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James Day

Soccer champs – First season for girls co-coaches results in league title

Silverton High put on a glittering display of total soccer during its standout 2024 season, leading Class 5A in most goals scored and fewest goals allowed. The Foxes, under first-year co-coaches Don Holland and Eric Lay, ran the table in the Mid-Willamette Conference, outscoring opponents 41-0 in the 9-0 rampage. The league title was the first since 1990 for Silverton, […]

James Day

The $100,000 kick – Former Foxes athlete wins big on ESPN show

Former Silverton High athlete and current University of Oregon student Kyle Kramer is $100,000 richer after nailing a place kick on ESPN’s GameDay college football preview program. Kramer, who played football and baseball for the Foxes before graduating in 2021, earned his shot at fortune by winning a raffle. Approximately 200 tickets were handed out at 3 a.m., hours before […]

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 […]

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.” […]

James Day

Football memories – Top 10 moments from ten years on the beat

This is the 10th anniversary of my sports column in Our Town. Well, actually, it’s the 11th, but I’m not counting the COVID year. With football season almost upon us I thought it was a good time to look back on those ten-plus years and note the top moments from our two teams, Silverton and Kennedy. During that stretch both […]

Track stalwarts – Kennedy takes home two district titles

  By James Day The Oregon School Activities Association moved Kennedy into an unfamiliar district for track and field this season. The Trojans wound up in Special District 1, which featured numerous teams from the northwest corner of the state, including Knappa, Vernonia, Clatskanie and Nestucca. “Our athletes made the most of it,” said veteran JFK coach Steve Ritchie after […]

Football tie-in – Gridiron talent gives Fox wrestling a boost

Turnout is up for the Silverton High wrestling program and third-year coach Jared Wilson credits the football program and new coach Dan Lever for helping give wrestling a boost. “We had over 50 register for wrestling, which is about ten more than last year,” Wilson told Our Town. “Coach Lever is a big advocate for the sport of wrestling and […]

A class above – Kennedy an immediate state power at 3A level

One of the challenges of this job is explaining things that are difficult to explain. But I am going to give it my best effort. What the Kennedy High football squad was able to achieve this season was just off the charts. The Trojans finished 12-1, losing only to Cascade Christian of Medford in the Nov. 26 Class 3A title […]

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 […]

Football all-stars – Foxes, Trojans dominate all-league squads

Silverton earned 17 spots on the all-Mid-Willamette Conference football teams as selected by league coaches. The Foxes were playing Wilsonville in the Class 5A quarterfinals on Friday after the Our Town presstime. Top honors went to Jackson Pfeifer, offensive player of the year, and Xavier Orozco, defensive lineman of the year. Pfeifer was on the first team at running back […]

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 […]

Big volleyball win – Foxes beat W. Albany, now No. 2 in state

The Silverton High girls volleyball squad scored one of the biggest wins in recent program history on Sept. 20, taking down defending Class 5A champion West Albany by a 3-1 score. The win by the visiting Foxes in their first year under coach Reilly Rosecrans, moved Silverton to No. 2 in the Class 5A rankings and to 5-0 in Mid-Willamette […]

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 […]

Historic time – Foxes boys track and field wins first state title

By James Day Track and field championships are not built on one big explosion. There is no last-second bucket or game-saving tackle. Things happen in bits and pieces. Two points here, four points there. A hero in the early moments of day one might ultimately be the difference-maker. The Silverton High boys track and field team captured its first Class […]

Track veterans – Nearly 50 years of coaching experience at JFK, Silverton

It’s spring. It’s raining. And if you drive anywhere near the tracks at Silverton and Kennedy you will see dozens of athletes running and jumping and throwing things. Last week I saw a half dozen Foxes runners trying to cross Oak Street on Second Street at rush hour. Brave lads. And you also know that those activities, as well as […]

Briseno power – Ball-carrier keeps Foxes offense balanced

When the football season started we knew that Silverton boasted some potent offensive weapons. Quarterback Jordan McCarty was back for his third season as a starter. Veteran wide receivers Vandon Fessler and Austin Ratliff also were on hand, as well as a sizable and seasoned offensive line. That left running back. During fall camp fifth-year coach Josh Craig suggested it […]

Football frenzy – Foxes, Trojans getting ready for openers

Silverton was 3-2 in last spring’s shortened football season and the Foxes are hoping for a full nine-game regular season – and perhaps success beyond that point as well, starting with the Sept. 3 home opener against Grant of Portland. Fifth-year coach Josh Craig noticed a surge of energy, particularly after the state opened up from COVID restrictions June 30. […]