By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

STAYTON, Ore.– With 1980s and 1990s music blaring through the stadium, the Stayton Football team return to the same field where they’re season ended last October.

This time, after the first spring practice of the season, the emotions are a little different.  They’re smiles as the 2016-2017 squad look to regroup and make another run at the Oregon West Conference title.

Head Coach Andy Campbell, who’s coaching in person in his first spring practice, he was in the Midwest last spring practice but had his assistant coaches lead the charge in his absence thought his team were ‘eating’ their way through Day one of Spring Practice.

“For day one with not a lot of kids knowing what will go on, what’s going to happen because it’s different, it’s my first spring ball here,” said Campbell.  “We talk about eating. Effort, Attitude and Toughness, all things we can control has to come from inside the player, (and) I thought we did a great job eating today.”

Campbell knows that being on the field that they’re season ended against Gladstone October 30 was a great way to move past of that 22-14 loss as they focus ahead to the summer and fall training ahead.

“The last time we were on this field, was when we lost in the Play-in Round,” said Campbell. “So it’s great to get our team back out here, kind of spot of our last hurrah and kind of get guys thinking about football, play football.

“Like I told them at the end (of practice), it was just great for them to come out juiced up and excited to be around each other and once we can get that passion flowing again, man it’s great playing football out here in Stayton.”

With holes to fill with Kyle Schwarm, Ben Diehl, Everett St. Clair to name a few in the skill positions and Devon Garber in the trenches, the challenge is there to reload what they left behind.

Knowing that, but also knowing it’s almost impossible to duplicate the talent that Schwarm and company left behind; all Campbell is asking of his team is simple:  Be the best that you can be.  Create your own legacy.

“We’re asking these guys to be the best version of themselves that they can be.  We’re going to do things a little bit differently,” said Campbell.  “We don’t have the big arm Kyle has, we don’t have a big left tackle like we had with Devon, we don’t have the two All-Time leading receivers  that are walking back through our doors.

“So somebody has to step up and we look at it as a reloading kind of opportunity for these kids to all come out and make names for themselves, cement their legacy and live up to what they want to live up instead of trying to be the next guy.”

Some of those guys however, like Schwarm, showed up to help the team during Tuesday’s Spring Football Practice.

For Schwarm, who’s helping with the quarterbacks, know’s he misses being with these guys.

“I miss it,” said the George Fox freshman quarterback.  “I’m going miss it a lot, but I’m also done with it at the same time, I’m excited to see how they do next year though.  I’m definitely going to watch more games though, I’m going to come to one or two.

“It kind of goes fast, it goes real fast, enjoy while it last,” when asked about advice to the soon-to-be seniors and those playing this year.  “I’ll definitely restart if I could and do it all over it again.”

Campbell acknowledge that it adds a form of Peer Pressure having some of the program alumni there for the kids helps the kids as much as the coaches can and he knows that it speaks volumes to how the program is.

“Having those guys here enforcing the things that maybe they took for granted, maybe thought, ‘hey I can get it next time’, it really hits home with a lot of those guys that, ‘hey this is your last shot’.  Those guys coming back, they’re taking some of the knowledge their learning, some of their new college schools coming back trying to help guys out.

“But the bottom thing is what we have going on at Stayton is that guys love to be here, guys who graduated from here love to come back.  Everyone wants to be a part of what we are doing.  I think we have six or seven alumni just kind of walking around the field today.  It’s just a great place to be, a great place to coach and I think all of our kids and our coaches are buying in to that.”

Spring practice continues and will accumulate with a ‘Spring Game’ event at the end of next week before the Eagles go into their summer training.”

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PHOTOS FROM MONDAY’S PRACTICE (PICTURES BY JEREMY MCDONALD)