'98 Season Update

The Equalizer Offense and the Handles Everything Defense performed beyond expectations during the 1998 season at Estacada High School.

Frequent visitors to this site know that the program is in its second year. The first year produced a 6-3 season, but this year's results included a 9-1 record which included an undefeated regular schedule, the first undisputed Conference Championship, the number 1 scoring defense in the state of Oregon at the AAA level, and more than our share of all conference selections.

Everyone connected with the program as well as in town were blown away with the overall results of the season, but these results are a testimony as to what can be accomplished when enough people care and are willing to work together to achieve a worthwhile goal.

The season began with apprehension as our Defensive Coordinator, receivers and DB coach was made an administrator over the summer and we scurried to fill this important post. Fortunately, Malcolm Ritzer, a former DC, Receivers and DB coach in a nearby district was ready to get back into coaching again and did a great job.

There were 6 new starters on defense and 9 new starters on offense. That translates into lots of work. We were fortunate in having all but two of these people attend football camp at WSU in June which really elevated everyone's play.

At the end of this page is a week by week account as to how the season progressed. After our last regular season game capping the undefeated season, Bill James, owner of the local weekly paper wrote the following front page article about our season:

(Before reading his article I would like to share our "coaching philosophy" with you.

The purpose of secondary education is to prepare students to assume a role in the community at large which will promote the general good of the community while allowing the student to pursue the realizaiton of individual career goals. I believe that true success in life is achieved in the pursuit of a worthy ideal that exists for the benefit of others and not at their expense.

The high school football program offers a unique opportunity for the instruction and implementation of this philosophy. Team members, each in pursuit of his individual player goals, are molded into a team that pursues a higher team goal that can only be accomplished through cooperative efforts. No one individual player or coach wins a football game. Success is accomplished through the combined efforts of the coaching staff, the players, the student body, and the community. Just as the altruistic goals of society cannot be realized by individuals, neither can team goals be achieved by individual players.

The football program exists first of all for the players themselves. The program allows athletes to express themselves in a unique way not inherent in the traditional classroom If it were not for them, there would be no program. The successful coach understands that he is directly dependent upon the players, assistant coaches, school, and community. Coaching is the process of guiding players and staff through an instructional program that will develop individual and team talents to an extent that will allow them to compete successfully on the playing field.

This instruction must begin with the fundamentals of the game. It is only through a mastery of the basic fundamental aspects of the game that players develop the skills necessary to perform at ever higher levels of achievement. A brief summary of said fundamentals would include: strength training, conditioning, stance, start, blocking, tackling, offensive assignments, and defensive keys.

While the football program does exist for the players, it does allow us, as educators, an opportunity to provide much needed instruction in the affective domain of educational philosophy. The role of athletics in the educational setting is to broaden and reinforce the overall instructional goals of the school district. It allows us to bridge the gap between the academic atmosphere of the classroom and true-to-life situations of the real world. The future economic, social, and political lives facing high school students today are run by committee. The football team is a committee in the pursuit of a goal that can only be achieved through the dedication, efforts, and commitment of its members.

A successful sports program at the professional or collegiate level translates into a positive image for the city or university that the program represents. Be it right or wrong, this is more often than not true at the secondary level as well. A gathering of the community's citizens to view the weekly football game is the largest auidence the school regularly has to showcase parts of its overall educational program. The football team, the band, the cheerleaders, student body, parents, patrons, and fans gather to participate in the educaitonal process. Successful programs require participation, involvement, and support from diverse segments of the general community. The successful coach is one who has the ability to coordinate the efforts of various professional and community organizaitons in a positive way. It becomes a mutually reinforcing and rewarding situation.

After reading this philosophy and the following article, you will easily understand why we view the '98 season as a validation of what we are trying to accomplish.)

A PERFECT 9-0 SEASON

THEY DI IT

If you're wanting the hard facts and reliable statistics of last Friday night's Homecoming football game, you'll need to turn to page 11 and read Coach Roger Freeborn's fine story.

But if you want the impressions about that night from a fascinated fan who never before considered himself much of a "football guy," you may wish to read on.

The stats don't reveal how ill Head Coach Freeborn was that night. He should have been in the hospital. We learned Monday that he has been suffering from a severe cold for weeks and responded unfavorably to some medicine he took before Friday's game.

With Mike Teel, a 1984 EHS graduate and athlete and now the local U.S. Army Recruiter and one of several assistant coaches), to lean on Freeborn slipped and slid in the mud to talk to his team during crucial moments of the game.As ill as he was and as hard as his assistant coaches worked without him, Freeborn never lost the rhythm of the game.

The field was a muddy, mucky, sludgy, slick and treacherous mess. How those young men - on either team - managed to maintain as much control as they did was a mystery.

Even though the team had already become the Tri-Valley League Champion and had won eight of this season's games, both league and non-league, fans, prior to this game, wouldn't even think about the possibility of this team losing.

Apparently the team and its coaches were of the same mind.

A Portland resident, who has been to most of the Rangers' games this season, sat in front of me last Friday.

He said, "They're not a perfect team, you know. They just don't lose."

How true. Yet I might argue that they are, in many ways, a perfect team as well as a winning one. They work as a team rather than as individual stars. A player who may stand out in one game doesn't necessarily shine in the next, but someone else will...you can bank on it.

These young men are well conditioned, both mentally and physically, thanks to their own dedication and their coaches' insistence.

"They don't have to be perfect to win, because I think they can literally wear the other teams out. The epitomize superior health of body and mind alike. This team doesn't depend on luck. The depend on themselves and their teammates." said my wife, Pat, who has no equal when it comes to loving the game of football.

To me, more than football has been emphasized this year by these young men, their coaches, their parents, their friends and their families.

These people put together a winning football team, but at the same time, they have pulled together a whole community! The feeling of success is as high as it can be.

This year's team has gotten more positive metro and statewide media publicity than this community has, perhaps, ever had. No Chamber of Commerce in the country could shine the spotlight on its town like this team has done in just a few short months.

They've broken school records without fanfare. My sources tell me, unofficially, of course, that EHS; best straight winning record was 6-0 (year unknown) and that they've never held a league championship before. I've also been told that even thought there are great memories of past football seasons, teams and individuals, the 1998 season, overall, is the greatest in the town's history.

Perhaps it isn't fair for football to get the attention it does in this country or in a small community like this, especially when other athletes work just as hard and achieve great works also.

Fair or not, it's a fact. There is, indeed, something unexplainable about the game. Maybe it's the chill fall weather, the huddling together in a packed stadium listening to the band, watching the cheerleaders, the smell and taste of "boosterburgers" and hot chocolate and watching the antics of small children running about the place without a clue as to what's happening on the football field.

Socializing with one another in the stands is a natural activity at football games. Friendships are quickly made without any qualifying prerequisites because we're all clearly focused on what those kids are doing, aren't doing or will or should do to WIN.

We want them to win because we can somehow be touched by their victory. A winning team makes us all feel like winners; in some cases even young, flexible and ecstatic winners.

The EHS varsity football team of '98 seems to understand, without swollen heads, what their talent and diligence does for their fans.

For all they have accomplished so far - on the field and out in the community - we congratulate and thank them.

Hopefully, we (we're all on the team, aren't we) will go on to more victories as the possibility of a state championship looms. But, if we go no further than we have, we're champions, indeed.

Thank you team. We're so happy you have let us share in your victories. You have touched our hearts as you have lifted this community's spirits and made us proud.

Week 1

FOOTBALL RECAP

Two weeks ago the Rangers attended the Molalla Jamboree, but due to the early deadline caused by Labor Day a story could not be included in last week's paper.

The Estacada Rangers traveled to the Molalla Jamboree to play AA Colton, AAA Molalla, and AAAA Lincoln High Schools. The Jamboree was conducted in a controlled manner where each opponent was given the ball on the 40 yard line for five minutes of offensive play after which their opponent would be given the ball on the 40 and our team would then play defense for five minutes against their offense.

The Rangers first played Colton who came out in an offense we have not seen for 15 years. It is a very different offensive scheme which required some hasty on the field adjustments. Our boys responded well and held Colton to just one first down and stopping them on several other offensive series.

When we got the ball, we proceeded to march the ball down the field and scored on two occasions. Our third drive did not result in a score as we ran out of time before we could put it into the end zone.

Our next opponent was Lincoln of Portland. We drove the ball down to the one yard line where we downed out before we could score. Moving back to the 40 to start our second series, time ran out before we could successfully complete another drive. Lincoln was able to connect on one score via a long pass play. Our defense held them on their other series. They turned the ball over to us with a fumble, but due to the controlled nature of the Jamboree, we were not able to capitalized on this turnover.

Our last opponent was Molalla, and our offense really went into high gear. We scored 26 points in less than five minutes and generated over 140 yards of offense. The option phase of our attack worked particularly well with Justin Scott making great reads from his quarterback position.

The running game worked very well behind the blocking of Robert Adkins, Jeff Rose, Travis Gaul, and Jesse Pierce. Large amounts of yardage were gained by running backs Terry Randall, Craig Richardson, Jeremiah Platt and Chris Hoopes. We have nine new starters on offense and we were pleased with the execution we were able to achieve after just a week and a half of hard practice.

Rangers Defeat 10th Ranked Tillamook

Last Friday the Estacada Rangers opened their season with a hard fought 20-10 victory over 10th ranked Tillamook. The game was a particularly hotly fought contest with lots of hard hitting throughout the entire game.

Tillamook kicked off to Estacada. We were not able to mount much of a drive and punted the ball to the Cheesemakers. On their second play from scrimmage, they completed a pass deep into Ranger territory and threatened to score. Our defense stiffened on about the 15 yard line and a Tillamook field goal attempt sailed off to the left.

Neither team mounted a serious drive for the rest of the quarter and the ball changed hands several times as the teams punted back and forth looking for good field position.

In the second quarter of play the Rangers were able to mount an eight play 70 yard scoring drive capped off with a one yard run by fullback Chris Hoopes. The drive was highlighted by a 45 yard third down pass play from quarterback Justin Scott to flanker Bart Bluemer.

The Cheesemakers were able to get in a field goal before halftime, but the Rangers led 7-3 at intermission.

The hard fought play continued in the second half. Tillamook was able to drive the ball down to the 20 yard line in the third quarter, but the Rangers took over on downs. Our offense got on track with a 13 play scoring drive which included two long passes from Scott to Bluemer. The first was a 35 yard pass play on third down to keep the drive alive. The second was a 20 yard scoring strike where Bluemer went high into the air to take the TD pass away from a defender.

Estacada's last touchdown drive was set up with Bluemer intercepting a Cheesemaker pass on their 30 yard line. Eight plays later Chris Hoopes went in from the one yard line to put the Rangers up 20 - 3.

Tillamook was able to mount just one more drive in the game and scored with six minutes to go in the game making the score 20 - 10.

The Cheesemakers tried an on side kick, but the ball did not travel the required 10 yards and the Rangers took over at mid field. Behind the hard running of Ryan Baum, we drove the ball deep into Cheesemaker territory taking valuable time off the clock.

Tillamook took over on downs with very little time remaining. Resorting to the pass because very little time remained, they completed just two passes before Craig Richardson intercepted the ball at mid field to squash their hopes. The Rangers ran out the clock with a quarterback sneak for their first victory of the season.

Bart Bluemer had an outstanding night with his receiving, interception, and he added a fumble recovery to boost his defensive point total to 26 points.

Chris Hoopes ran the ball very well and scored two TDs on some fine running in heavy traffic.

Friday night the Rangers travel to Umatilla to play the Vikings.

Week 2

Last Friday the Estacada Rangers picked up their second victory of the season defeating the Umatilla Vikings 41-6 in a non-league contest. The game saw six different Rangers score with Terry Randall leading the way with two touchdown runs.

Play opened with the Rangers receiving the opening kickoff and driving deep into Viking territory where costly mistakes kept us from scoring but put Umatilla in bad field position. Following a short punt, Randall capped a 5 play scoring drive with a one yard run for touchdown. Craig Richardson kicked the extra point and the Rangers were in the lead for good 7-0.

The Vikings took the ensuing kickoff and drove the ball down to the five yard line where Estacada stiffened with a goal line stand. After taking over on downs, the Rangers put together an 11 play drive deep into Viking territory highlighted by a 40 yard pass play from Justin Scott to Isaac Brown. Once again mistakes and penalties prevented another offensive score. On Umatilla's first play, however, Brown caused a safety from his defensive end position when their quarterback slipped down in the end zone trying to evade Brown's pass rush.

Following the free kick, the Rangers had excellent field position and scored on a four play drive with Craig Richardson scoring on a 35 yard reverse play.

On Umatilla's next drive, Matt Seal intercepted a pass and returned it deep into Viking territory. Bart Bluemer scored on an option play in just two plays from scrimmage, but the TD was called back via penalty.

With less than a minute to play in the half, Isaac Brown recovered a fumble at mid field. The Rangers were able to score in just four plays with Bluemer taking in a 32 yard pass from Scott as time ran out in the half with the Rangers up 20-0.

In the second half after holding Umatilla at mid field, Estacada put together a 5 play drive highlighted by a 37 yard run by Jeremiah Platt who took an option pitch from Scott. The drive was capped with Randall's second TD of the evening from 10 yards out.

Estacada's next score came when Chris Hoopes ran over left tackle and broke at least four tackles on his way to a 13 yard TD run capping a 5 play drive.

Estacada substituted freely in the second half of play as the Greater Oregon League will stop play when one team is ahead by 45 points. The fourth quarter, therefore, saw Estacada's new Freshman team take the field. The young Rangers did very well when playing on offense behind the running of Fullback Sean Gregg and Quarterback Patrick Bagg. In fact this team produced a touchdown late in the game when Ryan Baum (substituting for an injured Gregg) scored on a 2 yard run.

Umatilla was able to score late in the game on a TD pass to end the scoring for the night at 41-6. The game ended when Eric Cavett intercepted a pass at mid field and we ran out the clock.

This Friday the Rangers travel to Sherwood to open conference play. Game time is 7:00 PM for all interested fans.

Week 3

Last Friday night the Estacada Rangers defeated another AAA ranked team with a 20-7 victory over the Sherwood Bowman spoiling the "merry men's" homecoming. It was an exciting game with many BIG plays especially on defense.

The Rangers got on the scoreboard first when Craig Richardson intercepted Sherwood's first pass attempt on just the third play of the game and raced some 40 yards to the end zone untouched. Craig added the extra point and the Rangers led 7-0.

Each team traded possession as neither team was able to move the ball consistently for much of the remainder of the half until Sherwood mounted a drive in the second quarter to tie the game at seven all. But not for long. Bart Bluemer took the kickoff and returned it 85 yards for the Ranger's second score behind some excellent wedge blocking led by Robert Adkins and Ryan Baum. Richardson added the PAT and the Rangers were up once again 14-7.

In the second half Sherwood mounted several scoring drives deep into Ranger territory, but the defense stiffened each time not allowing another score. The most serious threat came when a Bowman back made it to the one yard line only to fumble on a tackle made by Bluemer. The ball went through the end zone for a touchback thus ending the threat.

Estacada stopped another Sherwood drive midway through the fourth quarter taking over on downs on about their 20 yard line. Coach Freeborn called a time out and told the team that they could ice the game with a long, time consuming drive. He told them that as long as we had the ball, they could not score. The boys responded with time consuming, five minute, thirty second drive. The drive was highlighted with fine option running from Justin Scott. It looked like Estacada might not score when a penalty moved them back deep in Bowman territory. A second down option run to the right was followed by a perfect pass from quarterback Justin Scott to flanker Bart Bluemer for the Rangers final points of the evening with just 50 seconds left on the clock.

Sherwood could not mount much of a threat after the kickoff and the game ended on an incomplete pass.

Estacada's play was highlighted by strong defensive end play from Isaac Brown, Richardson's interception return for a score, fine option running by Justin Scott, and some outstanding play by Bart Bluemer. We felt that as the game wore on that we would be able to wear down the Bowmen which proved to be true in the fourth quarter of play. The coaches told Scott to be patient with the option, that the running lane would open eventually which it did, and he gained valuable yardage in that fourth quarter drive. Bluemer had a great game offensively with the TD catch, on special teams with his kickoff return, and defensively. One play on defense stands out when Bat made a game saving tackle. A Sherwood runner broke through the line and was out in the open. It looked as though he would score as there were no Estacada defenders in sight. Bart came from out of no where and ran the Bowman runner down from behind.

All week long we felt that we could "out quick" them which proved to be true down the stretch during crunch time. The extra conditioning that we did during the week and the dedication that team members have in lifting weights before school was certainly evident. Our offensive production was not very good for most of the game, but our lads came through in the end. Coach Freeborn addressed the team after they got on the bus saying that this win was not very pretty. In fact she was sure ugly, but he would dance with her anyway.

This week the Rangers host a strong Wilsonville team who lost to The Dalles last Friday night. With so few teams in our league this year, no one can afford to have two losses, so the Wildcats will play extremely tough. Last year Wilsonville beat the Rangers on the last game of the season thereby knocking us out of the playoffs. It should be a great high school football game and we invite all Ranger fans to be there in support of the team.

Week 4

The Ranger Football Team took a big step toward the playoffs with a convincing 28-14 victory over Tri Valley conference Rival Wilsonville last Friday. Wilsonville is highly regarded and has been ranked in the top ten most of the season.

The game did not get off to a positive start with Wilsonville recovering a fumble deep in Ranger territory. With only 30 yards to the end zone, the Wildcats were ahead 7-0 in the very early stages of the first quarter.

Later in the first quarter the Rangers mounted a 10 play drive following a punt. Terry Randall scored on the first play of the second quarter with a one yard run to tie the score when Craig Richardson kicked the extra point.

Wilsonville mounted their only sustained drive following the kickoff. They drove the ball the length of the field to go ahead 14-7.

Later on in the second quarter Bart Bluemer intercepted a Wildcat pass on their 45 yard line. Two plays later Jeremiah Platt scored on a 45 yard run. Richardson's kick was wide left which left the halftime score at 14-13.

Two Wilsonville drives were stopped early in the third quarter when Travis Gaul forced and recovered a fumble, and Ryan Baum intercepted a pass. These turnovers kept the Wildcats in poor field position. The Rangers were thwarted in these scoring attempts due to penalties, but were able to maintain good field position.

Following a Wilsonville punt to the Ranger 35 yard line late in the third quarter, Justin Scott connected with Bart Bluemer for a 60 yard pass play to the five yard line. Three plays later Randall once again took the ball in for the score from one yard out to put the Rangers ahead for good. A two point conversion attempt was made good when Scott passed to Steve Bess.

The Estacada defense took over and dominated play in the fourth quarter keeping the Wildcats penned up in their own territory. Wilsonville never was able to mount another serious threat for the rest of the game. In addition to fine defensive play, Bluemer was able to kill two punts on the five yard line in this quarter.

The final points of the game came after Brian Sparks tipped a Wildcat pass into the air to be intercepted by Chris Hoopes. Two plays later Hoopes scored from 27 yards out. Richardson added the PAT and the scoring ended at 28-14.

We do not hand out game balls like the do in the NFL (due to cost considerations), but if we did, one would certainly have gone to Steve Scott for his fine effort in this game. When our center had to sit this game out, Steve, who had never played center before, stepped forward to fill the void. We were able to handle all snaps for the evening and we gained valuable yardage up the middle behind his blocking.

With the season approaching the halfway point, the Rangers are 4-0. Along the way they have defeated three teams who have been ranked during the early weeks of the season.

This week we will play Madras on Thursday night at home due to statewide in service on Friday. Estacada and Madras were tied for third place in the league last year. Madras got the nod for the state playoffs because the White Buffaloes handed an embarrassing defeat to the Rangers on their home field.

We invite all fans to attend the game and cheer on the team. Make plans to arrive early as the stands fill up in a hurry.

Week 5:

Once again the Ranger faithful were treated to another magical climax to a hard fought contest last Thursday when the team beat Madras 21-13. In a classroom essay last spring, quarterback Justin Scott wrote that there "was no greater feeling than doing 'RangerJacks' on the field inside the Hedges after a victory." A packed stadium crowd witnessed a bolt of lightening in the closing moments of last Friday's contest and the energy generated lasted long past RangerJacks.

The Rangers took control of the contest early in the first quarter when they marched the length of the field to take an early lead on Craig Richardson's 7 yard touchdown run. This drive was highlighted by Senior quarterback Justin Scott's skillful execution of our option attack. Large chunks of yardage were eaten up by Scott or his laterals to Richardson or Terry Randall.

One mark of a good team is one that can come back from adversity which the Rangers did on this opening drive. Prior to the score that counted, Richardson took a pitch from Scott around the 25 yard line and weaved his way for the score only to have this TD called back due to a 15 yard clipping penalty.

Penalties, miscues, and mistakes plagued the Rangers for most of the game following their opening score. In fact, our defensive misalignment played a part in both of Madras' scores.

Madras scored their first TD in the second quarter on a 4th and 12 play from the 20 yard line. They slipped a back out of the backfield on a deep route to the left corner of the end zone. Our deep defender had vacated his area of responsibility and thereby forfeited 6 point to the White Buffaloes.

Just before half, the Rangers 2 minute offense produced a go ahead score on Chris Hoopes' 3 yard touchdown run. The drive was highlighted with the fine pass catching of Steve Bess who made an outstanding catch at the 3 yard line stretching out on a sideline route. After Hoopes' score the Rangers led 13-0.

The second half opened with the Rangers driving deep into Buffalo territory only to be set back by further miscues. Each time either team would mount any kind of a drive the other would be able to fend off their charge.

Late in the game Madras got the ball on their 35 yard line. Several running plays later, they were at mid-field. On a play action pass, a Buffalo receiver hauled in a deep pass over the middle and took the ball down to the 6 yard line where they scored to tie the game at 13. A bad snap on their extra point attempt led to an interception by defensive end Isaac Brown.

With only 30 seconds left in regulation Madras' short kickoff was handled by Steve Bess. With the 2 minute offense once again engaged, Scott hit Flanker Bart Bluemer in the left flat for a 15 yard gain followed by another 15 yard pass to Mike O'Meara on a quick post route. During a time out, we called for 2 plays. The first would be a pass to the end zone; if unsuccessful, the second would take the ball to the center of the field for a field goal attempt.

Following the time out, Scott dropped back and fired a perfect strike to the left corner of the end zone. In fact, most of the fans figured that the pass was too long to be completed. With a flair for the dramatic, however, Bart Bluemer was able to catch up to the ball with a burst of speed and an absolutely spectacular catch completely stretched out in the end zone's deep corner. Chris Hoopes added a 2 point conversion and the Rangers led 21-13 with 12 seconds remaining. Two incomplete passes by Madras ended the game.

All the Ranger faithful had an extra bounce in their step as fans poured out onto the field while the team conducted their ritualistic RangerJacks. In fact, was it just me or did some of you too see that scoreboard burn a little brighter?

The Rangers are now 5-0 and are headed to LaSalle this week. The Falcons are also 5-0 and the game should be a good one.

Week 6:

Perhaps Athletic Director Dave Steppe should consider issuing a cardiac warning to the feint of heart with each ticket sold to Ranger football games. Once again the team electrified the crowd with last minute heroics and beat previously undefeated LaSalle 19-15 to move into first place in the Tri Valley League and cinch a berth in the AAA State Playoffs. This marks only the second time in 45 years that the Rangers have advanced into the playoffs.

During last Sunday's coaches' strategy session, the staff determined that LaSalle would not beat us by running the ball, and we devised a new secondary coverage to counteract their vaunted passing attack. This game plan appeared to be flawed when in their first possession, LaSalle scored from way out on just two running plays with the first being a 62 yard tight end reverse. During the rest of the game, however, the Falcons were held to just 120 yards rushing, and more importantly, they completed just 6 of 16 passes for 62 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. LaSalle came into the game averaging over 200 yards a game passing with a plethora of TD passes.

The Rangers answered LaSalle's score with a long sustained nine play drive with Chris Hoopes scoring on a one yard run. The extra point was deflected wide leaving the Rangers down by a point 7-6.

Later on in the second quarter Estacada put together another sustained drive of seven plays with Hoopes once again scoring on a four yard run. A try for two points came up short and the Rangers led 12-7. Hoopes gained many valuable yards all evening with hard physical, bruising runs through the middle of the Falcon defense behind the blocking of Estacada's line led by Seniors Robert Adkins and Jeff Rose who without a doubt had their best games of the season.

Later in the half LaSalle took the led 15-12 on their only sustained drive of the night.

The second half of play was marked by both teams moving the ball up and down the field only to be stopped by penalties or turnovers. Senior Issac Brown intercepted a screen pass to stop one drive while Justin Scott intercepted a pass on the two yard line to stop another.

Late in the fourth quarter behind the strong running of Tailback Craig Richardson, the Rangers drove down to the 10 yard line only to be moved back by a holding penalty. Unable to connect on three consecutive passes, the ball went over to LaSalle on downs. There were just 2:30 left in the game and the Ranger faithful were put to the test. On LaSalle's second play from scrimmage, Linebacker Matt Seal ripped the ball loose from the Falcon's quarterback and it was recovered by Ryan Baum.

Once again the Rangers were in business at LaSalle's 31 yard line. There were 1:30 left in the game. Two sweeps by Richardson gained 15 yards. The clock kept ticking. Two option runs by Justin Scott netted 6 more yards. The clock was wound down to less than :30. We took a time out to make sure everyone was on the same page. It was our last time out. The excitement in the huddle was electrifying. I called for two plays. Since the ball was on the right hash mark and at a severe angle for a field goal, the first was to be a blast play off left tackle. I explained that if we did not score, we would stop the clock, kick a field goal and win the game in overtime if necessary. My parting words as I left the huddle, however, were that I expected them to score on the Blast which they did when Chris Hoopes scored his third TD of the night on a 4 yard run to put us ahead for good 18-15 with just :13 left in the game and the Estacada faithful went ballistic.

Before the game I talked briefly with some of the early arriving fans and noted the lack of seating for them. In the discussion some of the parents thought we might have 200 fans attend the game. I said I'd be disappointed if we did not have over 200 students attend the game much less others from town. We had far beyond that. The fans were lined up four and five deep, perhaps more in spots, from goal line to goal line. This show of support for the team is most appreciated, and of course, the fans got their money's worth. It was a great high school football game where both teams displayed grit, desire and the will to win.

Once again, the strength and conditioning work of our team became evident as the team was able to physically take it to the Falcons throughout the game. The blocking, tackling, and strong running by our team took an even increasing toll on the opposition as the night wore on. The only questioned in our mind became, "Would there be enough time?" which, of course, there was just enough.

In our SET Class at school in which many of the players are enrolled we discuss Spirit and the Will to win. In one of the materials we use it states that the "spirit of a man is a supernatural force that enables him to achieve whatever he truly desires." The author talks about how teams have spirit. School's have spirit. And even communities have spirit. The collective spirit of the team, students and many fans from the Estacada community would not be denied on this night. We discuss how this spirit combined with the Will to Win can be channeled into desired performance. Will it happen? WILL IT TO HAPPEN!

The bus ride home was memorable. There is no feeling like riding home on the bus with your team mates newly crowned Tri Valley Champions. We made plans to ride through town, all windows open, singing the school's fight song. To keep the spirit alive, Coach Freeborn led the team in some old time Championship cheers. To our knowledge, the Rangers are the first team to win their conference and qualify for the playoffs.

Work remains to be done. The Rangers travel to Rainier for a non conference game on Friday. Game time is 7:30 PM. The Rangers will then return home for their last two regular season games, one with non conference foe Sutherlin and a final league game with The Dalles with the playoffs to follow.

Week 7

The Ranger football team kept on with their winning ways defeating the Rainier Columbians on their home turf 47-7 last Friday.

The Rangers received the opening kickoff and quickly drove the ball down the field picking up large chunks of yardage on each play. The drive ended with Chris Hoopes' six yard touchdown run off right tackle. Craig Richardson added the extra point and the Rangers were off to an early lead.

The following kickoff was fumbled only to be recovered by Jeff Rose. Just a few plays later Quarterback Justin Scott scored on a one yard sneak. The kick was wide, and the Rangers were up 13-0.

On Rainier's next possession (their first from scrimmage) Steve Scott intercepted a pass and returned it to the Columbian two yard line. We lost control of the ball but scored a safety when a Rainier runner was tackled in the end zone.

On the subsequent kickoff Bart Bluemer took the ball up the right sideline behind some excellent blocking, broke a tackle and raced 60 yards in all to pay dirt. The first quarter was not yet over and the Rangers led 21-0.

Early in the second quarter Craig Richardson scored on a 17 yard sweep play. He also added the PAT to extend the lead to 28-0.

The Columbians' only score came on the next series of downs when a receiver got behind our secondary for a 42 yard scoring strike.

Justin Scott scored on another two yard sneak to push the lead even farther. The Estacada coaching staff substituted liberally in the second quarter, but the team kept on scoring. James Pierce threw a 21 yard touchdown pass to Bart Bluemer and the half ended with the Rangers up 41-7.

Estacada kicked off to Rainier to start the second half. Three plays later Chris Hoopes intercepted a pass, cut to his right and scampered 22 yards to the end zone. This ended the scoring for the night with the Rangers on top 47-7.

The remainder of the game saw the Ranger third and fourth teamers play which they did very well highlighted by a goal line type stand preventing a score. By the way, on Thursday night the Junior Varsity beat Rainier 54-0.

The team emerged unscathed and everyone (except Platt) will be ready to meet Sutherlin when they come to town on Friday. Since they are traveling such a long way (from just north of Roseburg) we will play a Junior Varsity game prior to the varsity game which will start at 7:30 PM. People are already talking about how early they are going to arrive to get a good seat. With the Junior Varsity game beginning at 4:00, there will be many fans in the stands long before the varsity game begins. Plan on arriving early and have a Booster burger or dog for supper.

This should be an interesting game. Sutherlin is the #4 team in the Sky Em Conference and, therefore, in line to capture a playoff spot. Since their league has nine teams in it, the OSAA has awarded four playoff spots to them.

Due to the scheduling challenges of the Tri Valley League this year, we really have two seasons. The first ended with the LaSalle game. That victory catapulted us into the League Championship. We then have two non league games with a final league contest with The Dalles. We are hard at work preparing ourselves to get better with each practice so that we can continue our winning ways, but more importantly, elevate our play to the next level - the AAA State Playoff level. Since none of the players were in high school the last time the Rangers were in the Playoffs, no one (except the coaches) really understands the effort needed to be successful in the Playoffs. Rest assured that we are hard at work and are preparing to uphold the honor of our school and community.

Week 8

The Rangers kept on with their winning ways running their record to 8-0 with a 32-0 victory against the Sutherlin Bulldogs last Friday inside the hedges.

Sutherlin won the coin toss and chose to receive the opening kickoff. After a lone first down they punted to the Rangers. Bart Bluemer took in the punt, cut behind a fine block by Craig Richardson and returned the punt 30 yards to the Bulldog 33. We felt all week that our team would be able to run wide on them and that we could take advantage of our superior team speed. This was made evident early when Richardson swept left end to the seven yard line and scored two plays later on an option play to the left. Estacada was quickly up 7-0.

The Rangers held Sutherlin following the kickoff and took over on their own 33 yard line following a Bulldog punt. Six plays later Bluemer broke free in the Bulldog secondary and hauled in a 47 yard scoring strike from quarterback Justin Scott. Richardson added the extra point and the Rangers led 13-0.

Following the kickoff, Sutherlin put together their only serious scoring drive of the night. They ran off 17 plays driving the ball deep into Ranger territory. The defense put on a goal line stand stopping the Bulldogs on the two yard line where the Rangers took over on downs. With time running out in the half, Estacada drove the ball down to the eleven yard line of Sutherlin, but the half ended with a blocked field goal attempt.

In the third quarter Sutherlin snapped the ball over their punter's head into the end zone. He was able to recover enough to kick the ball out to the 12 yard line where Estacada would put the ball in play. Four plays later Chris Hoopes scored on a three yard run and the Rangers led 19-0.

Following the kickoff the Rangers held and forced the Bulldogs to punt the ball. Once again Bluemer fielded the punt on his 30 yard line. Running behind some great blocking led by a super block by Jeff Rose, Bluemer raced 70 yards for the score pushing the Rangers our in front 25-0.

Later on in the quarter Justin Scott intercepted a Bulldog pass and ran the ball back to their 45 yard line. Several plays later Scott once again hooked up with Bluemer on a 12 yard scoring strike. Richardson added the PAT finishing the evening's scoring at 32-0.

Many Rangers had a great game this evening. Obviously Bart Bluemer scoring three touchdowns led the way. Justin Scott's two TD passes were impressive. Defensively, Matt Seal had an outstanding game at linebacker. He intercepted two passes and scored 37 defensive points on our defensive scoring system. If a linebacker scores 15 points, he can say he had a really good game. Scoring 37 points is absolutely fantastic!

We wanted to win convincingly in this game because Sutherlin's league, the Sky Em, will put four teams into the playoffs. We wanted them to take word back to their league that the Rangers are for real. Several of their league's representatives are in our bracket and we wanted them to see what caliber of team plays in the Tri Valley League.

This week the Rangers play host to The Dalles in the regular season finale. This is a must win game for them because they already have two losses in league play. With Wilsonville, La Salle, and Madras also having two losses they cannot afford to lose another, and they will pull out all the stops to win. They feature an excellent passing attack, and they have the biggest, hardest running backs we have seen. They are a playoff caliber team. Of course, the Rangers will be playing for an undefeated season in front of their home town fans. We well remember last year's game and feel that their is unfinished business between us. We will use this game as an indicator of our progress in making our run at the playoffs.

The week following this game the Rangers have a bye week in the first round of the playoffs. We will use this time to hone our fundamentals and increase our skills for our opening game of the playoffs which will be played here in Estacada on November 20. See you at the game!

Week 9

Are we proud of these guys or what? Undefeated, 9-0, highly ranked, and on their way to the AAA State Playoffs. With last Friday's 18-12 victory, The Dalles joins La Salle, Sherwood, Wilsonville and Tillamook, all ranked ahead of the Rangers at one time or another during the year but ultimately not able to measure up in head to head competition on the field.

The stadium filled up quickly for the game and the Indians got off to an equally quick start scoring on their second play from scrimmage. The PAT was wide right and they led 6-0. This proved to be the only time during the game that the Indians running attack would be very successful as they had a net gain of less than 10 yards for the remainder of the night on 20 attempts. In fact, the Ranger defense proved to be so solid that they did not even try a running play in the fourth quarter.

The Rangers received the kickoff and drove the ball down to the Indian nine yard line. Tailback Craig Richardson ate up huge chunks of real estate on sweep plays during this drive. We felt that we cold run outside on them which Craig did all night gaining 100 yards on the sweep. Unfortunately this drive was stalled by a 15 yard penalty and to make matters worse, The Dalles blocked our attempt to punt and took over on our 47 yard line.

Anyone who was at the game knows how muddy the field became. The Indians had trouble with the center-quarterback exchange all night, fumbling the ball at least a dozen times. Our center, Jessie Pierce, and quarterback, Justin Scott, only had difficulty a couple of time the whole evening.

The Dalles fumbled their first two snaps, gained but three yards on third down and were forced to punt. Each team traded punts, jockeying for position the remainder of the quarter.

At the beginning of the second quarter of play, Estacada went on a nine play drive taking the ball deep into Indian territory. On fourth and two at the 30 yard line, we decided on field position and kicked the ball out of bounds on the three. On the next play the Indian tailback was tackled behind the line for what looked like a safety, but the officials marked his forward progress at the one foot line. A roughing the kicker penalty continued their possession, but not for long as they moved backwards on their next number of plays due to fumbled snaps and penalties and they punted.

Once again the Rangers were stalled, this time with a lost fumble. We soon got the ball back as Justin Scott made a fine interception picking a tipped ball out of the air before it stuck in the mud. On the second play, Mike O'Meara got behind the Indian secondary and Scott laid the ball in there perfectly for a 35 yard scoring strike. Our try for two failed, and the score was tied at six.

The Indians tried to put together a drive, but Chris Hoopes intercepted a pass and returned it 57 yards to the three yard line to almost score as time ran out in the half.

At half time we talked about just running the ball right at them. We decided to get behind our three man tandem of Jeff Rose, Robert Adkins, and Travis Gaul and run our fullback blast play down the field. We received the second half kickoff and drove down the field with strong blocking by the tandem and the power running of Chris Hoopes. This was a 14 play drive, 10 of which were the blast. Hoopes scored over left tackle and the Rangers went up 12-6.

The teams punted the ball back and fourth for most of the third and into the fourth quarter. Chris Hoopes recovered yet another fumbled Indian snap on our 30 yard line and the Rangers went on a seven play scoring drive.

Hoopes had played a great game but had been nicked up with his strong play. So too had Richardson, and Steve Scott had played the whole game on defense. To get the freshest legs in the game, I moved Terry Randall to Tailback and inserted little used Jonathan Brandon at fullback.

Jonathan has practiced unselfishly with the backs all year, but plays mostly on the defensive line (at about 150 pounds I'd say). Prior to this game he only carried the ball but two times in the Rainier game after we were ahead 47-7. On a third and one play, while trying for a first down, Jonathan took the ball into the line behind Randall's block, spun off the pile, broke a tackle, veered to the outside, got a great block from Steve Bess and sprinted 40 yards to paydirt to put the Rangers up 18-6.

My assistant coaches were questioning my decision to have Jonathan in the game as I'm sure many of you were at least wondering. I wanted the freshest legs in the game due to the conditions, but more importantly, I knew that Jonathan had this dream of scoring the winning touchdown in a game such as this. Jonathan is in our S.E.T. for Success Class where we discuss and write about dreams and goal setting. There is this factor that Coach Lombardi often talked about. He called it "heart power," and our kids have it. And on this night it was Jonathan's turn to demonstrate it and realize a long held dream.

That drive ate up a good deal of the fourth quarter clock. The Dalles was able to put together their only other successful drive of the night to narrow the score to 18-12. We ran some more clock out on our next possession, and with time running out they fumbled yet another snap on fourth down to end the game.

On a personal note, many of you noticed I was not my regular self during the game especially the second half. I suffered a severe drug reaction to some cough medicine I had taken. This reaction was so severe that I had a hard time standing during the second half. I would personally like to thank Mike Teel and Jeremiah Platt for keeping me upright on the sidelines. Another big thanks to to assistant coach Gary Hertzog who drove me to the hospital right after the game. There they determined what the problem was and gave me a shot to counter act the offending drug. In an hour or so I felt 100% better, and we arrived home just after 2:00 AM. What remains is to shake this sickness I have been carrying around for about six weeks, and Dr. Orth has stated we will take care of it this week.

The Rangers have a bye this week. They will play the winner of the Elmyra-Central game to be played this weekend. The winner of that game will come to Estacada on Friday,November 20, to met the Rangers in the second round of the AAA State Playoffs (The Bracket for the playoffs appears elsewhere in this paper).

Week 10

(Game 10 Note: During the bye week we suffered a tremendous loss. Two of our all conference players - our lead tackle and a receiver and defensive back) made the poor choice of attending a school function drunk. They obviously violated the athletic code of conduct and were suspended from the team. At our school, for a first offense the suspension, counseling and reinstatement is a four week process which obviously prohibited them from any further participation on the team for the remainder of the season. We were reminded of the quote: "The minute we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out." The loss of these players were too much to overcome and our team went down to defeat against Central who made it to the State Finals and came within a minute and thirty seconds of being state champion.)

Last Friday night the Rangers went down to defeat at the hands of the Central Panthers. The only thing that went right for the team was a spectacular kickoff return for a touchdown by Craig Richardson to narrow the score to 16-6. Unfortunately, that was our only highlight and that is as close as the score was going to get as Central was able to pull away winning 36-6.

Throughout the year the Rangers were able to execute offensively and defensively forcing the other team to go to part of their game that they did not do as well. On this night, for whatever reason, the team just could not execute as they had earlier in the year. We were out played in every phase of the game except for some special teams play.

The storm, which we figured would affect play, certainly hampered our performance much more than their's. We turned the ball over more in this game than several other games combined as numerous fumbles placed the Panthers in great field position and our backs against the wall.

As we have seen this year, the difference between winning and losing is not very much when the teams are evenly matched. Perhaps there were just a few too many "X" factors that entered into the equation for this match up. There certainly were a number of factors that arose which served as a distraction for the team not the least of which was my hospitalization for three days prior to the game.

We are proud of our team and their accomplishments. We have memories which will last a lifetime. As the bitterness of this defeat wears off, the fine play of an entire season will return. Their hard work and excellent play of the season enables them to live the rest of their lives as Undefeated Tri Valley Football Champions. And that still sounds pretty good. Doesn't it?

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Copyright 1997-1998
by Roger A. Freeborn
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