By James Day
Former Cascade High athlete Tyrell Williams wound up a stellar college football career by imprinting his name all over the Western Oregon University record books. The 6-4, 200-pound wide receiver caught 56 passes for 950 yards and eight touchdowns for the Wolves, who finished 7-4. The yardage total is second all-time at WOU behind only the 988 turned in by Trevor Gates in 2011.
Williams finished his four-year career with 165 catches, toppling Brad Satran (161 grabs from 2000-03) from the top of the Wolves’ list. His yardage total of 2,792 is second to the 3,006 turned in by Chris Doran (1996-99) and his 24 touchdown grabs rank fourth all-time at WOU.
Williams was a second-team all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference choice his freshman year, and he followed that with three first-team selections. He also was named to the Division II Don Hansen Region III all-star team and will participate Jan. 18 in the USA Football Bowl, a college all-star game in Jackson, Mississippi.
A pair of Scio athletes also contributed for the Wolves. Defensive back Nathan Jones played in nine games and had seven tackles. Running back/special teams player Daniel Harper carried the ball three times for 10 yards and had four tackles.
Here is a look at how other local athletes fared on college squads:
Corban cross country: Three former Cascade runners contributed for the Warriors at the Cascade Collegiate Conference meet. Kristen LaChapelle took 37th in 19:41 and Freya Christensesn was 59th in 20:46 for the Warrior women, while Calvin Vetter took 62nd for the men in 28:39.
Corban volleyball: Esther Suelze from Cascade played in six matches for the Warriors and collected five kills, 11 sets, one dig and one block.
Chemeketa women’s soccer: Alejandra Marquez from Cascade had a goal and an assist for the Storm.
George Fox football: Justin Kruse, a defensive lineman from Cascade, was fifth on the team in tackles with 40 and also recovered a fumble. Offensive lineman Caylan Stark, also from Cascade, made eight starts for the Bruins. Linebacker Brian Sarbeck from Scio had 15 tackles, including three sacks.
George Fox women’s soccer: Jessica Wilson from Cascade played in 15 matches for the Bruins.
All-state football: Regis High, which advanced to the OSAA Class 2A semifinals before losing to eventual champion Burns, earned seven spots on the all-state teams. Defensive lineman Blake Minton was the lone first-teamer. Minton also earned second-team honors on the offensive line. Paden Reynolds was second team at both linebacker and running back, while Tim Frith was a second-team defensive back and honorable mention wide receiver. Offensive lineman Andrew Schmidt also received honorable mention
Cascade, which went undefeated in the Oregon West and moved to the Class 4A quarterfinals, earned six spots on the all-state team. Running back Garrett Coffey, offensive lineman Aiden Littau, linebacker Spencer Crawford and defensive back Jackson Vettrus were named to the second team, while defensive lineman Malachi Gonzalez and wide receiver Cam Molan received honorable mention. Good news for the Cougars is that only Crawford and Vettrus are seniors.
All-state soccer: Ivan Navarro and Christian Gonzales of Class 4A state boys runner-up Stayton were named to the all-state first team. John Enriquez of the Eagles was placed on the second team. Cascade, which advanced to the girls title match, placed Mary Teubner on the first team and Sarah Teubner on the second team.
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