Philomath High School’s football team spent the winter and spring with a bit of unfinished business hanging over the program.
The Warriors closed last season 6-3, capping the regular season with a 26-14 win over Sweet Home that appeared to punch their ticket to the playoffs — only for the postseason berth to be wiped away when the team was forced to forfeit the game for using an ineligible player.
In the end, the official record shows the team went 5-4, lost by forfeit to the Huskies and missed out on a chance to make a little playoff noise. Coach Alex Firth said the sting of that outcome hasn’t been a rallying cry so much as a lingering question mark.
“I don’t know that we’ve talked a lot about it,” Firth said. “The only thing I would say is it’s kind of like, you know, unfinished business, if you will. You know, the what if? If we had made the playoffs, could we have made a deep run or not? So I think that’s more of the hangover from it. But I don’t think that there’s anything lingering.”
Whatever the case, Philomath returns a veteran core built around a deep offensive line, an experienced quarterback and capable receivers — even as the Warriors graduated two of the most productive players in program history and step into a retooled, and by Firth’s estimation much tougher, league.
If there’s a strength Firth is counting on, it’s the offensive line. Seniors Chase Leslie-Morrison, David Vargas Juarez and Jonah Sailor anchor a group that last season developed a habit of protecting the quarterback.
“For the first time since I’ve been here, we actually have a lot of depth at O-line,” Firth said. “It actually bodes well for us, because that’s the one thing that we’ve never had.”
Senior Jamin Peters also returns up front. The one notable loss is lineman Lolo Tuiaki, who moved back to Colorado with his family in the offseason. Still, Firth said the group’s collective experience gives Philomath something it hasn’t had in his tenure.
Senior AJ Altishin returns for his second year as the starting quarterback and Firth said the offseason focus was on quickening his decision-making.
“We’ve really spent the off season trying to get him to trigger quicker with the ball,” Firth said. “He sees the field better. He understands the concepts better. … He’s got a strong arm. He’s got a really strong arm. So we might air it out a little bit.”
Philomath must replace receivers CD Nuño and Rocco De La Rosa, who Firth said combined for roughly 6,000 career all-purpose yards. The primary answer is senior Gavin Bennett, who also starts at linebacker.
“He’ll be our future tailback — big, physical, downhill runner,” Firth said. “He was putting up ridiculous numbers in the weight room in the offseason. I think he squatted like 465 or something like that.”
Behind Bennett, Firth pointed to sophomore Mason Bennett, sophomore Max Grapoli and a physically imposing freshman, William Henderson, as options who give Philomath depth at the position.
The receiving corps returns senior Kaden Howard and adds size across the board, according to Firth, who said he has four receivers standing 6-foot-3 or taller, including senior Bryce Hruska, who placed second in the state in the 110 hurdles this spring.
“I don’t think that I see this big, huge drop-off at the skill positions that I think everybody’s anticipating with Rocco and CD no longer there,” Firth said.
On defense, Firth said Bennett and Sailor will man linebacker with Howard and Hruska at cornerback, junior Nathen Seits at free safety and junior Dreyton Nuño seeing time at safety. Junior Jayce Iverson, who also serves as the backup quarterback, moves to defensive end.
Special teams could be a genuine weapon this season. Brothers Jacob and Sammy Hernandez both handle placekicking duties, and Firth said the team recently connected on a 55-yard field goal in practice.
“I knew they were going to be good when we lined up for an extra point and he kicked it out of the stadium,” Firth said of Sammy Hernandez. Neither brother has kicked in a varsity game, but Firth said both also handle punting duties and give the Warriors extended range.
“It kind of adds some weapons there that I’m excited to see,” Firth said.
Philomath’s roster sits at 41 players, including 11 seniors — numbers Firth said reflect a broader turnaround for the program.
“I think when I started my first year, we had 27 kids, so these are big numbers for us,” Firth said. “We have a really big freshman class, both physically and numbers wise, and I think that the eighth grade group is every bit as big. … We’re going to have really good numbers for the next three or four years here, which is nice — something different, something we haven’t had before.”
Philomath’s realignment lands the Warriors in a special district with Cascade, Central, Estacada, Gladstone, Molalla and Stayton, a significant shift from a year ago, when Philomath squared off against Junction City, Sweet Home, Marist Catholic, Crescent Valley and Cottage Grove.
Firth doesn’t sugarcoat what’s ahead.
“It’s a lot of travel — I’m not happy about that,” Firth said. “We have five road games. It’s a tough conference. I mean, we’ve got the defending state champion in there (Cascade). We’ve got Stayton in there. We’ve got Estacada, who I believe was the state champion two or three years ago (2022). Central’s coming down from 5A. Molalla has a new coach, so they’re a little bit of an unknown. Gladstone, I haven’t seen a lot of film on yet. I think top to bottom, it’s a pretty tough conference for us.”
Cascade, which steamrolled Henley 52-0 in last season’s state championship game, visits Philomath for homecoming on Oct. 2. The Warriors open with three nonleague tests — Banks on Friday, at Marshfield on Sept. 4 and at Coquille on Sept. 11.
Firth said Banks, which lost 36-31 in the 3A semifinals to Burns last season, and Marshfield, a playoff team a year ago, both play styles Philomath has seen plenty of.
“They remind me a little bit of Sweet Home or Junction City in terms of style,” Firth said of Banks. “I don’t think we’re going to see anything we haven’t seen before, but they’re a good team, well coached, good athletes. So I think it’ll be a challenge.”
Class 3A Coquille, however, is the outlier — an old-school wing-T offense that Philomath wasn’t originally scheduled to play.
“We wanted to play someone else and then they backed out, and then we had to get the Coquille game,” Firth said. “It’s a tough offense to defend, and so I think it’ll test our ability to stop the run.”
Asked what he wants this team to be known for by the end of the season, Firth pointed to establishing balance — with an emphasis on the run.
“We really want to establish the run game for once, and I think with the line and Gavin back there, I think we can,” Firth said. “We don’t want to have to lean on the pass quite as much as we have in the past, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t throw the ball. … We can use the pass to set up the run, and I think that will help us because we can lighten the box a little bit and kind of give Gavin some space.”
Firth’s staff this season includes Aaron Schermerhorn (quarterbacks), Lance Faxon (assistant offensive coordinator), Walker Vave (special teams), Carlos Nuño (wide receivers/secondary), Kaden Muir (JV head coach, varsity running backs), Brock Love (offensive line), Matt Rockhold (JV assistant, varsity running backs) and Colton Howard (offensive and defensive lines).
PHS SCHEDULE
Aug. 28 — Banks, 7 p.m.
Sept. 4 — at Marshfield, 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 — at Coquille, 7 p.m.
Sept. 18 — Molalla, 7 p.m.
Sept. 25 — at Central, 7 p.m.
Oct. 2 — Cascade, 7 p.m.
Oct. 8 — at Gladstone, 7 p.m.
Oct. 23 — at Stayton, 7 p.m.
Oct. 30 — Estacada, 7 p.m.
PHS ROSTER
Seniors (11) — AJ Altishin, Bryce Hruska, CK Kvidt, Chase Leslie-Morrison, David Vargas Juarez, Gavin Bennett, Gunner Eveland, Jacob Hernandez, Jamin Peters, Jonah Sailor, Kaden Howard
Juniors (8) — Cole Barron, Dreyton Nuno, Jaxson Jans, Jayce Iverson, Mason Elliott, Nathen Seits, Sammy Hernandez, Trevor Skaggs
Sophomores (9) — Brayden Felina, Caleb Mikkelsen, Easton Parmelee, Hunter St. Clair, Joey McGovern, Logan Toombs, Mason Bennett, Max Grapoli, Samuel McQueen
Freshmen (13) — Anthony Bumstead, Austin Davis, Brock Barton, Brody Boyhan, Cade Henderson, Danny Swain, David Bumstead, Eli Cook, Kaiden Baffa, Keaton Muir, Phineas Steen, Tanner Klain, William Henderson
Head coach: Alex Firth
Assistant coaches: Aaron Schermerhorn, Carlos Nuño, Lance Faxon, Walker Vave, Kaden Muir, Brock Love, Matt Rockhold, Colton Howard
