Eagle Football Thanking 22 Sophomores Who Helped Team Rediscover Winning Ways

Twenty-two sophomores who helped College of the Siskiyous' football team during two winning seasons were scheduled to be recognized before the final home game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 1.

"It's a good group," said head coach Adam Groppi, who believes the sophomores all have a chance to keep playing at the four-year level if they want to pursue it.

The Eagles were scheduled to host Contra Costa at 1 p.m., with the Sophomore Day recognition starting 20 minutes before kickoff.

The sophomores are: quarterback Brayden Schiefer of Vancouver, WA; wide receiver Isaac Real of Myrtle Creek, OR; wide receiver David Wacenske of Kennewick, WA; running back Bryson McFall of Chico; wide receiver Seth Arnett of Vancouver, WA; linebacker Chase Campbell of La Pine, OR; defensive back Aidan Kranjcec of Dayton, NV; linebacker Lucien Regis of Weed; linebacker Cody Clarke of Battle Ground, WA; defensive lineman Aahmonni Young of Redmond, WA; linebacker Cody Huntsinger of Battle Ground, WA; offensive lineman Howie Thorne of Pasco, WA; defensive lineman Rikalvin Panuel of Lakewood, WA; offensive lineman Brody Martin of Puyallup, WA; defensive lineman Malino Tumbaga of Vancouver, WA; wide receiver Jake Westerman of Gold Beach, OR; tight end Talon Hernandez of Ashland, OR; tight end Parker Ziebert of Scio, OR; defensive lineman Dalton Hickey of Everson, WA; defensive lineman Aisea Takau of Portland, OR; defensive lineman Caleb Canfield of Central Point, OR; and defensive lineman/short yardage running back Zaveon Jones of Mountlake Terrace, WA.

During their two seasons, the Eagles have a combined 12-7 overall record and have won 6 of their 8 conference games with 2 yet to be played. They helped Siskiyous finish second in conference last year and earn a postseason game for the first time in seven years.

Wacenske, McFall, Jones, Thorne, Martin, Huntsinger and Clarke were all 1st Team All-Conference as freshmen.

The sophomores played a huge role in the Eagles' 29-23 victory at San Joaquin Delta on Oct. 25. The defense was on the field a lot as Delta totaled 440 yards of offense, but they made some big stops. and the team made some other big plays, including a 98 yard kickoff return by freshman wide receiver Rafael Bauman that, combined with Kyler Theis's PAT kick, gave the Eagles a 21-17 lead in the third quarter.

The Eagles trailed 10-0 in the second quarter before Schiefer and Wacenske connected on an 80 yard touchdown pass play. The throw went about 20 yards, Wacenske caught it, made a move on the safety, and out-ran everybody to the end zone.

Theis kicked that PAT and kicked another PAT after a 38-yard touchdown pass from Schiefer to Wacenske late in the second quarter gave the Eagles a 14-10 half time lead.

Right after Bauman's 98-yard kickoff return, Delta went 70 yards on 12 plays before freshman defensive back Clay Rhoades forced a fumble at the 1 yard line and the Eagles recovered it in the end zone for a touchback with less than a minute to play in the third quarter.

The Eagles turned it over twice in the fourth quarter, and Delta converted one of them for a touchdown to go back in front 23-21. When the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, the Eagles got the ball at their own 45 with 4:10 to play in the game. Only 1:15 ran off the clock before the Eagles scored again, on a 4 yard leap into the end zone by Zaveon Jones. First Schiefer completed a pass to freshman wide receiver Asher Lucas for 37 yards, and a penalty on the defense moved it to the Delta 9 yard line. Then Schiefer rushed for 5 yards. After Jones' TD, Schiefer completed a two-point conversion pass to Talon Hernandez, and the Eagles led 29-23 with 2:45 to play.

Delta returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards to the Siskiyous 33 yard line, but it was called back to the Delta 20 by a holding penalty. Delta then completed a pass for 42 yards to the Siskiyous 28 yard line, but it was called back to the Delta 10 by another holding penalty. Delta was unable to get a first down on its next four plays, and the Eagles ran the clock out.

Siskiyous won despite having only 11 first downs to Delta's 20, despite gaining only 258 yards to Delta's 440 (279 on the ground), and despite having the ball for 25:48 compared to Delta's 32:27. Both teams had 2 turnovers.

Wacenske finished with 4 catches for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Schiefer completed 7 of 12 pass attempts for 175 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Bryson McFall was the only Eagle ball carrier with more than 13 yards. He had 15 carries for 51 yards.

Asher Lucas had 2 pass catches for 41 yards, and Bauman had 2 rushes for 13 yards and 1 pass catch for 10 yards.

Theis was 3 for 3 on PAT attempts and averaged 36 yards on 4 punts, including one inside the 20.

For the defense, redshirt freshman defensive back Aidan Nelson had 11 solo tackles, including a quarterback sack and forced a fumble. Cody Clarke had 10 solo tackles and an assist, including 2 tackles for loss. Freshman defensive back Elijah Bartenstein and freshman Jordan Westerholm had 6 solo tackles each. Freshman linebacker Tim Hart had 5 solo tackles, including one for a loss. Clay Rhoades had 4 solo tackles, an assist, and that big forced fumble. Freshman linebacker Kyrese Banks had 5 solo tackles, including 2 for losses totaling 10 yards. Cody Huntsinger (4 total tackles), Rikalvin Panuel (3), Aisea Takau (3), and Zaveon Jones (3) all shared a tackle for loss, and one of freshman Ajani Ingram's 2 tackles was for a two-yard loss. He also broke up a pass.

It was a big conference win on the road for the Eagles, who improved to 2-1 in the Pacific 7 Conference and 5-3 overall. "We overcame a lot of adversity, never gave up, and it was a good special teams day," said Groppi.

The Eagles are tied with Los Medanos in the conference standings, both trailing Feather River (3-0) and ahead of Delta (1-2), Contra Costa (1-2) and Chabot (0-3).

With a win over Contra Costa (1-7 overall), the Eagles would secure a winning record and improve their chances for a postseason game. They're scheduled to finish the regular season at Feather River on Saturday, Nov. 8.

By Steve Gerace