By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SILVERTON, Ore.– For the first time since they reached, and won, the State Title in 2021, the Silverton Football program has had a Thanksgiving practice.
It’s something that they embraced. It’s a rarity points their Head Coach Dan Lever. Only 14 teams across 1A-6Man to 6A are still practicing on the twilight of the football season as the Foxes had their final practice at McGinnis Field on Thursday morning.
“Its just rare, its just a rare opportunity and we’re just embracing it. We’re just going to put our best foot forward and let it rip. But I’m super proud of our kids no matter what. It’s really special and it’s special here,” describes Lever.
Some former players and coaches were in attendance Thursday to watch this current group of Silverton football players put the finishing touches on preparation for their final game of the season.
And as they broke from their walk-through practice after a quick talk to a mini-Thanksgiving spread of turkey and the fixings amd donuts, the Foxes embraced the moment one more time on their home field before heading to Hillsboro Friday for the 5A State Title Game.
“It’s amazing. We maximized the amount of practices we could get and I love being with this group,”said James Collier. “The few years I’ve been here, we’ve only gotten to the Semi-Finals and now we’re going to State, it’s one of the biggest accomplishments I’ve ever had in my life.”
“It’s my last practice with this team, it feels amazing to play on Thanksgiving. It’s a great feeling,” adds Chase Dominguez. “We just got to play as a team (Friday), keep doing what we’re doing the last few games and we got to continue playing like that.”
Silverton kicks off against Summit at 5pm at Hillsboro Stadium.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
