New-look Eagles open at home against Hillsboro

Graduated is an eight-player core which included Henry Buckles, now playing at Oregon State, Emilio Castaneda, playing at Western Oregon, and 1,000-yard plus rusher (in six games) Tanner Fletcher.

That said, quarterback Trenton Hughes returns, as does versatile senior Ryles Buckley, who had five interceptions in the COVID-shortened 2021 spring season. Hughes may take some snaps behind center, but Sperry has designs on him at receiver and running back, anything to get the ball in the hands of the talented senior (first-team all-league as a return specialist).

Buckley, the returning Class 5A interception leader, heads up what should be strengths of the Eagles - its secondary and receivers. The group includes seniors Jack Wilson, Joey Frazier, and Mason Spellecy, who returns after a year away from the sport.

With Hughes stepping aside as signal caller, it opens the door for junior Michael Frost, who missed the spring season because of an injury. Running back Shaw Burns, who averaged 10 yards a carry last season as a sophomore backup to Fletcher, and senior Kyle Smiley, head the list of running backs.

Led by Hughes and Burns, HRV should have an advantage on the outside. Up front, three newcomers will be thrown into the mix to replace the departed two-way all-leaguers, Buckles and Castaneda. Two seniors return to anchor the interior line: 250-pound right guard Alex Whitaker and 280-pound left tackle Rolondo Flores. They will be joined by left guard Nathan Lynch, center Devon Boydston and transfer right tackle Malcom I’aulualo. The group averages about 275 pounds per player, which on paper might be giving Eagle faithful cause for some flashbacks of last year’s smashmouth line.

Sperry isn’t quite willing to sign off on that endorsement just yet. “You don’t know your personality for sure until you kind of get going,” he said. “It usually takes a game or two.”

Which is what HRV will have before it enters its Special District 1 schedule. HRV opens Thursday at home against Hillsboro and then hosts Scappoose on Sept. 10 in another non-league tilt. Hillsboro is in the second year of a youth brigade, having started numerous freshmen and sophomores during the spring season when HRV built a 44-6 halftime lead and went on to beat the Spartans, 58-14, on April 9.

The Eagles mixed it up against Washington schools Washougal and Woodland in a jamboree Friday in Banks. “It was great for us to see some game action,” Sperry said. The jamboree had some teams withdraw at the last minute because of COVID.

“That’s going to be a big storyline (again),” Sperry said, adding starting the season in August brought back some normalcy to fall football. “It does feel normal (but) it’s still a pretty precarious position we’re in (because of COVID).”

Of the opener, Sperry said: “Hillsboro played a lot of young players and that usually equates to them gaining experience that they normally wouldn’t have. It’s hard to tell (how good Hillsboro will be). We’ll focus on ourselves.”