As Coach Dustin Nichol noted Tuesday night, Nov. 27, at the Sweet Home football team’s awards dessert, the Huskies’ Most Valuable Player selection this year was “pretty much a given.”
That would be senior Wade Paulus, who set two school records and just missed on another in leading the Huskies to a 7-3 season record, including a seven-game win streak that included a sweep of the Sky-Em League, and an appearance in the state playoffs that ended with a loss to Philomath. It was a repeat honor for Paulus.
As a running back he scored 306 points in his three years as a ball-carrier for Sweet Home, outdistancing Vince Barrett’s 276 this year to set a new career scoring record. He also averaged 208.7 yards per game, another school record, in finishing with 2,087 season rushing yards, 64 yards short of Barrett’s school record of 2,151, set in 1987. He was also second to Barrett’s career rushing total of 5,018 yards, with 3,888.
In presenting the award, Nichol cited Paulus’ accomplishments, but said he achieved big things without seeking attention for himself and showed interest in youngsters, going out of his way to talk with them.
“I’ve played with and been around a lot of people who have been in his position that had accolades, but who also had egos,” he said. “As far as I’ve seen, Wade Paulus’ ego has been set aside. He said, ‘Coach, do whatever it takes for us to win.’
“His shoes will have to be filled by a collection of individuals.”
Nichol and other coaches emphasized the special bond and the positive attitudes shown by the Huskies this year, particularly after the playoffs loss to Philomath following the team’s first league title in eight years. Senior members of the team have gone 15-6 over the last two years and 9-1 in league games.
He noted that 14 Sweet Home players were chosen for all-league honors, including the entire offensive line – a first in recent memory. The Huskies also finished sixth in the 4A division in academics, with a team average GPA of 3.20.
“This is a fine group of young men,” Nichol said. “They’re good citizens. That’s more important to me than the game of football.”
Line coach Jay Horner and Nichol also pointed out the role both the offensive and defensive lines, particularly, played in the Huskies’ success this year.
“We put 3,000 yards on the backs of these guys on the ground,” Horner said of offensive guards Zach Gill and Austin Horner, tackles David Skeen and Zane Jackson, and center Nate Melcher. “We had a very, very good offensive line.”
Top Defensive Player honors went to junior Austin Horner at linebacker and senior Colton Schilling, a repeat from last year for both.
Schilling, defensive backfield coach Tom Horn said, could play any backfield position and put “100 percent” into every moment he was on the field. “He never took a play off – ever.
“This is the one who truly is going to be missed in our football program.”
Horner, he said, “is just a good, hard-nosed, smart football player who leads by example. He’s not a big rah-rah guy. He plays football the way I’d like to see every kid who plays for us play football.”
Gill, who, Horner predicted, “will be very hard to replace,” was named Most Valuable Lineman on offense. Josh Holman was Most Valuable Lineman on defense.
Skeen, a senior, was named Most Inspirational, by a vote of the players, who selected all of the Most Valuable winners, Nichol said.
Most improved were Melcher, Trever Olson and Cole Horner.
Paulus was named Best Back on offense, while Mitch Keenon was Best Back for the defense.
Dick Reynolds Coaches Awards, which are given to players who stand out as unselfish team players and athletes, went to seniors Quin Wise, Melcher and Zane Jackson, who came back after breaking a leg last year in a freak accident during warm-ups before a game and earned all-league honors at tackle.
Wise was a stalwart at tight end and scored a touchdown for the Huskies by falling on a fumble in the end zone – “being where he was supposed to be,” Nichol said.
Melcher, who was chosen to the all-league first team as a linebacker, played the position despite misgivings and personal preferences, the coach said.
“Instead of being frustrated, he got motivated.”
Third-year letter winners were Gill, Colton Holly, Keenon, Olson, Josh Wooley, Jackson, Melcher and Paulus – all seniors.
Second-year letters went to Schilling, Wise, senior Kyle Wodtli, junior Spencer Knight, junior Austin Rice, senior Jacob Smith, Skeen, Holman, junior Cole Horner, junior Austin Horner and statistician Kaci Mauch.
First-year letters were awarded to junior Bryce Keenon, senior Austin Dixon (a transfer from Albany), senior David Miller (a transfer from Summit in Bend), junior JT Weld, sophomore Shawn Worthen, sophomore Hunter Jutte, sophomore Ryan Adams, sophomore Kyler Gaskey, junior Ben Terry, junior Ashton Stutzman and statisticians Shelby Wymetalek and Caytlin Gillespie.
Junior Varsity Coach Tomas Rosa said his team, like the varsity, got off to a slow start but jelled after the first couple of games and ran the table in league.
“Nobody in the league could tough Sweet Home,” he said.
Horn, who is the most senior of the coaching staff and who is still No. 2 on the single-season pass completion list in school history from his performance in 1969, said this year’s team is “absolutely as good as anybody out there.
“I’ve coached a lot of you guys,” he said, looking at the audience. “Now, the good fortune for me is I get to coach your kids and your grandkids. I haven’t had a more enjoyable season.”