By Jeremy Mcdonald

Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

West Salem’s Angel-Nicolai Herrera (Boys Soccer), McKay’s Jamahl Wilson (Football), West Salem’s Morgan Duke (Girl’s Soccer) and Sprague’s Sidney Friesen (Volleyball) were honored by the Salem Sports and Breakfast Club for the Week of October 7

The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week from West Salem Boys Soccer is Angel-Nicolai Herrera.

Angel-Nicolai, a senior, is the goal keeper for the Titans. In what has been described as “the loneliest position on the field”, Angel has been tested this season and has come up strong with 57 saves in 7 games. Last week he had 9 saves in the 2-nil win over Canby, including, according to Coach Sean Young, “one amazing save near the end of the game in a one-on-one situation where he was able to block a shot in the far corner.” That was West’s first shut out of the year. Angel also made “several huge saves” against North Salem to earn a 1-1 tie. Last week Angel had 16 saves across both games including several that Coach Young described as “from point-blank range”. Coach Young says that Angel has been “incredible this year…Equally important to his saves has been his leadership on and off the field where he is a captain and is constantly challenging himself and his teammates to improve.”

Undecided where, Angel intends to continue his soccer career in college next year.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week from McKay Football is Jamahl Wilson.

Jamahl, a junior, is a running back and defensive back for the Scots. This past week Jamahl had a game. In fact, he may have had two or three games, all on one night! Jamahl rushed for 444 yards on 30 carries (14.8 yards per carry) and scored 6 touchdowns to lead the Scots to a 51-22 win over Crescent Valley. The 444 yards is a rushing record at McKay, and according to OSAA’s records are the most yards by a Junior running back in Oregon high school football. According to Coach Brandis Piper, “Jamahl is a dynamic athlete who continues to find different ways to impact the game on both sides of the ball. He is a player we can line up in multiple positions because of his football IQ…Jamahl is a player who consistently connects with his teammates and is a positive influence on others.”

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week from West Salem Girls Soccer is Morgan Duke.

Morgan, a junior, plays forward for the Titans who currently are 3-1 in the Central Valley Conference and 6-3-1 overall. The Titans only conference loss came at the hands of #10 ranked South Salem who they play again on the 18th.

Morgan scored a hat-trick in the league opening win over North Salem. She again had a hat-trick in the 3-1 win over McNary. Morgan has been a consistent threat offensively, scoring goals both inside and out of the box. In four of West’s eight games to date, Morgan has found the back of the net two or more times. Her brace in the 3-1 victory on the road versus Thurston came in the first half. Morgan was twice able to dribble around her defender and create space for left footed scoring shots from outside the 18-yard box. Coach Benje Orozco stated that “although most of [Morgan’s] playing experience has been as a defender, she’s able to translate/adapt that knowledge at the high school level and provide an offensive punch to our Titan attack.”

Morgan was also named an AOTW in the 2021 soccer season.

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The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week from Sprague Volleyball is Sidney Friesen.

Sidney, a junior and team captain, is an outside hitter for the 14-4 and 10th ranked Olys. The Olys are currently sitting in 2nd place in the Central Valley Conference, one game behind #5 McNary in the win column. Both have one loss – to each other. The “rubber” match is coming next Thursday at McNary.

In the straight set win over North Salem, Sidney had 15 kills and 8 digs while finishing with a .387 hitting percentage. In the win over McNary, Sprague avenged their early season loss to the Celts. Sidney had 3 aces, 17 kills, and 15 digs in the 3-1 win. And against West Salem she had 23 kills .349% 18 digs in the 3-1 win.

Sidney’s was also an SSBC AOTW in the 2021 season.