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Carlson, Tigers ready for rematch against
Storm
Conference coaches pick Bruins fifth
George Fox tabbed to finish sixth in
Northwest Conference |
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| B. Scott
Anderson Sports Blog |
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Bucks set for tourney |
By
Jason Horton, Woodburn Independent, for The Newberg Graphic
E-mail Jason at
jhorton@eaglenewspapers.com
|
ST. PAUL —
Despite hits due to graduation, the St. Paul football program
manages each year to produce a football squad.
The Bucks went 7-4 last year and lost in the quarterfinals to South
Wasco. They also lost a lot of beef up front.
“We have four returning starters on offense and five on defense,”
said St. Paul football coach Jay Phillips. “But we lost most of our
size. We’re not a very big football team, and we really weren’t last
year, either.”
Leading the way will be junior running back/linebacker Matt
Anderson. He was the team’s leading rusher and backbone nearly every
game, something Phillips hopes can be eased this year.
“He carried the ball more than any player that I’ve ever seen at
St. Paul,” Phillips said. “There were a few games he had over 40
carries. Last year we relied on him because we were pretty big up
front and he carried a big load. Hopefully we won’t have to rely on
him as much because we’re going to do some different things.”
Also returning is junior Cody Kirk (quarterback/defensive back),
senior Charles Britnell (running back/defensive back), junior Will
Donaldson (guard/nose tackle), junior Derek Wolf (guard/defensive
end), senior Jeff Williamson (offensive end), and junior Josh Kelly
(offensive end/safety).
“(Kirk) runs the team very well and he is more than capable,”
Phillips said. “We are also excited about moving Derek Wolf from end
to guard. He’s grown and he has good feet. We’re not going to be big
up front, but we’re going to be quick.”
Phillips said he expects a pair of underclassmen to contribute, as
well. Elliot Ramos (center/defensive tackle) and freshman Jeff Annen
(quarterback/defensive end).
“(Annen) might see some time at quarterback, but (Kirk) is our
guy,” Phillips said. “But he’ll definitely see some time on defense
and has the chance to play a lot on that side of the ball.”
Junior transfer Justin Northcutt (running back/receiver/defensive
back) also is expected to contribute.
“We’re a junior-dominated team, no question,” Phillips said. “This
team has a completely different look than St. Paul teams in the
past. This team is different in size than we’ve had in the past few
years and we’re not going to have as much power to go right at
people as we’ve done in the past. The bottom line is we lack size.”
Despite the lack of size, expectations are the same at St. Paul.
“We’re taking the same approach and our goal is the make the state
playoffs,” Phillips said. “We don’t have a lot of depth, but I like
the work ethic and this group seems to work hard and work together.
I don’t think a lot of people around the state talk about St. Paul
being very competitive this year, and that’s OK.
“Most of the time, we’re not the underdog and I think we’re going
to surprise some people this year.”
St. Paul opens the season at the 8-man Classic at Dufur High School
Sept. 2 and 3. The Bucks will play Echo at the 16-team event. |
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From Aug. 31, 2005, Newberg Graphic
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