By JACK HEFFERNAN/for YachatsNews.com
WALDPORT – When 27 members of Waldport High’s football team ran onto the field Friday night, it was be the school’s first state playoff appearance since before many of them were born.
But a playoff win? Not many of their parents were alive when the team last won a playoff game.
After decades of losing, less has resulted in more the past two seasons for Waldport High School and its football program.
The Fighting Irish are 8-1 and ranked No. 5 in the Oregon School Activities Association’s 16-team Class 1A football playoff field after beating Elgin of Union County 72-30 in its first round playoff game Friday at Waldport. For the second round, they travel to Lost River High School near Merrill in Klamath County for a 7 p.m. Friday kickoff.
The Elgin game marked the first state football playoff appearance for the Irish in 16 years. Also at stake was something the Irish haven’t accomplished in 42 years — a playoff win that last occurred in 1979 when Waldport beat Corbett High School.
The long-awaited opportunity comes in the fourth season since Waldport switched from the traditional 11-man to an eight-man format.
“It’s been a success, and I won’t be surprised if we go deep in the playoffs,” said Athletic Director Les Keele.
Four years ago when Waldport’s 2017 season ended, it had not had a winning season since a playoff berth in 2005, and typically won no more than two games.
The last playoff win came in the 1970s, according to Brad Webb of Yachats, who calls Waldport games for KWDP 820-AM and has been the voice of the Irish since 2006.
“We were in a position with so much lost history that we needed to do something,” Webb said.
The losing pushed would-be football players toward other sports, clubs or just about anything else.
“Our numbers just kept going down and down and down,” Keele said. “It became more and more difficult for us to field an 11-man team.”
So near the end of 2017, the school applied to the OSAA to switch to eight-man football. Keele said that the decision was an easy one given the lack of success and dwindling participation rates, but feelings in the community varied.
“One of the quotes you hear is, ‘is eight-man football really football?’” Webb said.
The accidental coach
Added to the already significant transition was that just one week before the 2018 season began, Waldport found itself without a head coach.
Keele reached out to Jeff Skirvin, who spent nearly two decades coaching at the middle school and junior varsity levels, along with several years as a defensive line coach at Clatskanie High School.
Skirvin said he had no plans to coach again, but he said yes to his first high school head coaching gig. The position was also Skirvin’s first experience with eight-man football.
That season, 13 students tried out for the team, and the Irish still finished with just nine players. Like previous seasons, they won one game.
“We worked hard on building relationships, but we were really green,” Skirvin said. “We really worked on fundamentals every day and building a culture.”
After that first season, Skirvin consulted St. Paul head coach Tony Smith. Smith’s team is a perennial eight-man powerhouse in Oregon, currently ranked third out of 28 teams in the 1A classification.
“We bugged the hell out of them and I’m very grateful to them,” Skirvin said. “That’s who we want to be. They run a class act.”
With the help of Smith and others — like Taft High head coach Jake Tolan, who helped the quarterbacks with mechanics — Skirvin began building his offense and defense.
How 8-man football works
The Irish play in a 3-3-2 front on defense, with three defensive linemen, three linebackers and two defensive backs. Skirvin said defensive backs in his system have roles like that of linebackers, and outside linebackers fill the role of cornerbacks.
“You can’t hide anybody in eight-man football. They’ll find him and come right at him. You’re definitely an athlete on an island,” Skirvin said. “You need really disciplined defensive backs.”
On offense, Waldport plays with four players on or near the offensive line — two guards, a center and a tight end — and two players split out wide.
Skirvin uses combinations of skill positions that include one true tight end, wide receivers, a slot receiver, fullback and running back. The quarterback often uses the extra space on the field and opts to run rather than throw.
“We always have a run-throw threat,” Skirvin said.
Skirvin said the goal is to force linebackers and safeties out of the middle of the field and focus first on defensive ends, typically the most athletic players on defense. From there, the offense has plenty of space on the field with which to operate.
Quarterback Zak Holsey, Skirvin’s stepson, has embodied the team’s speed and athleticism, carrying the Irish offense often running for hundreds of yards during a wide-open game and scoring multiple touchdowns.
On defense, the need for athletes to cover ground often comes at the expense of defending larger running backs who run in between the middle of the offensive line.
The result is typically a high-scoring game.
This year, Waldport and its opponents haven’t scored fewer than 64 combined points in a single game. One win, against Perrydale, was a 90-54 final score, while Waldport’s sole loss to St. Paul was 80-36.
“Your team can be down two scores, you can go get a snack, and then come back and the game is tied,” Skirvin said. “I never want to coach 11-man football again. It’s the wild-wild west man.”
The improvements
With help from others, Skirvin’s enthusiasm translated to better on-field play.
Waldport finished 2-5 in 2019 and the roster grew to 25 players. But penalties and turnovers cost the Irish close games.
“That season, we were on the cusp of some level of success, but we couldn’t finish a play,” Webb said.
During 2020, as COVID-19 severely hampered high school programs throughout the state, Waldport finished 4-1 for its first winning season since the 2005 playoff appearance. All but one current player participated in the shortened spring season.
“A lot of programs were lost during COVID,” Skirvin said. “It was really hard on athletics. But to be honest with you, it didn’t hurt us a bit.”
The momentum continued into this season, as the Irish finished second in the 1A-SD1-N Special District 1-North standings, one game behind St. Paul.
Winning breeds success
Skirvin has built a strong reputation at Waldport, both as a winning coach and well-respected forestry teacher.
“He’s done a really nice job of rebuilding the program,” Keele said. “Kids like him. He’s just a great person.”
Webb said that, after years of futility, Skirvin has instilled a sense of work ethic and pride.
“He comes with a completely different mindset, and the expectations of the kids have changed. He’s pushing them to be the best that they can be,” Webb said. “There’s a big difference between a school where you have to compete for your spot and where you get it automatically because of the numbers.”
For his part, Skirvin said his experience at Waldport has been “wonderful.”
“I’m just so proud of those kids. They bought into the system, they worked hard and they’ve achieved a lot,” Skirvin said. “It’s given me new life.”
And it’s just not when the final whistle sounds.
In the past, Webb said fans would typically leave soon after games ended. Now, those fans tend to linger around longer, basking in what has become a regular mix of high scores and wins.
“You want to be around success,” Webb said. “I hope our community realizes that the change is pretty special. You go from nothing to a program with opportunity.”
— Jack Heffernan of Portland is an Oregon prep sports reporter who can be reached at heffernan4913@gmail.com
Go Irish!
Great story! Go Irish!