Every fall about this time I hunt up the high school football schedules and put the Stayton-Cascade date on my calendar. For the record, the two Class 4A rivals play each other Oct. 27 at Federico Field in Turner. My prediction will be cool weather and a slight chance of rain… and one of the hardest-fought contests you will see all season.
With two of the most experienced coaches possible on the respective sidelines. Shane Hedrick is the new man at Cascade. He has coached at South Albany, Central, Willamina and Oregon City. His greatest run of postseason success came at Central, where he made the state semifinals five times.
Randy Nyquist of Stayton also has coached at Jefferson, Toledo, West Albany and Oregon City and won three state titles at West Albany. Both Hedrick and Nyquist have received awards from the Oregon Athletic Coaches Association for 30 years of coaching service.
Nyquist and Hedrick, however, are different from your humble columnist. They did not circle the date of the rivalry game. They are far more interested in who they are playing right now.
When asked about how his squad will fare in league play, Hedrick replied: “Our pre-season schedule is brutal, with road trips to Baker [Sept. 1] and Marshfield [Sept. 8] in weeks one and two.”
Nyquist, meanwhile, opens with a less-daunting road trip. The Eagles start the campaign Sept. 1 at Molalla.
The Cougars were 4-6 a year ago under interim coach Tyler Turner, who was retained on Hedrick’s staff, which also includes his son, Grant Hedrick. Cascade lost its playoff opener at LaGrande. Stayton was 7-3 overall, won the rivalry game 21-18 and lost at Pendleton in the playoffs.
Regis, meanwhile, shifts from a co-coaching mode with Alex King and Joe Manibusan to Manibusan taking the reins solo in the Ram’s second year playing nine-man football. Regis opens Friday, Sept. 1 with a home game vs. Gaston.
The Rams were 9-2 a year ago and tied Colton for the Tri-River title before falling at Heppner in the quarterfinals.
Back for Manibusan is standout quarterback/defensive back Kollin Schumacher, who passed for 2,137 yards and 31 touchdowns, while turning in single-game yardage totals of 326 and 323. The 5-8, 150-pounder had a 6-TD game and a 5-TD game.
Top targets this year include Noah Koenig, Korben Schumacher and Charlie Miller. Koenig missed much of last season with an injury but still turned in a 164-yard receiving game. Linebacker Thomas Bischoff, who was the Tri-River defensive player of the year a year ago will anchor the defense. Manibusan also is high on transfers Noah Richter (running back) and lineman Abe Richter (offensive line) from Beaverton.
Here is a look at what is new elsewhere in high school sports:
Cascade: The Cougars have a new wrestling coach, Spencer Crawford, who is replacing the veteran Jason Lovell. Lovell coached Crawford at Cascade from 2012-15. Crawford, a local real estate agent, was a two-time Oregon state champion. He started his wrestling career in the Scio-based Tombey Mat Club at the age of 4.
Regis: The Rams have hired Elaine Blish to take over the volleyball program.
Stayton: The Eagles have hired Taylor Ellis to coach the volleyball squad and also will be hiring a boys tennis coach for the spring season. In addition, Stayton will be adding the Ty Hart Memorial Fitness Center to the array of facilities upgrades the Eagles have put together in recent years. No date yet for the groundbreaking. The facility honors former Stayton student and athlete Ty Hart, who died in a 2016 helicopter crash in Hawaii while serving with the U.S. Marines Corps.
Track & Field: Sublimity resident and Regis assistant track and field coach Alison Wood has produced another American record in the high jump. Wood, who competes in the 45-49 masters category, leaped 1.66 meters (5-5.25) on June 23 at an Oregon Track Club event at Hayward Field in Eugene. She hoped to break the record again at the USATF masters championships July 20-23 in Greensboro, North Carolina, but she was only able to clear 1.64 meters ( 5-4.5) before missing three attempts at a record 1.67 meters (5-5.75). Wood won her own competition by more than a foot and her 1.64 would have won the 25-29, 35-39 and 40-44 age groups as well.
