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James Day

New rivalry? Silverton gets set for football showdown with Wilsonville

We’re just two games into the Class 5A Special District 2 football race and it’s already a two-team race between Silverton and Wilsonville. Which is kind of what I was hoping for. When the OSAA downsized the bloated Mid-Willamette Conference from its 10 teams to six for the fall, it pushed Silverton, Central, McKay and Woodburn into a new district […]

James Day

Silverton football: Foxes enter bye week after strong 3-1 start

The Silverton High football team is 3-1 at the end of a grueling nonleague schedule that featured two Class 6A teams and another wild duel with longtime rival West Albany. The Foxes are ranked seventh in Class 5A and had a well-deserved bye Sept. 27 as they prepare for the league season in a new league. Silverton opens Class 5A […]

James Day

New year, new team – Former Silverton star Ratliff looking to make dent at OSU

Whoever said “change is good” should have taken into consideration the Oregon State University football program. The Beavers finished 8-5 a year ago after starting 8-2. In the offseason they lost coach Jonathan Smith, their top two quarterbacks, a slew of other players – and their conference.   “I think it made everyone closer among those who stayed,” said Beavers defensive […]

James Day

Football changes – Foxes get new league

The Silverton High football program will be facing some new league opponents starting this fall. The Foxes will remain in Class 5A but will be moving out of the Mid-Willamette Conference and into a new league that will include four MWC teams and two from the Northwest Oregon Conference, including perennial state power Wilsonville. The new football-only league, part of […]

James Day

Consistent threats – Aqua Foxes will count on depth, relays

There are certain things in the sports calendar you can always count on. Silverton swimming is one of them. The Aqua Foxes, in their ninth year under coach Lucky Rogers, will fill the pool with swimmers, assemble crackerjack relay squads and try to wash away competitors with depth. This season Rogers has 62 swimmers in the Silverton Community Pool and told […]

James Day

Foxes football: 11-1 year shows continuing strength of program

The Silverton High football program wound up another superlative season on Nov. 17 when the Foxes fell 43-19 to Mountain View of Bend in the Class 5A semifinals. Silverton finished 11-1 and downed long-time rival West Albany twice by a composite 90-42 score The Foxes, now in their second year under coach Dan Lever, have made the playoffs every season […]

James Day

Unexpected path: Scott Gragg – Fox player, football pro, high school coach

I first became aware of Scott Gragg on a lunch trip to the Wooden Nickel shortly after my arrival in Silverton in 1997. There was a New York Giants Scott Gragg jersey on the wall and I got the lowdown on him from my food server. Great story. Silverton High grad in 1990, college player at Montana and then 11 […]

Foxes second-year coach Dan Lever works with his linemen on footwork at a practice Aug. 7. Silverton opens at home on Sept. 1 vs. Dallas.  James Day

Football preview – Silverton, Kennedy getting ready for openers

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.” […]

Spring update: Softball, baseball prospects… plus Mannion retires

Last season veteran Silverton softball coach Ralph Cortez sent out one of the younger squads in the state. The Foxes featured only four seniors on the roster and included a cadre of talented freshmen. As one might expect, Silverton took its lumps early, at one point losing four consecutive Mid-Willamette Conference games. But the team gelled, closed on a 9-2 […]

Building year? Fox football 7-4 with new coach, new roster

Last summer Dan Lever took over a Silverton High football program that won the Class 5A title in 2021. Lever, who coached Tualatin to a Class 6A runner-up finish the same season, faced some huge challenges. He essentially had to replace his entire defense. He had some offensive weapons returning – running backs Alejandro Briseno and Jackson Pfeifer and standout […]

Coaching lifer – Don von Weller marks 50 years in football

Fifty years. That’s a long time to be out on torn up fields trying to teach kids about football. But that’s what Don von Weller (Silverton High Class of 1969) has been doing since 1973 when he was asked to coach fifth-graders. And von Weller, 71, a graduate of Western Oregon University (then-Oregon College of Education) who earned his master’s […]

Foxes rally – Silverton 3-0 in league, Kennedy moves to 4-0

By James Day Silverton High took over sole possession of first place in the Mid-Willamette Conference on a wild Friday night of football in the valley. The Foxes rallied from a 2-touchdown deficit to take out South Albany 39-35 in the home opener at McGinnis Field. Silverton, 3-1 overall and 3-0 in the MWC, scored 18 points in the fourth […]

Five TDs – Fast start for Foxes, Pfeifer

It’s only a week or so into the fall sports season and we’re already dredging up the Silverton record books for information. That’s because senior Jackson Pfeifer of the Foxes scored five touchdowns in the team’s 40-29 opening-night football win at Dallas on Sept. 2. Pfeifer scored on a 7-yard run, a 3-yard run, a 45-yard interception return, an 80-yard […]

Football frenzy – Foxes, Trojans getting ready for openers

The Foxes lost tons of contributors from a 12-1 2021 squad that took home the school’s first state title since 1991. But the program, which has made the playoffs every year since 2011 (minus the COVID year), boasted a 25-2-1 record for its 3 teams a year ago and new coach Dan Lever clearly has a lot of talent to […]

Fall update: Football teams fill in schedule slots

The high school football schedules for fall are taking shape, with Silverton High opening on Friday, Sept. 2, with a Mid-Willamette Conference game at Dallas. The Foxes, under new coach Dan Lever, will prep for the Dallas game with an Aug. 26 scrimmage at Sheldon of Eugene against both the host Irish and West Salem. The Foxes will be playing […]

New boss – Foxes football reels in 6A coach Dan Lever

By James Day The Silverton High football program lost just once last season in a magnificent 12-1 year that saw the Foxes claim their first state title since 1991. Now, the school has hired the coach who dealt them that lone defeat. Dan Lever of Tualatin has taken over the Foxes from Josh Craig, who stepped down in January because […]

Magical season – Foxes have a new trophy for the case

Somehow you get the feeling that folks in Silverton will be talking about the final play of the 2021 Class 5A football title game for a long time.  Here is the setup: The Foxes were clinging to a 26-20 lead against Thurston and were facing 4th and 17 at the Colts’ 26 with 12 seconds left. No timeouts left.  Let’s […]

Champs again! Foxes hold off West Albany in instant classic

When the football schedules come out you always circle the Silverton-West Albany match-up. The past 8 times the two teams have played, including Friday night’s 28-21 Foxes win at McGinnis Field, either a league title has been on the line or the game has been in the playoffs. The two schools are 4-4 in those eight contests, with Silverton holding […]

COVID Lessons: Foxes football coach looks back

Weird high school football season, wasn’t it? Games in March and April. COVID postponements. The record shows that Silverton finished 3-2, while having its annual showdown with West Albany postponed because of a Silverton outbreak. But it was a season full of highlights and accomplishment, said fourth-year head coach Josh Craig. “Highlights would be how mentally tough the team stayed […]