The Philomath High School boys basketball team staged its annual pie auction Tuesday night and raised $5,400 to help the program cover expenses that come up during the season. In the process, head coach Blake Ecker took a pie in the face.
The stunt was set up to bring a new twist to the fundraising.
“I thought it would bring in a little bit more but it was only $200,” Ecker laughed. “Jacob Peters ended up winning and he had Jamin (Peters) do it. I had goggles on … he put it in my face and started rubbing it around and then he goes up in my hair up above. Oh man, It was all over.”
The boys basketball team will open the season with a tough game at Class 5A Crescent Valley this coming Thursday with a tip-off at 7 p.m. The Raiders had just a 6-18 record last season but Ecker said they have an influx of new basketball talent and should be a very challenging opponent.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier further on in December with the home opener Dec. 7 vs. Junction City and then road games Dec. 10 at Marist Catholic, Dec. 13 at West Albany and Dec. 17 at South Albany before competing in tournaments at Coos Bay (Dec. 19-21) and Ketchikan, Alaska (Dec. 27-29). The Junction City game will be the team’s only home game in December.
Warriors hire 3 head coaches
PHS finalized the hiring of three coaches to lead its new athletic programs coming this spring — Hunter Biviano will coach boys golf, Logan Martin will head up the girls golf team and Helen Bennett will lead boys volleyball.
Biviano comes to Philomath with a coaching background that includes junior varsity golf and boys basketball. He’s also familiar with local athletics through his work as an area representative with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. An Oregon State graduate, he’s an avid golfer and his working past includes various duties with the Corvallis Knights baseball organization.
Martin runs a creative marketing agency and does a lot of work in the golf industry, including with Trysting Tree in Corvallis. PHS Athletic Director Mike Hood said “I’m really excited about him just from a personality standpoint and thinking of just how he’ll lead the program as we start anew and the connections that he has.”
Bennett is a former standout Oregon State University volleyball player (she was Helen Hoonhout back in those days) who played middle blocker for the Beavers from 1987-90. She served as an assistant coach for the Warriors back when Joyce Stringer was the head coach. “Pretty phenomenal person to hire to start a program,” Hood said. “It’s going to be really cool to see what she does with that program.”
In addition, Ava Schwartz was hired as a varsity assistant for the Shining Stars dance team. Jordyn McMullen was hired in October to take over as the dance and drill team’s head coach.
PHS continues to look for a boys tennis coach. Hood said that longtime coach Gary Quandt has indicated that he will help with the coaching, if needed, or at least help the next coach through a transitional period. “We appreciate his willingness to stay involved as he kind of dials things back,” Hood said.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).
