Opening Night Predictions

I am PUMPED!  I went to the Willamette scrimmage last night and the pads poppin' got my juices flowing.  If Willamette's O line can give their new QB some time to get a feel for varsity ball, the Wolverines will do some damage in the MWL.

Here' the opening night preview from Chris Park:

MIDWESTERN LEAGUE 2010 SEASON OPENER PREVIEW

FEATURED GAME CORVALLIS AT MARIST:

It’s Spartans versus Spartans and the similarities don’t end there in the season opener for the Corvallis Spartans on the road to Eugene to take on the Marist Spartans. Both of these schools have football tradition with a history of winning. Marist has won five State Championships, including four in the last seven years. Corvallis has also won five State Championships and last won the title in a three overtime thriller versus West Albany in 2006.

This game looks to be exciting and features two of the top running backs in 5A in Corvallis’ Dominic Wooten (6’0”, 205) and Marist’s Logan Silver (5’11” 185). Wooten has rushed for 3,119 yards in his high school career thus far, including leading all running backs in 5A last year with 1,980 yards on 270 carries and 17 TD’s. Silver rushed for 1,533 yards on 172 carries and scored 24 touchdowns for Marist on the way to a 14-0 season and 4A State Championship. The Marist offensive line is anchored by senior Matthew Devereux (6’3” 275) a Division 1 prospect with an offer from Air Force. Corvallis has a D1 offensive lineman prospect as well in junior Isaac Seumalo (6’2” 250).

Defensively, Marist returns seven starters, including 4A Defensive Player of the Year Devereux at defensive tackle and LB Logan Mayes (6’3”, 230) another D1 prospect who has verbally committed to Washington State. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Mayes is the son of former NFL running back and Washington State Cougar great, Reuben Mayes.

Corvallis returns five of their top tacklers on defense, including senior LB Vincenzo Gross (5’11”, 190), senior LB Jordan Brown (6’0”, 190), Seumalo at defensive tackle, senior defensive lineman Schuyler Randle (6’1”, 220) and junior linebacker Ian Leonard (6’1”, 165).

Both teams will be breaking in a new quarterback and with established, talented tailbacks, look for the offense to take the pressure off the young QB’s and try to establish a running game and control the line of scrimmage before looking to the passing game.

NEXT GAME: Corvallis hosts Crescent Valley Raiders; Marist hosts Ashland Grizzlies.

Gary's Prediction:  Marist 28 Corvallis 14.  Marist D prevails while the new Marist QB gains experience.

SILVERTON FOXES AT SPRINGFIELD MILLERS:

The Springfield Millers host the Silverton Foxes and hope to avenge last year’s 28-32 loss at Silverton. Silverton went 4-6 overall in 2009 and was competitive in all loses with the exception of 14-32 loss to South Albany. Both teams return experienced quarterbacks and skill players on offense. Silverton senior running back Troy Sinn (5’9” 165) rushed for 1095 yards on 212 carries and 13 TD’s last year. Nic Reinhard (6’3” 170) is the QB for Silverton and passed for 1,589 yards on 106 completions to 207 attempts with 16 TD’s and 9 interceptions. Junior receiver Torrey Rogness (6’2” 160) was the second leading receiver last year and returns with 24 catches for 549 yards and 7 TD’s in 2009. This game could be an offensive shootout and might be a good measuring stick to see how the Midwestern League stacks up against a very competitive Mid-Willamette Conference.
NEXT GAME: Springfield at Willamette Wolverines; Silverton home versus Woodburn Bulldogs.

Gary's Prediction: Silverton in a high scoring game, 35-28.
SOUTH ALBANY REBELS AT WILLAMETTE WOLVERINES:

Another great game to see how the Midwestern League does against the Mid-Willamette Conference. Last year’s 21-20 South Albany Rebels (4-6 in 2009) victory over the Willamette Wolverines was a game of two very different halves. Willamette jumped out to a 20-0 half time lead and then the wheels fell off in the second half, including a blocked Willamette punt recovered in the end zone for a South Albany touchdown with six minutes left in the game. South Albany’s Bryce Stutzman (5’10” 175) was the work horse for the Rebels as he rushed for 143 yards on 34 carries. He’s back for his senior season and with a young offense and new quarterback, the Wolverines will need to stop the South Albany ground attack in order to win this game.

NEXT GAME: Willamette home versus Springfield Millers; South Albany at West Albany Bulldogs.

MARSHFIELD PIRATES AT NORTH BEND BULLDOGS:

This long standing rivalry went to overtime last year with Marshfield prevailing 20-13 thanks to the heroic efforts of the now graduated Kyle Tedder. Tedder ran for a 25 yard touchdown on the second play of overtime and then intercepted a pass on defense to seal Marshfield’s twentieth straight win in this rivalry. The last time North Bend won was in 1989. Look for Marshfield to work out the kinks in their offense and ease new starter senior Dallas Milburn (6’1” 175) in at quarterback. Although Marshfield won’t likely see any Midwestern League opponents running the Double Wing, led by North Bend running backs Jake Lucero (6’2” 195) and Ryan Johnson (6’0” 165), it will still be a good chance for the Pirates to work on stopping the running game; something they will need to do to be successful in league.

NEXT GAME: Marshfield home versus North Eugene Highlanders; North Bend at 3A Sheridan Spartans

Gary's Prediction: Marshfield 35 North Bend 14.  A strong Pirate first half will show that the Pirates are buying into second year coach Ainsworth's program..

CHURCHILL LANCERS AT JUNCTION CITY JAMBOREE:

The Lancers travel to Junction City for a Jamboree with the Taft Tigers, Marshall Minutemen, Philomath Warriors and Junction City Tigers. Although Churchill will not have the benefit of playing a full game, the Jamboree will be a good chance to see how the Lancers stack up offensively and defensively against four other teams and the various formations and schemes they bring. It’s probably not as good as a full non league game, but certainly better than an intra squad scrimmage. Look for Churchill to put the finishing touches on their balanced and potent offensive attack and find some leaders on defense in the Junction City Jamboree.

NEXT GAME: Churchill home versus Eagle Point Eagles.

Gary's Prediction: Lancer Airlines looks great, but Churchill fumbles a kickoff return when the other team pooch kicks the kickoff to a wide open space between the Lancers.

OTHER GAMES OF INTEREST:
West Salem Titans at Sheldon Irish: West Salem senior QB Brett Smith is a D1 prospect with a verbal commitment to San Jose State. The Sheldon Irish are the defending 6A State Champions. Sheldon loses a bunch of starters on both sides of the football. It will be exciting to see how quickly Sheldon Coach Marty Johnson reloads and a chance to look at Sheldon junior QB Dillon Miller, son of former Sheldon, University of Oregon and NFL QB Chris Miller, in his first varsity start.

Thurston Colts at West Albany Bulldogs: Thurston steps down a classification to take on 5A West Albany in this rematch of the 5A 2008 title game won by West Albany 35-28. The Colts break in a new quarterback, with junior Chad Olson (5’10” 150) likely to be the starter. Senior running back Tyler Johnson (6’0” 195) rushed for 765 yards on 103 carries and 12 TD’s in 2009 for Thurston. Look for that same hard hitting defense from Thurston in this exciting season opener.

Skyview (WA) at Sherwood Bowmen: Sherwood is a likely top five 5A pre-season team that has an abundance of speed and skill position players in addition to the lineman to make a run for the State Championship. Skyview plays in the large school classification in Washington and this could be a tough, early season test for the Bowmen, who are expected to cruise through their league schedule.

Eagle Point Eagles at Mountain View Cougars: Mountain View is another likely preseason top 10 team that is loaded with talent, size and speed. This game is of interest as the Cougars will likely be in the playoff mix and Eagle Point is a common opponent for many of the Midwestern League teams.

Gary's Prediction: #6 Mountain View 28 Eagle Point 21.  The Eagles turn some heads including Churchill scout in the stands.

Gary's Prediction: #16 Ashland 35 Klamath Union 21.  Ashland is tied for Marshfield for 16th in the OregonLive poll.  That's basically middle of the pack in the 37 team 5A Division.  That should be good enough to beat the Pelicans.

Jefferson Democrats at Crescent Valley Raiders: Another great season opener with two likely preseason top ten teams. Jefferson is the 2009 5A State Runner Up. Crescent Valley has a great tailback in Andre Ogelsby (5’7” 175), who rushed for 1,701 yards on 269 carries with 21 TD’s.

Remember, this weeks games count in the power rankings calculations. Chris Park will have a write up about the power rankings in a couple of weeks.  Thanks Chris for all of your hard work.