Rogue River

JAMIE LUSCH / MAIL TRIBUNE

Rogue River’s Christian Moody, from left, Said McWillie and Perrin Nelson will be key cogs in the Chieftains’ attack this season.

Chiefs set sights on elusive state playo berth

HEAD COACH

Aaron Sturdevant (second year, 3-5).

GENERAL

INFORMATION

ASSISTANTS: Andrew Hebrew (linemen), Derek Nelson (receivers/linebackers), Max Javernick (quarterbacks/defensive backs). Sturdevant

2021 LEAGUE RE-

CORD: 1-5 (sixth, Dist. 4). 2021 OVERALL RECORD: 3-5.

PREDICTED FINISH THIS YEAR: Fourth. ROGUE RIVER OPPONENTS 62 ......................... Oakridge 14 6 ........................... Bandon 51 6 ......................... Reedsport 45 48 ..................... Illinois Valley 26 8 .......................... Lakeview 30 8 ........................... Coquille 60 48 ........................ Harrisburg 14 0 ............................. Glide 39 RETURNING STARTERS

OFFENSE (5): Halfback Said McWillie ( 5-9, 175 , sr.), fullback/quarterback Perrin Nelson (5-10, 190, sr.), guard Christian Moody (6-1, 240, sr.), tight end Josiah Dearinger (6-0, 185, sr.), receiver/quarterback Weston Foor (6-0, 170, sr.).

DEFENSE (4): Safety Said McWillie, linebacker Perrin Nelson, tackle Christian Moody, linebacker Josiah Dearinger, safety Weston Foor, linebacker Jacob Stockman (511, 175, so.).

OTHER NOTABLES

Offensive guard/defense tackle Brian Billard (6-2, 200, fr.), offensive guard/defensive tackle Noah Kuykendall-Keaton (5-11, 245, fr.), quarterback/receiver Jay Morton (6-2, 175, jr.), quarterback/receiver Dustin Morton (5-9, 145, fr.), offensive/defensive lineman Harlin Perry (6-0, 190, fr.).

2022 SCHEDULE

Sept. 2 ............... at Waldport, 7 p.m. Sept. 9 ................. at Monroe, 7 p.m. Sept. 16 .............. REEDSPORT, 7 p.m. Sept. 23 ............... at Oakland, 7 p.m. Sept. 30 .. at North Douglas/Yoncalla, 7 p.m. Oct. 7 ............... GOLD BEACH, 7 p.m. Oct. 14 .................... GLIDE, 7 p.m. Oct. 21 .................. BANDON, 7 p.m. Oct. 28 ............ at Illinois Valley, 7 p.m.

By Don Hunt

for the Mail Tribune

ROGUE RIVER — The Rogue River High weight room was packed with football players an hour before daily doubles began on a mid-August afternoon. Sweat dripped off muscle-bound Chieftains as they pushed, pulled and lifted impressive stacks of iron, adding a little more strength with each completed drill.

“See that,” said senior running back Said McWillie, pointing to a sheet on the wall that read, “bench press 225, squat 400.”

Those are the number of pounds that McWillie wants to hoist in the bench press and squat rack this fall. He’s already there in the latter and within a few pounds in the former. Not bad for a 5-foot-8, 165-pounder.

The team lifting sessions, which occur throughout the summer, are but one of the building blocks that head coach Aaron Sturdevant put into place since signing on as the Chieftains head coach a little over a year ago.

There are no secrets and no shortcuts to success, Sturdevant tells his players, and it remains to be seen just how far Rogue River — which has few winning seasons in the past 40 years and hasn’t advanced to the state playoffs in 20 years — has progressed in Year 2 of the Sturdevant regime. The Chieftains went 3-5 a year ago.

But the optimism surrounding the team is palpable.

“He (Sturdevant) came in and changed the work ethic and the culture, and you can really see it paying off now,” said senior fullback/linebacker Perrin Nelson. “We’ve got a different mindset this year. We’ve worked too hard in the offseason to fail.

“Our No. 1 goal is to make the playoffs. It’s been long enough.”

To qualify for the postseason, Rogue River will need to finish among the top three in the newly formed Class 2A District 3 league. Oakland, Gold Beach, Bandon and the Chiefs are expected to fight it out for the league title and the postseason berths.

The state’s Class 2A schools have

opted for a nine-man format this fall for the first time. The change should help schools with smaller enrollments remain competitive. Dearinger Foor The new configuration removes two offensive linemen, meaning that five players will be on the line of scrimmage instead of seven. A four-man backfield will stay intact. “The nice thing about it is, you don’t have to change your (offensive) formations or the routes your receivers run,” said Sturdevant. “But you will have to change your run-blocking schemes and pass protections. “The field dimensions are the same but you’re taking two players off the field (on offense and defense), and so it’s going to be more of a speed game. And that works well for us because we’ve got a lot of fast kids.” None faster than McWillie, who ran a sizzling 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash earlier this year. He was second-team all-conference last season. Sturdevant runs a spread offense and plans to get McWillie in open space and one-on-one matchups.

“He doesn’t need a lot of daylight,” said Sturdevant. “Just give him a crease and he’s off and running. But Said is strong, too. He can get you the tough yards.”

Nelson, who has trimmed down from 230 pounds to 175 this season, also will shoulder some of the rushing load but his greatest value might be as a lead blocker for McWillie. Nelson could also see time at quarterback and has been sharing snaps with speedy senior Weston Foor, who also excels at receiver and defensive back.

Senior Christian Moody is the Chieftains’ top lineman (6-1, 240) and among a whopping 19 freshmen in uniform this season two of them — Brian Billard (6-2, 200) and Noah Kuykendall-Keaton (5-11, 245) — could join Moody in the starting lineup along the offensive front.

Other Chiefs to monitor include tight end/linebacker Josiah Dearinger and sophomore Jacob Stockman, a running back/quarterback/ linebacker.