By James Day
Silverton has made an early statement in its bid to defend its Mid-Willamette Conference football title. The Foxes won their third game in a row and moved to 2-0 in league with a 48-14 homecoming win Friday night vs. Crescent Valley.
Silverton, which is ranked No. 3 in Class 5A by the OSAA, has been sparked by the all-around play of senior Noah Dahl, who has accounted for 11 touchdowns in the past three games while also starring on defense and special teams.
Dahl scored five touchdowns in the first half of the Foxes’ 48-21 win Sept. 11 against Marist Catholic. He rushed for three scores, caught a pass for a fourth and collected the fifth on a fumble return while connecting on four PAT kicks.
The 5-11, 190-pounder with the distinctive white shoes added three more scores while rushing for 275 yards Sept. 18 in the 47-30 win against Lebanon that opened the MWC season. Dahl also returned three punts for 86 yards vs. the Warriors and again added four PAT kicks.
Friday against Crescent Valley Dahl rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns and threw a 35-yard TD pass to Brandon Bates.
So in the past three weeks Dahl has rushed for a TD, caught a TD pass, thrown a TD pass and scored on defense.
“He’s been the best player on the field in every game we’ve played,” Foxes coach John Mannion said. “Offense, defense, special teams … he’s had a phenomenal year.”
“What a great athlete he is,” Bates said. “That was a great TD pass. I couldn’t have asked for a better ball.”
It’s a team effort, according to Dahl. “Our O-line blocks awesome. Same goes for our wide receivers and running backs. A lot of hard work has been put in and it’s paying off.”
Silverton hosts Corvallis on Oct. 2.
Kennedy, meanwhile, continued to ride its defense, taking a 35-6 win Friday against Creswell. It was the third win of the season for the Class 2A Trojans against 3A competition. Kennedy also has defeated 3A Clatskanie 34-8 and Amity 14-6.
Kennedy has allowed five TDs in four games.
“Our defense is playing really well,” second-year coach Joe Panuke told Our Town after the Amity contest. “We were physical, we tackled well and didn’t give up big plays.”
Playing starring roles in Panuke’s 3-5 defensive alignment are linebackers Dylan Arritola, Jacob Lopez and Owen Seiler plus rover Jack Suing and cornerback Bishop Mitchell.
Kennedy opens Tri-River Conference play at 7 p.m. Oct. 2 vs. visiting Santiam, one of the surprise teams in Class 2A this season.
Volleyball: Silverton has reeled off three wins to move to 4-2 in the MWC, tied for second with Corvallis behind 6-0 Lebanon.
“I feel this year we are a strong contender within the conference,” Foxes coach Jill Walker told Our Town. “I think we are often overlooked by the other teams in our league. These ladies are wanting to change that and are headed in the right direction.”
Top returnees for Silverton include setter Ally Fennimore, middle blocker Rachel Renfrow, libero Megan Mannion and hitters Annika Gilstrum and Kayce McLaughlin. Newcomers making their presence felt include defensive specialist Carmen Ilisoi, setter Madi Arrington, middle blocker Olivia Pavlicek and hitter Maggie Buckholz.
Kennedy, meanwhile, is 4-1 in the Tri-River Conference and 12-3 overall under new coach Jessica Schmidtman. The Trojans are ranked No. 5 in Class 2A by the OSAA. Their lone league loss was to No. 1 St. Paul. Kennedy hosts the Buckaroos on Oct. 7.
Soccer: Confidence is high on the Silverton girls squad, which is ranked seventh in Class 5A by the OSAA.
“We are about where I thought we would be,” second-year coach Gary Cameron told Our Town. “Our expectations this year are to win the conference and make a playoff run.”
The Foxes were 6-1 in league last year, one point behind 6-0-1 Corvallis. Sillverton earned a first-round playoff bye before falling to Churchill in the round of 16.
Cameron has an experienced squad, led by seniors Heidi Moore, Lizzy Roth, Hailey Satyna and Baylie Cameron, with Hannah Munson, Maggie Roth and Savannah Reilly also playing key roles.
Cameron credits club coach Jim Keating with helping develop many of his players.
The Foxes open MWC play at 6 p.m. Oct. 6 vs. visiting Lebanon.
Silverton’s boys, meanwhile, are 2-2-3, and open league play Oct. 6 at Lebanon.
Cross country: Foxes senior Maddie Fuhrman won her third consecutive Silver Falls Oktoberfest Invitational title Sept. 16 and also was the top girls finisher in the Sept. 23 Mid-Willamette Conference preview meet at the Crystal Lake Sports Park in Corvallis. Fuhrman ran 20:51.13 for 5,000 meters to win the Silver Falls meet and 19:29 in the MWC contest. Silverton’s girls team took second at Silver Falls, fourth at MWC.
Silverton’s boys, meanwhile, finished second at Silver Falls and won the MWC meet. Sam Roth, Wolfgang Seifer and Hose Catterall all finished in the top 10 at Silver Falls and that trio plus freshman Haile Stutzman earned Crystal Lake top 10 spots.
Kennedy also turned in some strong performances. Sophomore Kaylin Cantu was fourth at Silver Falls, took seventh in the hard course race in the Sept. 19 3 Course Challenge in Seaside and won the Sept. 22 Jefferson Invitational. Freshman teammate Alejandra Lopez was eighth at Silver Falls, eighth in the moderate course at Seaside and second at Jefferson. The Trojans also took the girls team title at Jefferson. Adrian Parra of the boys squad was fifth at Silver Falls, 29th on the Seaside hard course and second at Jefferson.
