Young Eagles to Fly in New Skies This Fall

Top-heavy with new players, the 2023 Eagle football team will play a schedule unlike any in the recent past, including a new set of conference foes.

Siskiyous is scheduled to open at home Saturday against a new opponent, Hartnell. The Eagles will make a rare trip to Cabrillo Sept. 9 and will play two games, home and away, against Yuba.

The home game against Yuba on Sept. 23 will be the Eagles' first in the American-Pacific 7 conference, which features other small north state schools in the California Community College Athletic Association.

While Siskiyous has moved into the same conference as Los Medanos, Foothill, DeAnza, Redwoods and Yuba, last year's Pac 7 champion, Feather River, takes the Eagles' place in the National-NorCal conference.

Redwoods is a former rival that hasn't been on the Eagles' schedule for the past 10 years.

Of the 58 players on the roster prior to Saturday's opener, 48 are freshmen, and all 10 sophomores played for the Eagles last year. Most came to Siskiyous from Oregon, Washington and California, but a few are from much further away, including two from Alaska, one from Canada and one from Australia.

"It's been a lot of fun getting back at it," said Tyler Knudsen, now in his fourth year as the team's head coach. "With so many new players, we're getting to know what their talents are and putting the puzzle pieces together, solving the big equation. We really like the new players' attitude, work ethic and eagerness. They're excited, working hard, and have made strides in the first few weeks. If we keep improving, I think we'll be OK by the end."

Knudsen said two freshmen quarterbacks have been getting the bulk of time taking snaps in practice, while the team's most experienced positions are receiver and defensive back. The deepest position is running back. As many as 10 freshmen were taking handoffs some days in practice, while returning sophomore Christian Givan of Modoc, a utility player last year, was nursing injuries and hadn't yet been released to participate.

The Eagles appear to be on special teams terra firma with returning place kicker Ryan Travis of Pierce High School in Arbuckle. He's projected to start again and is also taking over as the team's punter.

Both quarterbacks, Wayce Saluskin from Klamath Falls, and Taylor Ioane from Camas, WA, "are capable of leading the team and both will play in the first game," Knudsen said.

Three wide receivers are returning sophomores. Leroy Woodrich of Astoria, OR, and Trevor Sharrar of Phoenix, OR, played some last year, while Craig Edera of North Bend, OR, has changed positions. Knudsen said freshmen Neil Kniefel of Salem, OR, and Kaine Clayton of Fairbanks, AK, made an impression in the early days of training camp, and "other guys are on their heels."

The defensive backfield includes both good returning players and talented newcomers. Koji McKyer of Bentonville, AR, and Jehan King of Madison, AL, are both sophomores who started a lot last year, while sophomore Andre Estrada of Independence, OR, started a few games in 2022.

Knudsen described King as "explosive" with a knack for "always being around the ball." He led the Eagles last year with 3 forced fumbles and was sixth on the team with 30 total tackles in eight games.

Knudsen points out that playing defensive back in college is as much mental as physical and it's a position that requires a lot of communication. "It's a process to develop the needed confidence and focus."

Coaches had a lot to sort out with so many new running backs in camp, a group that includes one of the team's local players, Skyler Crane of Yreka. "We like that group and having a lot of depth," Knudsen said.

The other positions, offensive line, defensive line and linebacker, are dominated by new players.

They're all freshmen on the offensive line, a challenging position for new players to learn. "It's a big step from high school to college," Knudsen said. "It requires a lot of communication. But they're eager, excited, and very hard-working. If we can play physical, I think we'll be OK."

New offensive line coach Aaron Burns is a former Eagle (2015-17) who went on to play at Tabor College in Kansas before getting into coaching. "He's doing a great job," Knudsen said. "We're excited to have him with us."

Burns takes over the coaching job held for many years by Tim Frisbie, who isn't coaching this year but is continuing as the football program's strength coach. Players were already getting stronger after a short time working with Frisbie, said Knudsen.

The Eagles have little college experience on the d-line, although Knudsen said they do have "decent length and good quickness, and we need to use that to our advantage." Despite their inexperience, he said the young defensive linemen "are making it hard on the coaches to determine first and second string. They showed some explosiveness and had a few sacks" in the team's scrimmage August 19.

The Eagles have good depth in their all-freshman group of linebackers. Among those playing well in early practices was another local player on the roster, Marcus Delgado of Mount Shasta.

Two other freshmen from local high schools are defensive back/kicker Lance Stewart from Mount Shasta High and defensive back Yur Sire Sanders of Weed.

"We love having kids from Siskiyou County on the team," Knudsen said.

The coach praised kicker Ryan Travis for his ability to make kicks in pressure situations last year and then attending off-season camps to improve his skills. "He has a strong leg and is a great kid," the coach said. "He did a great job in our scrimmage including making a 42-yard field goal."

Knudsen brings 14 years of experience coaching community college football, including seven seasons as defensive coordinator under former head coach and current athletic director Charlie Roche.

This year, Knudsen has taken on the team's offensive coordinator role, a position Roche held in the past. "It's some big shoes to fill," he said.

Returning coaches Julius Jones and Ellis Parr are now the co-defensive coordinators. Jones, also the Eagles head track and field coach, is in his third year as defensive backs coach. Starting his second season as Siskiyous' defensive line coach, Parr played for the Eagles in 2015-16, went on to Minot State in North Dakota, and played professionally in the Indoor Football League.

Also on the Eagles' staff is assistant coach/senior football analyst Chris Knudsen, Tyler's father, whose 42-year career as a high school coach included 32 seasons as a head coach. Tyler said he bounces ideas off his dad who "has probably forgotten more than I know." He said it's like the communications he used to have with former longtime coach Phil Maas when Maas was on the staff.

The Eagles move into the Pac 7 after going 0-5 last year in the NorCal Conference and 1-9 overall. Redwoods was second in the Pac 7 last year at 4-1 and 7-4. Los Medanos (3-2 and 5-5) was third, followed by Foothill (2-3 and 8-3), DeAnza (1-4 and 5-5) and Yuba (0-5 and 0-10).

Players on the Eagles' roster prior to Saturday's season-opener are:

Quarterbacks – freshman Taylor Ioane, 5-11, 190, Camas, WA; freshman Wayce Saluskin, 5-10, 175, Klamath Falls, OR.

Running backs – freshman Tyler Johnson, 5-9, 215, McDonough, GA; freshman Noakekani Allison, 6-1, 185, Eugene, OR; freshman Malik Jones, 5-9, 195, Las Vegas, NV; freshman Skyler Crane, 5-10, 210, Yreka; freshman Marcus Ledesma, 5-10, 180, Aurora, OR; freshman Demetrius McWillie, 5-8, 185, Rogue River, OR; freshman Brett McKee, 5-7, 190, Junction City, OR; freshman Anthony Martin-Sweet, 5-10, 220, Prosser, WA; sophomore Christian Givan, 6-0, 215, Alturas.

Wide receivers – freshman Neil Kniefel, 6-0, 170, Salem, OR; freshman Kaine Clayton, 5-7, 155, Fairbanks, AK; sophomore Leroy Woodrich, 6-3, 185, Astoria, OR; freshman Attikus Hayes, 5-11, 185, Ashland, OR; sophomore Craig Edera, 5-8, 190, North Bend, OR; freshman Genaro Reyna (also kicker), 5-10, 185, Cashmere, WA; freshman Kyaw Po, 5-7, 165, Fairfield, Australia; freshman Lucas Cousens, 5-9, 190, Bellingham, WA; sophomore Trevor Sharrar, 6-2, 200, Phoenix, OR.

Tight end – freshman John Vertefeuille, 6-1, 220, Bremerton, WA.

Offensive linemen – freshman Noah Sitterly, 5-11, 260, Junction City, OR; freshman Brogan Halsey, 6-0, 295, Redmond, OR; freshman Lizandro Garcia-Rocha, 5-7, 250, The Dalles, OR; Jayden Thomas, 6-7, 315, Troutdale, OR; freshman Ralph St. Fleur, 6-3, 300, Orlando, FL; freshman Harmon Brown, 6-0, 265, Myrtle Creek, OR; freshman Andrew Bouska, 6-1, 280, Hillsboro, OR; freshman Brian Dally, 6-2, 285, Springfield, OR.

Defensive backs – sophomore Jehan King, 5-10, 225, Madison, AL; sophomore Jarvis McKyer, 5-10, 175, Bryan, TX; freshman Colton Oyster, 6-0, 165, Gig Harbor, WA; freshman Adrain Barnett, 5-11, 170, Kirkland, WA; freshman Serge Kamga, 6-0, 155, Las Vegas, NV; freshman Kadon Friesen, 6-3, 155, Chugiak, AK; freshman Julian Gomez, 5-8, 150, Springfield, OR; freshman Riley Dickerman, 6-1, 170, Milwaukie, OR; sophomore Andre Estrada, 5-11, 180, Independence, OR; freshman Saxon Farkas, 5-11, 195, Chico; freshman Yur Sire Sanders, 5-10, 160, Weed; freshman Lance Stewart (also a kicker), 6-0, 190, Mount Shasta.

Linebackers – freshman Dre'Quan Williams, 6-0, 210, Troutdale, OR; freshman Tyler Martino, 6-0, 205, McMinnville, OR; freshman Soren Slowikowski, 6-2, 195, Ashland, OR; freshman Marcus Delgado, 6-0, 215, Mount Shasta; freshman Noah Snyder, 5-11, 195, Eugene, OR.

Defensive linemen – freshman Bryan Lomeli-Montano, 6-1, 205, Springfield, OR; freshman Key'Shawn Thomas, 6-3, 240, Bremerton, WA; freshman Elijah Freauff, 6-0, 205, Prineville, OR; sophomore Jayden Dorsey, 6-2, 250, Cheney, WA; freshman Aisea Takau, 6-0, 260, Portland, OR; sophomore William Hesselgren, 6-3, 245, Belmont, CA; freshman Edgerrin Ford, 6-1, 205, Milwaukie, OR; freshman Julian Lehman, 6-2, 205, Corvallis, OR; freshman Tyler Moore, 6-3, 210, Portland, OR; freshman Brody Thomas, 6-3, 235, Caledonia, Canada.

Kickers -- sophomore Ryan Travis (also punter), 5-9, 200, Arbuckle; freshman Colton Morgan (also punter), 5-7, 160, Placerville; freshman Lance Stewart (also defensive back), 6-0, 190, Mount Shasta High; freshman Genaro Reyna (also wide receiver), 5-10, 185, Cashmere, WA.

By Steve Gerace