MAUPIN – As a new wave in the 1A landscape, six-man football gave small schools an opportunity to field rosters to compete at a high level.
With the leadership of head coach Mike Waine and defensive coordinator Michael Carter, the South Wasco County Redsides finished with a 7-2 record and capped their six-man campaign with a 65-13 blowout win over Eddyville Charter in district crossover playoff contest on Oct. 27 in Madras.
For the solid finish, SWC had eight players pick up all-league awards, including co-Player of the Year status for sophomore Garrett Olson.
“It means a lot to me for the other coaches to give me Player of the Year, especially since I’m a sophomore,” Olson said. “It is nice to get this. I think this is definitely going to boost my confidence and get me to work even harder to help the team. We had a good year. I was happy with what we accomplished as a team.”
On the year, Olson played nine games and contributed big plays from several positions.
At the quarterback position, the sophomore completed 31 of 56 passes for 578 yards and 13 touchdowns.
When not behind the center, Olson rushed 70 times for 772 yards with 13 touchdowns, and he hauled in 24 passes for 429 yards and six scores.
On special teams, he converted on 80 percent of his two-point conversion kicks, and he totaled 46 tackles, eight interceptions and hit the end zone three times.
Olson was named to the first team as a running back, added second-team awards for his play at linebacker and kicker, and was an honorable mention pick at punter.
In his senior year, Zane Malefyt had his name called as a first-team offensive player for his all-around game on the line, running and catching the ball.
Malefyt posted 10 rushes for 80 yards and a score and had 13 catches for 164 yards and five touchdowns.
On the defensive side, he racked up 27 tackles, nine for loss, with two sacks and a defensive touchdown.
The Redside defense gave up 147 points, Timo Hisatake plugged up the line and allowed other players to make tackles on opposing players.
For the year, Hisatake put up 27 tackles, 14 for loss.
Although he did not receive offensive votes, the junior rushed the ball 14 times for 116 yards and three touchdowns, and he made all three of his catches count, as he went for 90 yards on those receptions and scored all three times.
Brock Lafaver broke out in his freshman campaign by using his 6-foot-4-inch frame to tally 13 catches for 194 yards and three touchdowns.
In the team’s playoff victory over Eddyville, Lafaver started at quarterback and he completed 9 of 11 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns, finishing the year racking up 228 yards on 15 of 20 with three scores.
“Brock was able to catch almost anything thrown at him,” Waine said. “He dropped one pass all year, so this was a very deserving award.”
Tanner Davis, an honorable mention pick at quarterback, had starts at running back, receiver and quarterback this year, with his biggest contribution coming as the signal caller.
The junior was 41 of 79 passing for 712 yards and 12 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
Davis also had a 39-yard rush, and he racked up 248 yards on 12 grabs and five touchdowns.
Defensively, he posted 30 tackles, six for loss, had a sack, three interceptions and one defensive score.
“I had a lot of fun at quarterback,” Davis said. “It’s a position I’ve always wanted to play, and I got the chance this year. I learned that quarterback is in command of the field, and if I deliver in my position, that gives other players a chance to do well. I am excited with the weapons we have here. I think we will score a lot more next year.”
Junior defensive lineman and running back Bobby Kately played in just six contests this fall, but still made his presence known.
The lineman came through for 24 tackles, five for loss, and ended up with a sack to get an honorable mention selection.
Kately rushed 24 times for 325 yards and three touchdowns and he hit for 51 yards on three catches.
Eli Malefyt notched honorable mention votes for his play at linebacker, where he had 45 tackles, four for loss, and two interceptions.
The sophomore led the team in tackles for the first three games of the year, with his best game coming against Prairie City with 11 tackles and an interception.
On offense, Eli Malefyt totaled 271 yards and two touchdowns, 230 coming through the ground game on 32 totes with a score.
The Redside offense led the six-man ranks with 467 points scored (51.8 a game) and had several one-to-two play drives, mainly because of good starting field position, which was due to the kick return prowess of Nick Brunson, an honorable mention selection.
Brunson had three kicks returned for touchdowns, and he chipped in seven catches for 185 yards and four scores.
Coach Waine is looking forward to 2019, especially with the bevy of weapons he has coming back.
“As a program, we are excited about what we can do, and it is showing by the dedication these kids have shown,” Waine said. “All the kids we have coming back are feeling good about the direction we are headed. They are ready to realize their potential.”
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.