By James Day
The Silverton High School cross country teams swept the varsity team titles at Wednesday’s Silver Falls Oktoberfest Invitational, which was held on the “monster” course at Silver Falls State Park. A record 40 schools and 700 runners participated in the event, which is co-hosted by the Foxes and Kennedy.
Silverton junior Maddie Fuhrman won the girls title in 23:58.6, repeating her victory of a year ago. But it was a much tougher test for Fuhrman than 2013, when she won by 81 seconds. Wednesday, Central’s Abby McBeth stayed with Fuhrman through the hilly portion of the race and took second in 24:09.0.
“It was really good competition,” Fuhrman said “I’m sure I will be seeing more of her now that we are in the same district. I took the hills really good and felt in control.”
Ally Ridling finished 10th overall and eighth among large school runners to help give the Foxes some valuable team points and help them improve two notches on last year’s third-place team finish.
Silverton placed three boys runners in the top eight in its division on the way to capturing the large-school title for the second consecutive year. Robbie LeParc took 11th overall in 21:25.9, followed by teammates Sam Roth (12th in 21:26.5) and Hosea Catterall (13th in 21:32.8).
The 5.2-kilomter course, which starts and ends at the Ranches, includes a double-decker set of hills (the “monster”) in the middle of the course and poses severe challenges for runners, many of whom wind up walking stretches of the incline sections.
Silverton also received strong performances at the junior varsity level. Zeke Linn placed second in the boys race, and Adrienne Metzger was third for the girls.
The top finisher for co-host Kennedy was Kaylin Cantu, who was 14th overall and third in the small-school division with a time of 26:52.9. Adrian Parra ran 22:08.8 to finish 18th overall and seventh among small-school boys runners.
The Trojans, however, were missing two of their top athletes. Senior Lauren Stokley, who won the O’fest race as well as a district title last season, has been battling nagging injuries, and sophomore Noe Jines, ninth in his division at Silver Falls last season, could not run because of a knee problem.
East Linn Christian swept the small-school team titles on a mid-70s day in the forest.
Silverton football: The Foxes rolled to a 27-0 win against Wilson of Portland in their Sept. 5 opener. Silverton, which visited Marist on Sept. 12 after Our Town’s presstime, scored a touchdown in each quarter and outgained the Trojans 384-163.
“I’m very proud of these guys,” said fifth-year coach John Mannion. “That was a tough team and we had a lot of guys in new roles. I thought we did really well for all four quarters and threw a shutout. We have a long way to go, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.”
Senior quarterback Cole Chandler threw a pair of touchdown passes, a 13-yarder to Travis Sinn that started the scoring and a 6-yarder to Logan Munson in the second period. Chandler finished 13 for 24 for 97 yards and was not intercepted.
Senior running back Sam Kuschnick rushed for 198 yards and turned in the game’s most dynamic play in the third period. Kuschnick carried the ball to the right from his own 25 and appeared ready to go done amid several Wilson tacklers. But Kuschnick spun free and rumbled 75 yards for a score that gave the Foxes a 20-0 lead.
“I just kept my feet moving. I got a good push from my linemen, and the next thing I knew I was in the end zone,” Kuschnick said.
Senior running back Austin Weisz, who rushed for 57 yards on 11 carries, added the final Foxes score on a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The defense was superb, limiting Wilson to seven first downs. Wilson’s best shot at a score came late in the first half after a shanked punt gave them the ball at the Silverton 25. Four plays later Wilson still was at the 25 and the Foxes took over.
Keying the defensive charge were Camryn Clokey, who was a tower of strength in the middle of the line, and Munson, who turned in an interception.
Kennedy football: The Trojans started the Joe Panuke era with a bang, taking out host Monroe 36-18 on Sept. 5. It was Panuke’s first game as head coach after succeeding Randy Traeger.
