By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
HILLSBORO, Ore.– Last season saw the re-emergence of the Santiam Football team.
Behind a young core and four seniors.
The Wolverines picked up their first Varsity win since the 2022 season and reached the 2A State Playoffs for the first time since 2021, all while going 7-3 on the year. Their seven wins was the most that they won since that 2021 season when they won six games.
“Last year was pretty great. Something that I think we couldn’t do was make playoffs, I’m gonna be honest…but we got a core group of guys and we got a lot of incoming freshmen, those kids are pretty decent and we’ll just keep building and I see us repeating what we did this last year,” said Carson Childress.
And so far this offseason, they’ve been working towards building off last season with their Spring Game last month, the weight room work and on Friday night, some 7-on-7 action. The Wolverines traveled to 5A Liberty to play the Falcons, Liberty are coached by former Santiam Head Coach Dustin McGee and the two squads went at it for about 90 minutes. Getting those valuable reps in as late July arrives and Fall Camp is just on the horizon in a month.
“It’s really going to help me see quick and throw the ball, really read (the defense) and all of that. It’s going to help me see it better,” said Quarterback Jaxon Sloan on the 7-on. “This Summer has been a big thing for all of us. Getting in the weight room and getting a little bit bigger, stronger. Just getting together as a team, team bonding is a big thing in this sport.”
The Wolverines will open the season August 28 with a jamboree at Monroe before traveling to Corbett on September 4 for Week 1 of the season.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
