the program over the years, and Johnson made sure to recognize all that these three seniors have done for the Vikings these past four years and for the future. “The three seniors I have that have stuck around from before I was the coach will go down as the most influential players to have ever played for this pro- gram since 1929,” said Johnson. “They went from a losing mentality to revi- talizing Siuslaw football. We haven’t been rewarded this year on the field how we hoped, but that doesn’t diminish what those three have done for the culture of this program and school.” runningback and quarter- back rushed for 452 yards on 40 carries against Falls City last week. The yard- age total ranks No. 13 on the state's all-time sin- gle-game list for eight- man football. It also boosted his career rush- ing total to 6,502, which is No. 2 all-time to Du- fur’s John Hammel (6,959, 1965-68). With a full sea- son, he likely would have become Oregon's all-time eight-man rusher. In passing, threw for 2,304 yards and 31 touchdowns in his high school career. His combined yardage of 9,082 for rushing, passing and receiving is No. 6 on the career list. or halibut trips. Find infor- mation about a longleader setup here. Ocean Chinook salmon fishing opened on March 15. Surfperch anglers have been doing well catching good size red-tail surf- perch along beaches near the mouths of rivers and bays. WE ARE NOW HIRING! CAREGIVER POSITION Are you tired of just going to work? Are you ready to make a real diff erence in the lives of others? Consider becoming a caregiver. Spruce Point Assisted Living & Memory Care is seeking compassionate, caring individuals who have a desire to provide assistance to those in need. 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The staff member will talk you through our daily menu of selectable options. 3. The staff will pass your choices to our team of volunteers inside the building. They then fi ll your shopping cart with both your selections and other availalbe items. 4. The cart is then wheeled out of the building to your location in the parking lot. Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30am-1pm • Mon & Wed: 4pm-6pm Sat. 10am-1pm 2190 Spruce Street Florence, OR 97439 (541) 997-9110 fl orencefoodshare.org