(Jonah Koski 6-3 185 Jr. QB Bend) |
A team we will look forward to covering in 2012 will be the Bend Lava Bears out of Central Oregon. A few weeks back two of their top athletes came to our Elite event in Portland and did very well for themselves. QB Jonah Koski (6-3 185 Jr. QB) and RB Duke DeGaetano (5-10 185 Jr. RB) are both ranked in the Oregon Top 80 for 2013 after earning all league honors a year ago.
Koski comes back after a 2nd Team all league season that saw him throw for over 2100 yards and 25 Tds. Jonah has got good size and smarts both on and of the field, as he sports a 4.0 GPA. He is a super polite and humble kid that earned All State baseball honors as a sophomore. His overall athleticism is outstanding, and he will need to be a leader on the field that limits team turnovers if they want to make a run.
Koski says, ” we are a blue collar team with a great work ethic which shows in the 6AM lifting. He continued, “our season doesn’t start with the first game in September, its the lifting, to spring practice, to Gold Beach Camp, all the way through summer”. When you talk to Jonah you can tell he really cares, and is going to do everything he can to get his team deep in the playoffs.
DeGaetano is just flat out good. The kids shredded and hits the holes hard. He was one of the most impressive players in the building, and someone that we were very happy to see make the drive. Duke has a 4.1 GPA and will have Ivy league schools paying attention. He earned first team all league honors rushing for 686 yards (1264 All Purpose) and 10 total Tds, while also being a stand out on defense racking up 74 total tackles.
Duke says, ” we have a great group of returning senior leaders including guard Logan Powers (6-0 235 Jr), linebacker Kyle Bailey (5-9 180 Jr), and our DB’s Dallas Fagen (5-9 170 Jr) and Brodie Hadley (6-0 160 Jr)”.
Not the biggest group in the world, but the kids are tough and have a wealth of experience coming back from last years (8-3) team. The Lava Bears started the season (6-0) before falling to eventual state champion Mt View, 6A Lincoln, and the Mid Willamette Conference Champion West Albany Bulldogs in the second round of the State playoffs.
They look like a Top 10 5A Team to start the season and will definitely challenge for a conference title. We wish nothing but success to all the Bend athletes as we will have an exciting group to follow out in Central Oregon.
https://www.northwesteliteindex.com/articles/jordan/feb12/bartonelite4.html Duke DeGaetano Highlights – NEI/Barton Elite Event (Portland)
https://www.northwesteliteindex.com/articles/jordan/feb12/bartonelite1.html Jonah Koski Highlights- NEI/Barton Elite Event (Portland)
