Titletown celebrates No. 7

Wednesday, the players, coaches, parents, elementary and middle school students and community members gathered in the Dufur High School gymnasium for one final celebration.

Among the speakers were Hollie Darden, Jake Grossmiller, Chad Leeson, Stan Fargher, and seniors Zach Christiansen, Kurt Nuevo, Alec Smith and junior quarterback Bailey Keever, as they offered insight into what it took to vault into rarified air.

Dufur head coach Jack Henderson has been on the Ranger sidelines since 1987 and amassed a record of 230-86 in that span.

His 230 wins places him 14th all-time, and his seven state titles is now tied for first.

Henderson offered praise and congratulations to his team, thanked the support of the community and read portions of the Dufur Ranger playbook authored by elementary-aged students.

Brad Garrett, assistant executive director of the Oregon Schools Activities Association, then officially presented the seniors Christiansen, Nuevo, Smith, Steven Bailey and Jon Keyser with the trophy.

The Ranger athletes played games, shared laughs and later, formed a handshake line to celebrate the moment with family and friends.

“It is sort of starting to sink in. It is still an amazing feeling no matter and I am still glowing over it and I think I always will,” Keyser said. “It is just amazing to experience this with a great group of guys.”

Dufur started the year with three consecutive wins over Lowell, Triangle Lake and Hosanna Christian by a combined 160-28 margin and were tabbed as the state’s No. 1-ranked team.

Then injuries kicked in over the next three weeks and the Rangers lost to Perrydale and Sherman by two points to fall back in the Big Sky Conference standings.

On Oct. 8 in Arlington/Condon, with freshman quarterback Derek Frakes at the controls, the Rangers for all intents and purposes kept postseason hopes alive in a 14-6 win.

“We didn’t exactly set the world on fire over the next couple of weeks, but by the time the playoffs started, I thought we had a chance and obviously we did,” Henderson said. “We were eight points away from not going to the playoffs, essentially.”

Going through adversity and facing challenges head on is the main learning toll of athletics.

Keyser expanded on the true meaning of team and the power of cohesion when backed into a corner.

He recalls moments when coaches Arthur Smith, Cameron Mulrony, CS Little and Henderson would lay their hearts out on the line with words of inspiration.

“Our coaches have taught us that this just isn’t sports, these moments go a lot further,” Keyser said. “It will carry over into where we work, college and that type of stuff. Real life. They teach us to use passion and heart. That is not an easy thing to teach. You can carry that all the way through your life. If you use that, you will accomplish great things. We used that this year and were able to accomplish something amazing.”

Spearheaded by Frakes’ heroics in early October, the Rangers steadily progressed and regained health.

Dufur went on to win its final three regular season games to secure a No. 3 seed in the state playoffs.

In the postseason, success lies in execution, focus, determination and a sprinkling of luck.

The playoff atmosphere was something fresh and new for Abraham Kilby, a freshman running back and defensive back, so he leaned on the leaders of the team to help him through.

“I am so happy I got to work with these seniors in their last year,” Kilby said. “They did a fantastic job and were great leaders for us on and off the field. They helped motivate the team and showed us how hard work will take us higher and higher. They made us believe in ourselves and each other. I want to thank them for bringing us along. Now it is up to us to continue that legacy.”

On Nov. 7 in its playoff home contest, Dufur rolled past Days Creek by a 62-8 margin.

Win 1 was a huge step in the right direction, but the task would only get tougher.

Playing at Cottage Grove High School on Nov. 14, a late-game miracle took place under cloudy skies in a quarterfinal matchup versus undefeated and No. 2-ranked Yoncalla.

Keever rallied the Rangers from a 14-point deficit with two rushing scores and two conversion runs to lead a stunning 74-72 comeback victory over Yoncalla.

With 55 seconds left, Keever plunged in from two yards out and he tacked on a conversion run to inch the Rangers to within a 72-66 deficit.

Dufur attempted an onside of its own and running back Hagen Pence recovered the ball with 51 seconds remaining.

Keever had a few big plays left in his arms and legs, and he found an open Kolbe Bales for a long connection to move the ball down to the Yoncalla 1-yard line, first and goal.

On second down and goal from the 1, Keever snuck in through the middle of the line for a touchdown to tie the score at 72 with 21 seconds left.

Keever added the conversion to give Dufur its first lead since the second quarter.

Yoncalla nearly flubbed the ensuing squib kick, but managed to hold the ball for a final drive with Will Shaw at the controls.

Shaw completed a pass to senior tight end Rob Stewman, who ran the ball for a 40-yard gain. It looked as though Stewman would find his way into the end zone, in a brutal revision of Ranger playoff history.

In 2014, Dufur lost a semifinal game to Adrian on a last-second touchdown run, but Keever, a safety, hung by while Stewman ran the ball and Pence made the tackle, stopping Yoncalla on the Ranger 16-yard line as time expired.

It was that snapshot moment – the relief, elation and tears of joy that welcomed Kilby to the big stage.

“It was a fantastic experience. It has been just great for our confidence, especially for the freshman team,” Kilby said. “Now we have to get out there and keep going as a state champion. As a freshman winning a state championship is an amazing feeling. There is always next year, playing our game, doing our best and get the team back to this moment.”

The next week, on Nov. 21 in Hillsboro, Keever and the Rangers pulled off another comeback.

The junior found Pence, a sophomore, for a touchdown pass to give the Rangers a 42-38 victory in the state semifinals over previously undefeated and top-ranked Perrydale.

“Yoncalla and Perrydale were tough. Those were two of the most physical games I have played in,” Keyser said. “We could have given up at any time, but we showed that we are fighters. That is Ranger football.”

On Nov. 28 in Hermiston, the Rangers captured their seventh state title with a 36-32 triumph over Crane.

Former coach and now currently the team’s stat keeper, Chuck Fuller, could not make the road trips with the Rangers during their championship journey, but he shared the experience over the radio waves with Fargher, 102.3 FM KYYT radio play-by-play announcer.

Even when things looked grim, Fuller stayed glued to his radio, hoping and wishing some of his former players could experience gridiron glory.

“I am proud. I coached theses seniors for a couple of years as a line coach and got to know them,” Fuller said. “To see what they have been through and what they have gone through and then to reap the rewards is an incredible story. I am so proud of them. I am so happy for them.”

As Christiansen, Bailey, Nuevo, Smith and Keyser exit stage left for graduation, the future of the program, 10 freshmen, five sophomores and seven juniors, will look to keep the winning trend going.

Next year, Dufur will have a target on its back.

Every week will be a battle to the finish.

Tanner Masterson can now say he has been there before.

“It is such a blessing to get our first championship in our freshman year. Hopefully this pushes us to get more,” Masterson said. “It is going to take a lot of hard work, a lot of weight lifting and a lot of training to get better than we were this year. It has been an amazing and awesome season. It has been great to make new friends and be part of a winning team. I can’t wait to do it again.”