Law of averages should favor Dallas ... finally

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Dallas football preview

Sam Scott

DALLAS -- If there's anything to the law of averages, the Dallas football team is due for a change of pace this season.

During Bill Masei's first two terms as head coach, the Dragons have endured plagues of illness and injury -- everything short of grasshopper swarms and flaming fire from the sky.

Perhaps it's time for a little less bad luck if not a little bit of out-and-out good luck.

"Our kids believe they can win," Masei said. "We've had a couple down years in just about every program except for wrestling and girls basketball. I think success in football will set the tone for all other sports. The kids know that.

"Nothing will gibe the kids confidence like winning. It's important for us to win early. The last couple of years we won late. We've got to get the job done and win. That'll breed excitement."

Dallas ranks seventh among the eight Mid-Willamette schools in terms of enrollment (only Crescent Valley is smaller). Not surprisingly, the Dragons have fewer players in their football program than most of their league counterparts.

"We had about 70 players show up last week," Masei said of the conditioning camp that preceded the start of workouts on Aug. 23. "We're definitely more experienced than we have been. We've got a lot of linemen coming back from last year's squad. We've got some receivers, quarterbacks and running backs. The cupboard definitely is not empty. We've got some really good skill position players as well as some really good linemen.

"If we stay healthy, we could have a good year. We're not going to be as deep as some of the other teams because of our numbers. We had an outstanding summer. It probably was the best summer of preparation since I've been at Dallas. I think the kids have had a great time."

Plans call for the Dragons to get the ball in the hands of senior Sam Orozco early and often. Orozco was one of the team's top receivers last season and will get a chance to do much more this season.

"Sam was a key player for us last year," Masei said. "He's going to be a key weapon for us this year on offense and defense. We'll start him in the backfield along with Nick Job, but he'll be all over the field at running back, flanker and receiver. He'll play everywhere except on the line."

Starting quarterback Matt Reynolds was one of many Dragons who had injury woes last season. As a result, backup Kody Steele saw plenty of playing time as a sophomore and played about as well as you could expect under the conditions.

"Kody's got a year under his belt, and he's worked extremely hard," Masei said. "Kody will be more mature, and he's physically stronger and faster than he was last year. He knows the offense more. He'll make better decisions. He was pretty poised last year as a sophomore. This year, he definitely has a higher confidence level."

Dallas has struggled to mount an effective passing attack in the past couple of seasons, allowing opponents to focus on stopping the team's running game. Masei is confident the Dragons will be able to change that in 2010.

"We will have an improved passing game," he said. "We've done more passing this summer than the last two years. The kids are more comfortable. We're catching the ball better. I expect a dramatic improvement in our passing game. If teams want to load up the box on us, we'll have an effective passing game that'll keep things honest."

Matt Goodlett is penciled in at flanker and also will be a key player on special teams.

Jarod Bookey is a returning all-league performer and is expected to anchor the offensive and defensive line. Tackle Kaden Montague also is a second-year starter.

Others expected to earn playing time in the trenches include tackles Mitchell Senger and Jake Rorem, guard Ben Rebischke and center Charlie Engelfried.

Expected leaders on the defensive side of the ball include defensive back Kade Fast, nose tackle Skyler Holstad and end Kyle Croll.

"Defensively, we've made some tweaks to our scheme," Masei said. "We want to be in more of an attack mode. We've always been kind of a sit-read-and-react defense. Now we want to make plays happen. We want to have more of an attack mentality. Our defensive coordinators are Grant Boustead and Kevin Moen, and they're doing an outstanding job getting those kids fired up to play football."

Kicker Thomas Guffey returns, and punter Josh Spencer has exhibited a strong leg.

"We need to be in the top half of our league," Masei said. "We need to be one of the top teams in our league. If we stay healthy, there's no reason we can't be one of the top teams in the league. We want to take each game week-to-week and fight as hard as we can each week. If we take care of business that way, we'll be fine this season."