Dillan Davis and Luke Rosa were named Sweet Home’s football Most Valuable Players at the team’s awards dinner Sunday, Nov. 16.
Coach Ryan Adams summarized the Huskies’ season, in which they went 7-3 overall and 3-2 in Oregon West Conference play, as one that included some “hiccups,” but resulted in a team that “continued and cemented their legacy.”
Although Sweet Home’s first post-season game since 2019 was the result of a forfeit by Philomath, Adams emphasized that his Huskies got to experience a varsity football winning season for the first time. But it took some time to adjust to a new reality, particularly during the first three games, which they won on their way to a 5-0 start.
“It was different than what they expected, or maybe even what was their role last year,” he said.
“The first three games, you know, we were able to come out with wins, but the kids kind of struggled with stuff off the field. But once we got to that fourth and fifth game, I felt like our team really kind of settled into to our roles, and knowing what was expected of each person, and that allowed us to, in my opinion, play two of our best games of the year at North Bend and at home against Marist.”
The Huskies showed “a ton of confidence and hunger” going into the game against Marist, and thought they struggled at Junction City and Crescent Valley, “it’s just another thing that we got to experience that the kids never have, being on a high like that and then having to turn around and play another really good team,” Adams said.
“We had our opportunities, but it was really cool experience to kind of see how our community responded and stuck with us after that.”
He said he was particularly proud of the way Sweet Home played in the second half of a tough game at Philomath, then on the road at La Grande in the playoffs.
“It was, honestly, one of the most fun weeks of football that I’ve ever had coaching,” Adams said. “A really fun trip and we had a really good game – huge momentum swings. Keeghan (Gittins) was able to hit a big-time kick, the first time he’s ever been in that moment, the first time we were ever in that moment since I’ve been a coach. And he knocked that through.”
Although the Huskies lost, the season ended with the team’s first winning season since 2018 and its first playoff appearance in six seasons.
“Just a lot of firsts for a long time, but more importantly, this team continued and cemented their legacy,” Adams said. “That’s something for this program to build on and progress towards for the years to come.”
Adams said he was particularly thankful for support from the coaches’ wives, “just how instrumental they all were to kind of change in the trajectory of this program and and then the parents and the players for their role in all of it.”
“We had a ton of community support, and a lot of that was driven by our senior parents, and that that made, you know, one of the most fun seasons that I’ve been able to have.”
Team Awards
The team awards were voted on by the players and presented by the coaching staff.
Adams said Rosa and Davis provided a “foundational cornerstone for our team this year.”
Davis, a senior, was unquestionably the team’s offensive spark plug, scoring eight touchdowns and making some big plays along the way, some of which turned games for the Huskies. He was also named Best Offensive Back.
“As anybody that watched any of our games knows, he was our big time playmaker,” Adams said. “And yeah, we tried a bunch of different ways to get him the ball. And more times than not, he did a lot of fun things with it.”
Davis finished with 27 catches for 527 yards and carried 18 times for 121 yards and a touchdown, and a punt return for a touchdown.
Rosa, also a senior, led the team in tackles with 96 from his inside linebacker position, including 59 solo stops, eight for losses, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries. He was also named the Top Defensive Back, along with junior defensive back Bradyn McClure, who had 23 tackles, 20 of them solos, three interceptions – one of which he returned for a touchdown, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
“Bradyn McClure was probably our best shut-down corner,” Adams said. “We consistently put him on the (other team’s) best receiver.”
Best Defensive Lineman was junior Kellen Hartsook, who “was our enforcer there, the one creating havoc, the best a shedding blocks and getting after the running back, getting after the quarterback,” the coach said. “He made a lot of big-time plays for us around the line of scrimmage.”
Best Offensive Lineman was junior Gavin Tyler, who also received the Sled Dog Award, which was introduced to the awards list by Assistant Coach Chad Bach, Adams said.
“It really just talks about that team kind of dynamic as a group, you know, pushing us forward. Gavin was voted the sled dog for his consistency and his leadership amongst that group? And, the same with his offensive line award – he was just the most consistent lineman all year long, just how he approached every single day and then every single game.”
Most Improved were seniors Alex Bachand and Gabriel Meadors. Bachand didn’t play last year, then played inside linebacker this year, “which is an extremely difficult position to play, let alone if you miss a year,” Adams said. “He improved tremendously for us and became kind of a really good rotation player for us in that spot.”
Meadors didn’t get a lot of playing time at left guard in 2024, “but this year, he really owned and kind of dominated that left guard spot for us. And it was a ton of fun to watch him take ownership of that position.”
Most Inspirational were juniors Kaeson Walker and AJ Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, Adams said, had to deal with adversity off the field, but “you would never know it, because every single day that kid has a smile on his face, trying to be as best as he possibly can and help in any regard.”
Walker, he said, “was kind of our hype man before games, our emotion leader in the locker room. He really helped get guys ramped up.”
Also new this year were the Gravy Train Awards, named after Assistant Coach Ryan Graville, “because of the kind of person that he is, the kind of community member – really, he just operates his whole life on a servant leadership kind of mindset,” Adams said.
“And that’s really what we want to do, really what we want to embody within our program, servant leadership – the ‘we’ over ‘me’ kind of thing.”
The award was given weekly and the recipients wore a white jersey in practice each week. They were: Martin Chelstad, Brennen Eldridge, Logan Estep, Daniel McCubbins, Luke Rosa, Bridger Royer, Gunner Summers and Riley Vaughan.
Third-year letter winners were Dillan Davis, Kellen Hartsook, James Hearick, Bradyn McClure, Daniel McCubbins, Bode Nichols, Luke Rosa, Lynkin Royer, Gavin Tyler, Kaeson Walker and Kyle Zajic.
Second-year letters went to Keeghan Gittins, Liam Martin, Gabriel Meadors, Bridger Royer and Trenton Templin.
First year lettermen were David Anderson, Alex Bachand, Sam Barringer, Martin Chelstad, Eli Cruz, Brennen Eldridge, Logan Estep, Rafe Hayes, Kolton Pollock, Kyle Porter, AJ Rodriquez,
Gavin Richey, Jeremiah Steagall, Gunnar Summers, Mason Tyler and Gabe Wright.
JV Participant certificates went to Luke Adams, Gavin Baker, Thomas Bandy, Lukas Banker, Zeplin Berg, Ryder Cummings, Boone Cupp, Zach Davis, Brayden Driver, Braden Eggers, Michael Eggers, Mason Flores, Brodee Gay, Ernie Hicks, Aiden Leopard, Hunter McClure, Bryson Mumford, Ryder Oakley, Landon Phinney, Landen Pruitt, Macen Rosa, Murphy Savolt, Jaicob Shaw, Jake Smith, Brodie Starha, Ean Tackett, Marshall Van Dijk, Marcus Warthen and Austin Weinman. The JV team finished 7-1.