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the times
September 5, 2013
Sunset Athletic Club
Portland’s Outstanding Family Oriented
Sports & Fitness Club.
13939 N.W. Cornell Rd.
Portland, OR 97229
503-645-3535
We Support the Apollo Nation
397932.090612 FB P
Spanish, Hindi and Punjabi speaking providers available
ONLINE SERVICES
• Lab test results
• Medication refills
• Appointment requests
• Email your provider
Visit Our Website for more information
• Online bill pay
4510 SW Hall Blvd
Beaverton, OR 97005
Phone:
503-644-1171
OFFERING EXTENDED HOURS
Monday - Friday
7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
SERVING BEAVERTON FORTHE PAST 20 YEARS
We are a Nationally Recognized
Medical Home
428427.090513 FBP
2012 RECORD:
6-5 (4th in Metro League)
NOtablE:
Sunset returns starting signal
caller Willy Pflug who played well at the
end of the season last year.
SUNSET
An upgraded Pflug, Apollos aim at improvement
By MATT SINGLEDECKER
The Times
Last year, Sunset won six games.
This year, they want seven wins.
The Apollos reached the first round of the
6A playoffs in 2012.
In 2013, they’re shooting for the second
round.
Sunset is all about betterment and build-
ing on the previous season’s success.
“We feel like we want to improve every
year and we have so far,” said head coach
Faustin Riley. “They haven’t been giant steps
but they’ve been steps so every year has
been better than the year before.”
DEfENsE
Two-way senior star Josh Brown returns
at defensive end (first-team all-league last
year). Brown’s impact on both sides of the
football was considerable as a junior and Ri-
ley expects nothing less from his leader this
season.
“He’s somebody you have to account for
when you’re on offense” said Riley. “He can
disrupt things on the d-line. He’s a big, rangy
athlete.”
Sunset doesn’t return a lot of experience
on defense but they’ll plug in skilled two-way
players like senior linebackers A.J. Smith
(5’10” 180 pounds), Andrew Eickelberg (6’0,
175), Bobby Rake (6’2”, 180) and Charles
Wenzel (6’0”, 200) along the front-seven.
Likewise, juniors Joe Peterson and Seth Wil-
son have shown flashes of starting talent.
“Rake got some playing time last year, he’s
not the biggest guy in the world but he’s very
athletic,” said Riley. “We have kids who are
very capable of playing well.”
Senior middle linebacker Jerad Steward
led the Apollos in tackles last year.
Senior defensive linemen Alex Betancourt
Sunset has talent at skill
positions and veteran defense
and Nile Cook both saw the field last season
and new varsity players like Kyle Tagemen
are getting bigger and faster for the fall.
Armin Ghorashian, Spencer Newcomb,
Jeff Bieber, Clayton Welsh, and Caden Card
will hold down the secondary.
OffENsE
The 6’4” Brown is back at tight end where
he was third-team all-league last season.
“He’s improved a lot as a tight end both
blocking and receiving,” said Riley. “He’s the
total package and we have high hopes for
him.”
Brown has one of the better returning sig-
nal callers in Willy Pflug pitching him the
pigskin. The light really came on for Plug,
towards the end of the year when the righty
led the Apollos to three straight wins includ-
ing a first round playoff triumph over McMin-
nville.
An even more confident Pflug will step
back into the spotlight as a junior armed
with authority and some extra muscles to
help withstand the rigors of the Metro’s best
defenses.
“This year he’s bigger, stronger and his
arm’s stronger,” said Riley. “He has that year
under his belt and he’s been very impressive
in practice. He’s a very accurate thrower.”
Sunset is putting three capable backs into
the fray who don’t have experience but have
ability. Smith, Wenzel and Carter will each
get a crack at seeing the field. Each brings
something to the table whether it’s Wenzel’s
power, Carter’s speed or Smith’s athletic abil-
ity.
“They’re all a little bit different,” said Ri-
ley. “Caden is a very good athlete, pretty ex-
plosive and really good vision. Charles is
more of a straight-ahead kind of guy, he got
hurt last year but our offense got better when
he came back.”
The 6’3” Bieber started as a junior, was in-
jured in the middle of the year but returned
in time to give Pflug a tall, athletic target on
the perimeter. Ghorashian leads a group of
eight to 10 receivers including newcomers
Kasey Porter and Michael Kearns who Riley
says can contribute.
“We’re an inexperienced team but not a
team without some talent and some weap-
ons,” said head coach Faustin Riley. “A lot of
stuff is going to happen, but it’s going to end
up being a pretty good football team.”
Sunset’s offensive line is versatile and ath-
letic which in Riley’s opinion is more impor-
tant in high school football than being big.
The Apollos’ have a pair of starters back in
the mix with center Mark Iguidbashian and
Betancourt at tackle. Iguidbashian, Riley
says, is a smart, composed, hard-working
player.
Senior guard Sam Alkana received a lot of
playing time last year. Peterson and Wilson
are two guys Riley’s been impressed with
during fall camp. Cook and junior Garren
Tiffee are battling for the tackle spot opposite
of Betancourt.
“They’re quick enough to get where they
need to go,” said Riley. “They’re not going to
scare anybody looking at them but we think
they’re going to be potentially pretty effec-
tive.”
TIMES FILE PHOTO
Sunset junior quarterback Willy Pflug will start for the second straight year after coming on late in 2012.
