By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

STAYTON, Ore.–  Stayton’s Cody Leming has dabbled a little bit in football before joining the High School football team his sophomore year, having some mixed emotions about the game in the process.  But thanks to his friends pushing him to come back, he was pulled back into the game for one last go.

“I was kind of talked into it,  I didn’t play my freshman year, so all my friends talked me into it and I think that was huge because it became something I love and is something I do every year.  It’s just been great,” Leming said. “I think it’s just been the comradery that has kept me going.”

But as the team slowly got experience, going from a one-win team in the Spring 2021 season to a playoff team this past Fall, Leming had slowly improved and developed as he took the reins of the Quarterback position going  into his senior year.  Leming was a second-team All-Oregon West Conference selection his junior year while helping the Eagles go 4-6 overall and 3-1 in OWC play before falling to Estacade in the first round of the 4A Playoffs.

“It was really important to have those two seasons back-to-back seasons because there was really no offseason.  We went from Spring ball into Summer workouts and right into Fall football, which was huge in developing into what I have become today,” described Leming.

With a solid core group of skill position players coming back with Ty Borde, Jace Aguiliar, Brock Hubert, Travis King, Tanner Starbuck, Eli Brown to name a few of the weapons that Stayton will go to battle with this Fall.

“I think it’s all going to work out in our favor.  We got a lot of athletes, they are all huge weapons…just a few of the weapons that we have out there,” Leming said. “Since the beginning of the Summer, we’ve had a whole bunch of kids and the numbers really haven’t gone down since then.  Which shows that we have a bunch of committed football players, which is huge, especially for this program.  We lose a lot every year, this is the first year that things are looking up.”

The Eagles open the season with a jamboree on Friday at Stayton High School and their season opener will be September 2 against Molalla.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald