By James Day
It’s year two for Silverton football coach Dan Lever, who led the Foxes to a 7-4 record and a Class 5A quarterfinals berth a year ago.
“Year two is a lot better than year one,” he said Aug. 7 as the team opened fall camp. “In year one you are just trying to get everything in place.”
Year one also included a co-championship in the wildly competitive Mid-Willamette Conference. The Foxes, South Albany and Central tied for the title at 6-2, with Dallas and West Albany a game back at 5-3. The Foxes open at home at McGinnis Field on Friday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. vs. Dallas.
“There’s an awful lot of parity in the conference,” Lever said. “Dallas has one of the best teams they’ve ever had so we better come loaded for bear. If we can continue to get better and stay healthy the opportunity to be successful in the Mid-Willamette is there for us.”
Leading the way for Silverton is junior QB Sawyer Teeney, who started and played impressively as a sophomore in the tradition of predecessors Cole Chandler, Levi Nielsen and Jordan McCarty.
“He’s done a great job,” Lever said of Teeney. “He’s bigger, faster and stronger and has a deeper understanding of what we’re trying to do. We expect him to be one of the best quarterbacks in the state regardless of class level.”
The Foxes will miss running back Jackson Pfeifer and his 33 touchdowns, but Brody Sullivan and Diego Flores seem poised for strong years. Cohen Mulick and Elijah Howard are back at wide receiver, and Lever is extremely high on his offensive line, which includes holdovers Xavier Orozco, Brash Henderson, Eli Willis, Josue Verdejo, Zavian Black, Brody Kuenzi and Dalton Ritchie.
“Our offensive line is one of our most competitive units,” Lever said. “There are 11 guys we really like and we’re going to have the ability to rotate and keep guys fresh.”
Lever also really likes Orozco, who will play both ways and is “well respected by the staff and team. No one is going to outwork him. He’s going to have a great year.”
The same players on the OL also will see most of the snaps on the defensive line, with Lever calling out offensive line coach Eric Anderson and defensive line coach Pat Scott for special praise.
Flores, David Kuenzi, Sawyer Enderle and Jake Lahman are back at linebacker, with Mulick and Howard set to anchor the secondary.
Kennedy: The Trojans’ first year at Class 3A was a stunning success, a 12-1 mark and a runner-up finish to Cascade Christian in the title game.
But as veteran coach Joe Panuke gets his squad ready for the Sept. 1 opener at Stanfield there will be a lot of new faces in the lineup.
“I was very pleased with the way things went last year,” Panuke told Our Town. “We lost a lot of senior starters and a lot of playoff experience and a lot of juniors and seniors are going to have to step. It’s their turn.”
Gone are linemen Briggs Snell and Matt Hopkins and playmakers, Luke Beyer, Charlie Beyer, Owen Bruner, Brett Boen and Carlos Recendiz. But Panuke has some key pieces back as he looks to keep the Trojans a playoff fixture.
Leading the way is senior QB Elijah Traeger, the returning district offensive player of the year. Center Dom Beyer and guards Manny Ramirez and Isaac Berning are back, although Panuke might use the athletic Berning in the offensive backfield as well.
Panuke will be looking for Cole Vogel and Colby Rich to be offensive playmakers.
“I think they’re hungry,” Panuke said. “There is a tradition to uphold here and it’s their time to be the guy. If it’s your dream to score the TD or make the tackle it’s your turn. They should be excited for that. Our first four games (at Stanfield, Yamhill-Carlton and Warrenton and at home against Siuslaw) are tough so we’ve got to be ready in week one. Our goal always is to make the playoffs and make some noise once we are there.”
Noise? In the last four non-COVID years Kennedy has played for a state title every year, winning in 2018 against Santiam.
