Reporter for The Canyon Weekly
Lyle Schroeder has taken over as the head football coach at Santiam High. Schroeder. A Santiam alum (Class of 1985), he replaces Josh Ruby, who was 11-7 in two years at the helm with one visit to the playoffs.
“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to coach at Santiam,” Schroeder told The Canyon Weekly. “Santiam is home to me, and I hope to do the school and town of Mill City proud. I know there will be growing pains along the way, but I look forward to the challenge.”
Schroeder has nine years of coaching experience, from youth football to assistant at the high school level. This is his first head coaching opportunity.
The Wolverines open Sept. 8 at St. Paul. The team’s planned Aug. 25 jamboree at Monroe was canceled because of wildfire smoke.
Schroeder has a strong corps of players back from the team that finished 5-4 a year ago, although stalwarts such as Trenton Stafford, Quentin Clark, Sean Brewster, Fisher Cook and Gage Twede will be missed.
Sam Schroeder, the coach’s son, returns at quarterback.
“He has a year at QB under his belt, and we look for him to create more opportunities with his arm and legs for the offense this year,“ Coach Schroeder said of the 6-4, 195-pound senior.
Sam will be handing it off and throwing it to a versatile mix of playmakers, including Esai Romero, Xavier Vital, Lukus Lebahn, Wyatt Dayton and Randy Fox. Also in the tight end/wide receiver mix is basketball player Owen Rupert, a 6-5 junior who is trying football for the first time.
“He can move pretty well for his size,” Coach Schroeder said. “We look forward to seeing what he can do for the team this year.”
Dallon Mount, Giovanny Nunez and Nathan Hedge will play key roles in the offensive and defensive lines for the Wolverines.
Last year Santiam was 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Tri-River Conference, one slot away from a playoff berth. Regis and Colton tied for the league title, with Culver claiming the third Class 2A playoff spot.
Coach Schroeder thinks Culver, Willamina and Regis will be the Wolverines’ toughest league foes, with Colton a question mark because of graduation losses.
“I think we will surprise teams this year,” he said. “We are like a chameleon, ever-changing with the situation we are faced with. With some fine tuning, I think we will be extremely competitive this year.”
Turnout is in the low 20s for Santiam’s second year playing nine-man. Coach Schroeder said he hopes to pick up a few more players once school starts.
The Santiam Canyon School District Hall of Fame will be inducting the 1998 Wolverines wrestling squad at its Nov. 11 banquet in the auxiliary gym.
The wrestling squad, led by its current coach, Kerry Crowston, took 8th at the state meet, the highest finish ever for Santiam. Team members were Larry Crofoot, Charles Schickling, Danny Ruby, Ben Lemke, Travis Hampton, John McClaughry, Jeremy York, Yusef Al-AbdulRazzaq, the late Bryan Dodge, Travis Lanham, Nathan Raines, Tyson Hillyer, Sam Ruby, and Aaron Thomas.
The Hall of Fame committee is trying to contact the wrestlers. Anyone knowing the whereabouts of any of them should contact David Plotts at [email protected] or the district office 503-897-2321 or the high school 503-897-2311.
Scio: The Loggers open the 2023 football season Friday, Sept. 1 with a 7 p.m. non-league home game at Newcomb Stadium vs. Rainier. Scio plays in the Class 3A’s Special District 2.
The Loggers were 5-4 overall and 3-4 in district play a year ago.
New this fall for the Loggers is Amy Roth, who will coach both boys and girls cross country.
