Opening Day Mop Up - Some Silver linings

It took me the Duck and Boise State wins to recover from my Marshfield Pirate's loss to local rival North Bend for the first time in 20 years, and the loss of all but one of the MWL/SO teams.  Now it's time to look at our numerous QB successes of last week, injury riddled Marist, and an official 'league' opener.

Marist
You probably read in the Register Guard that starting Marist QB Josh Paiement and speedy WR Taylor Walcott went down early with injuries, possibly breaks.  LB Will Swindling also disappeared from my camera's eye early in the game after he left with an injury.  Logan Silver took over at QB and after working through some problems, brought the Spartans back from a 0-7 first quarter deficit, to hammer Corvallis 42-14.  Keep in mind that one of Corvallis's scores was a kickoff return. 

I was impressed that after LB Swindling left the game, Carson Kiesewetter and Brady Chiongbian, were delivering the hits from the LB position and they delivered their blows exactly how I saw them do it in practice.  Practicing technique makes perfect.  But perhaps the hardest and loudest hits came from DB Ryan Inouye. Ouch!  O linemen Matthew Devereux, Chris Bender and crew delivered as expected.  Wide receiver Austin Baird was out of his mind and body,with 207 yards and 3 td's.  One Baird score happened when he took a pass, stopped in place, squared off with a Spartan, stuffed him in the facemask, juked two more players and shook off another for the TD.

Finally, while Marist was dominant with Silver at qb, I'm not sure that's the Spartans ticket to the 5A title.  Usually, by the time the quarters or semis roll around, there is a team that has a quick enough D to sit on one guy.  So, I'm thinking if Paiement is out for awhile, it might be time to try Jonathan Tharpe at Qb and set Silver free as a RB/receiver.  Entertainment wise, I'm nor sure if it would more fun to watch Silver at Qb or as RB/receiver.

Ashland, Eagle Point, Marshfield, Springfield and Willamette
Certainly, a 1-5 start for the MWL/SO teams is not good.  However, no team lost by more than a touchdown. 
Quarterbacks were particularly outstanding.  Levi Green of Springfield tossed for 298 yards, sophomore Kamerun Smith of Willamette threw for 292, Silver had 264 for Marist, Scarminach had 221 for Ashland and while Dallas Milburn didn't break 200, he led a drive to take the lead, 14-13,  with 2:10 left in the game.
There were no huge breakout games by running backs.  But, Springfield's  Thomas Spikes rushed for 86, Wolverine junior Jordan Visarraga averaged 6.5 yards on 13 carries.  Eagle Point's Aaron Foster did a little better than Visaragga with 87 yards on 13 carries. 
Beside's Marist's Austin Baird's 207 yards receiving, Willamette had two standout performances; Cameron Koehler with 122 yards on just three catches, and Deaunte Brown with 86 yards on five catches.  Wolverine teammate Dannny Granillo caught four  passes for 70 yards in his tight end experiment. John Davidson from Springfield had 170 yards on ten catches and teammate Spikes had 72 yards.  In the spirit of brotherhood, Eagle Point spread 13 catches among seven receivers.  That variety could come in handy as the Eagle Point QB progresses this year.

Two real league games this week.
I talked to someone over the phone last week who hadn't heard of all of the OSAA changes.  So, if you're in the dark.....  Each of the six MWL teams and two Southern Oregon 5A teams play in two different leagues.  For playoff purposes, the six MWL teams are in the MWL league.  Now get this: the two Southern Oregon teams are in a two team league - the Southern Oregon League.  All eight teams are in the same league for all-star selections.  This is called the hybriddieberdoo league.  It's pronounced 'Hybrid -die-ber-doo."  They named it that after Scooby Doo and The Flinstones.  Some poor kid from the Southern Oregon League is going to have to say "My team was last in the Southern Oregon league, but I was first team Hybridieberdoo."

There are two MWL league games this week and all of a sudden they have become doozies.  (The two Southern Oregon teams have to wait until the last week of regular season.)  
Springfield at Willamette
Last Friday, QB Levi Green of Springfield had 298 yards passing, and sophomore Kamerun Smith had 292.  I saw some of Willamette's evening scrimmage last Wednesday, and they have some exciting skills guys.  I haven't seen Springfield at all, but Green is off to a great start.  50-48 score anyone?
North Eugene at Marshfield.
Kailee Wong was at North the last time the Highlanders beat Marshfield.  The current Highlanders were toddlers.  North Eugene did not play Friday, so there's no word on what to expect.  The Pirates fell to North Bend, ending a 20 year Bulldog drought.  North Eugene is out to prove that last year's four win season was the start of a positive trend, while the Pirates are hoping to get their potentially prolific offense in gear.

Two other great games to watch
Ashland at Marist. 
Anytime you can see the Spartans play it's a treat.  Plus, this week you get to see how coach Geske is going to deal with the Qb situation.  And remember, Ashland's pitcher Jake Scarminach threw for 221 yards last week.
Eagle Point at Churchill (0-0).
I'm going to this one.  It was a toss up between this game and Springfield vs Willamette.  Eagle Point played with ranked Mountain View, losing by two.  Churchill is in the top ten.  Eagle Point used seven receivers, and Churchill has Lancer Air.
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Miscellaneous:
If you know of any MWL players who are playing college ball, email me at mwlnow@yahoo.com .
Here's my current list: http://www.mwathletics.com/football/all_stars/college.htm

Marists hamburger stand sells the number one hamburger in the league, but I'm not ready to put the hamburger stand into the overall spot.  The Spartan burger equals the burgers at Marshfield and Willamette, and has all of the fixin's, including the capper, fresh cooked onions.  What puts the Spartan burger over the top is the perfectly warmed, plump (unsquished) buns.  To die for.  However, I think the burger stand setting at Marshfield has better ambiance.  For heaven's sake, it's got a name, "Buck's Place".  And it's in a better location, right when you walk in.  I'll have to get back to Willamette and Marshfield this season to compare.  Terrible mission:):):):):)