Scott Swanson
New Head Coach Ryan Adams and his Sweet Home football team should find out pretty quickly where they stand in the state 4A competition as they open against Marist this Friday, Sept. 3.
But with a roster of 56 players – up from 38 who started last spring’s abbreviated season – the Huskies look to be competitive, numbers-wise.
“Right now, I’m excited, personally,” said Adams, who was named to the position after six years as an assistant, when former Coach Dustin Nichol stepped down after 11 years at the helm. “We have a pretty decent number of juniors and freshmen. It’s been good so far. We’re still trying to get more.”
A number of COVID-19 exposures have kept some players from early practices, and the Huskies canceled out of a jamboree at Gladstone they had been scheduled to play in last Friday, he said, noting that Sweet Home is not alone in dealing with the coronavirus.
“I know all the teams out there are struggling with that,” Adams said.
Though young – a member of the Class of 2015, Adams said he got some early training from Nichol, which he’s putting into play now.
“I want to make sure people know Dustin did a phenomenal job here,” he said. “He gave me a great platform to build upon. Just being able to step in, after he left, made things easier. He’s had a huge influence on my life.
“I’m excited to fill his shoes, and they’re going to be big ones to fill. I appreciate Dustin for myself, personally, and then professionally, being a mentor, someone I could talk to, showing me how to love kids, how to put them first. He’s done a lot for this community.”
He said one thing Nichol did for him was enable Adams to coach junior varsity players right out of high school, which gave Adams a chance to determine whether coaching was for him.
“He brought me back young, gave me an opportunity to work with JV kids and see if this is what I wanted to do,” he said.
He’s had to adjust to the demands of head coaching: juggling kids, parents, fundraisers and other management responsibilities.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “It keeps me busy, that’s for sure. Before, I used to just go to practice, go home, go back to practice. Dustin did all the rest.”
Adams said he’s been working to instill a “new culture,” building on the work Nichol had already done.
“It’s high-energy and it’s fun,” he said. “Our big thing is that we just want to make sure that life after football is more important than life during football. That’s something we’ve always strived to do, teaching those lessons.”
The team’s motto is WIN: “Where we go one, we go all; Integrity; and “Never Quit.”
“That WIN mantra does the whole family, academics with it,” Adams said. “I want the kids to understand the family aspect, to believe in each other.”
After a 2-4 campaign in the spring, including losses to top teams Cascade and Hidden Valley, the Huskies return with 12 seniors, eight juniors, 14 sophomores and 20 freshmen going into Friday’s home game.
First Team All-League receiver Cole Baxter and defensive back Austin Marler, plus quarterback Aiden Tyler and running back Cade Gaskey, both Second Team All-League performers, are gone to graduation, Baxter to College of the Siskiyous and Tyler to the Western Oregon football program, along with four other seniors.
But returning for their senior seasons are First Team All-League defensive lineman Charlie Crawford and Second-Team All-League defensive back Daniel Luttrell, who was also the team’s leader in tackles.
Luttrell, who transferred from West Albany prior to his junior season, was a spark plug for the Huskies last year and is penciled in as Sweet Home’s primary ball carrier behind what Adams says is the team’s biggest strength: the offensive line.
“Potentially, that will be where our most success will be,” he said. Crawford, Colby Gazely, Tanner Waldrop, Dakota Melkvik, Tucker Weld, Nathan Aker, Jon Holly, Ryker Hartsook and Bradley Marks will all put in time on the line, and they will be a formidable presence.
“The line will be heavy and that’s why we’re gonna pound the rock,” Adams said. “That’s kind of where our squad is as of right now. If we can’t run the ball with the guys we’ve got, I don’t know how good we will be.”
He noted that the youngsters mixed in with veterans bodes well for the future.
“The sophomores will be a good group. I think they can be pretty special in the years to come.”
Luttrell, now a senior, Adams said, “is going to kind of be our driving force” on both sides of the ball.
“He loves football, everything about it. He’s one who’s really been able to buy into the mantra. He’s a next-level kid, there’s no doubt in my mind. Hopefully we can just put him in a position where he has the opportunity to show what he can do.”
Stepping in at quarterback will be junior Heath Nichol, who led the junior varsity to a 5-1 record last spring.
“I love Heath to death,” Adams said. “He’s kind of the wheel that makes us go round.
“He was so good at the JV level at making something out of nothing. He’s a phenomenal athlete, though he doesn’t have the arm strength that Aiden does. But he has an ability to read defenses and make plays that are amazing to watch. He just goes out there, plays, doesn’t over-think anything.
“He’s a joy to be around, all the time. He just has fun playing. He wants to win, and he’s willing to do what it takes to win. He’s more excited when his friends do something good than when he does something good. That’s rare and it’s a testament to his character and, obviously, to his family.”
Although this team may focus more heavily on the run than in recent years, following Nichols’ introduction of the spread in 2016, that doesn’t mean the Huskies aren’t going to the air, Adams said.
Senior tight end Russell Holly will be the veteran and junior Brady Nichols will return with varsity experience, where he’ll be joined by Jacob Ingram, Trenton Smith and Kayden Zajic in the receiving corps.
“Russell is the only straight varsity kid in that group,” Adams said. “But we were really good at the JV level last spring, so we’ll see how that translates to the varsity level. I think they can do exceptionally well, though they haven’t been there on Friday nights. There’s a lot of big play potential.”
Since most, if not all, of the starters will be playing both ways, the hopes carry over to the defense, he said.
“Our D-line and linebacker group can be good for us,” he said, noting that he plans to use a four-man front. “I’m excited to see them play another team.”
Despite the talent experience, though, the Huskies are thin, even on the line.
“We only have 10 guys for five different positions and we’re thin at running back and receiver,” he said. “It’s a matter of whether we have enough lead in the pencil to make it through a four-quarter game.”
Adams, who will serve as offensive coordinator, the position he filled as an assistant during the past few seasons, comes into his first with a staff that brings significant experience.
Defensive Coordinator Cy Maughmer, who teaches English at the high school, was the No. 1 defensive tackle in the state of Arizona coming out of high school and played at Eastern Michigan.
Defensive backs and JV head coach Blake Manley, the school’s natural resources instructor and Forestry team coach, played one year each at the University of Idaho and at Eastern Oregon and was a semi-pro safety for eight years with various teams in the Greater Northwest Football Association.
“He’ll be the JV head coach, but he’ll play a huge role in the varsity,” Adams said of Manley. “He’s really good with the kids. Nothing but good for us.”
Nathan Whitfield will coach the offensive line after taking a couple of years off to get situated as head coach of the track and field program.
Brad Seiber, a 2003 SHHS graduate, will coach linebackers as a first-year addition to the staff.
“He’s been really good with the kids,” Adams said. “He’s helping us out on the defensive side of the ball.”
More recent graduates Zach Gill (2013), Gavin Nichols (2019) and Zach Luttmer (2019) will help, particularly with the JV program, Adams said, referencing the opportunities he had.
“This is an opportunity for us ‘experienced coaches’ to help them get into this line of work,” he said.
The Huskies’ schedule will test them early, with Marist, considered by some the No. 3 team in the state 4A division, in Week 1 and Hidden Valley on the road on Sept. 24. Oh, and the regular season ends against Cascade, which beat the Huskies 63-12 in April.
Since Philomath and Sisters are both competing at the 3A level this season, Sweet Home has only four league opponents in the 4A Special District 3, which leaves more slots for non-league games. The Huskies will play on the road at North Marion (Sept. 10) and Madras (Sept. 17), and then will host Hidden Valley (Sept. 24), which “is going to be good again,” Adams said of the team that, behind Oregon State University-bound receiver Jeremiah Noga, beat the Huskies 45-6 on their home field.
“It’s always tough when you have to replace three-plus college athletes, but Hidden Valley’s going to be good again,” he said of the Mustangs, still led by quarterback Nate Vidlak, who took over last spring after his brother Sam headed to OSU early.
One other non-conference date will be Oct. 14, when Sweet Home hosts North Eugene, which is playing at the 4A level this year.
“I’m excited for our preseason. It will be a good measuring stick for where we’re at, Marist and Hidden Valley.
“Right now, we have a lot of kids who are just ready to play football again in the fall,” he said. “That kind of makes it a little bit back to normal. There are a lot of question marks on this team, but I’m excited to see where we’re at.”