The restart of high school football and other sports seasons has brought somewhat of a return to normalcy for thousands of Oregon and Washington student athletes as they resume their high school careers. Friday night, The Dalles football players will get to experience game competition for the first time in 16 months.
Riverhawk football Coach Andy Codding and his eager players will line up against the Putnam Kingsmen in a Class 5A matchup Friday at 7 p.m. in Milwaukie. Putnam lost its season opener last week, 33-0, at Redmond’s Ridgeview. It’s the Riverhawks first game since Nov. 23, 2019. The game will be broadcast by Al Wynn on radio station KODL 99.1 FM beginning with a 6:30 p.m. pregame show.
“It’s been kind of a sudden change, because these kids have been told for nearly a year that they wouldn’t be able to play football,” said Codding, in his fifth year as the Riverhawks’ coach. “A lot of kids basically were just not ready because they had not planned on playing until (three) weeks ago. We don’t have as many kids as we normally would have. The 38 kids that we do have are working hard, they’re excited and ready to prepare for our first game.”
The Dalles, which is also guided by assistant coaches Joe Abbas and Jim Taylor, began practice February 23. Seven Riverhawk seniors who will help provide leadership include Spencer Taylor, Kenape Stewart, Francisco Medina, Enrique DeLaCruz, Dusty Dodge, Skyler Leeson, and a returning 2019 starter, Jesse Larson.
“We have several kids who we think will be very good players for us, including quarterbacks Kade Wilson and Skyler Leeson, who are both capable of leading our team’s offense,” said Codding. “Our flyback is junior Jaxon Pullen, who will have a majority of carries in our ground game and freshman Anthony Jara will also be a ball carrier at flyback, as well. Jaxon is our only returning all-league player and he’s a great athlete who plays both offense and defense.”
Other players who are expected to help provide key contributions to the Riverhawk fly offense include sophomores Manatu Chrichton-Tunai, Marquies Sagapolutele and junior defensive end/tight end Andrew Savaiinaea. Larson, a wide receiver/defensive back, is also expected to make significant contributions while helping lead the Riverhawks on offense and defense.
“Andrew has received half a dozen Division 1 college scholarship offers, so he’s a big-time recruit who will play at the next level and he’s an obvious difference maker for us,” said Codding of the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Savaiinaea. “We’re really excited about our young group of offensive and defensive linemen who will have opportunities to step in and establish themselves for not just this year, but for years to come, as well.”
The Riverhawks had as much momentum as any team in Oregon in 2019, as they qualified for the OSAA Class 4A state playoffs following a 5-4 regular season. The Dalles won a first-round playoff game 49-18 over Henley, followed by a 58-51 quarterfinal victory over Tillamook. The magical season fell one game shy of reaching the state championship when the Riverhawks lost a semifinal contest, 68-0, to eventual champion La Grande.
The Riverhawks’ four-game Special District 1 season includes their only home game March 19 at 7 p.m. vs. La Salle Prep, followed by road games April 2 against rival Hood River Valley and April 9 at Redmond.
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