Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The East Linn Loggers’ numbers are down so far this year in the National Nine-Man Football League, but they’ve got experience.
“We’ve got nine returners,” Coach Jesse Garcia Sr. said. “Out of those, five of them were (league) all-stars. Probably all of them should have been, but that’s not how the voting goes.”
The team has added another 11 players, Garcia said, but all of the Loggers have experience playing football, something they did not have three years ago when he started the team and numbers were similar.
Returning veteran all stars include Chris Ropp, Craig Bergevin, Rod Jaques and Trase Privratsky. Returning veterans include Evan Holden, Justin Poole, Ron Garcia and Tony Webb.
New players include Darren Sutherlin, Derek Davis, Greg Robinson, Ivan Richards, Josh Hall, Junior Gerrard, Mike Johnson, Riley Fuggit, Rob Allen, Steve Duty and Vic Clodfelter.
On the injured reserve list are Schuyler Short, Brandon Holden and Justin Terherst.
Garcia is still seeking new players so he can field a roster of 30. He can take new players until May 16 and can be reached at 401-3641.
In the meantime, Garcia is confident in the team he has.
“I don’t have a big team this year, but I’ve got ballers,” he said. “I’m happy with the players I have because all of them have experience.”
Garcia welcomes anybody who’s interested. Three years ago, half his team had no football experience.
“We’re talking to people still,” he said. “The big commodity we need right now is linemen. It’s that way across the league.”
The Loggers will scrimmage against the Capital City Enforcers of Salem at 1 p.m. on April 14 at Jefferson High School and then play games at home on April 28 and May 5.
The Loggers bring speed to the field this year, Garcia said. “We have a lot of speed on this team this year. Even our bigger guys are speedy.”
The team will mix it up between run and pass plays, he said. “I’m looking at running some different offenses from last year but still running some basics.”
Players on both sides of the ball will fill in on the other side, Garcia said. It won’t be iron man, but a small team means the first string offense will fill in for the defense and vice versa to keep players rested.
Riley Fugitt will play quarterback this year, Garcia said. It will be his first year at the position, but he seems to be doing really well.
Fugitt, who is in his 30s, knows the game, Garcia said. “It seems like we’re always doing that, taking guys and putting them in (at quarterback) and doing well.”
Last year, the Loggers finished the season third in their league, which included eight teams. They had a 4-3 record and lost to the Power Valley Sharks of Albany in the first round of the playoffs.
Garcia also earned the Coach of the Year award last season.
“Getting Coach of the Year was huge for this team,” Garcia said. “These guys won it for me.”
The Loggers are known for their great sportsmanship and class, he said, and that beats being known for a record any day. That’s the reason he received the Coach of the Year award.
The league has seven teams this year, and competition is going to be stiff, Garcia said. The Polk Pioneers returns as defending two-time champion, drawing players from the Western Oregon University area.
Springfield, in its second year now, was competitive last year and will be strong again this year, Garcia said. He also expects the South Valley Vandals, formerly Cascade Steel, to do well.
The Capital City Enforcers had low numbers last year but a great turnout this year, he said.
The Loggers join Springfield and South Valley in the McKenzie Division. Capital City and Polk are joined by the Power Valley Sharks and Santiam Stallions of Stayton in the Willamette Division.
“I don’t see a weak spot in our league,” Garcia said.