Sutherlin is enjoying the momentum of a surprising playoff run, South Umpqua is going through a building year and Douglas has a new head coach with a familiar last name.

The three Far West League schools in the Umpqua Valley head into the new season with different challenges and hopes.

Sutherlin

The surprise of the Class 4A playoffs last fall was Sutherlin, and coach Josh Gary hopes the momentum from that playoff run carries through to this fall.

The Bulldogs were the third-place team in the Far West League, but only because they won a pair of overtime games with Douglas and Brookings-Harbor.

They entered the playoffs with a losing record, but went on the road to beat both Scappoose and La Salle before finally losing in the quarterfinals to Ontario.

“It was obviously a springboard to get the kids working hard in the spring and the summer,” Gary said. “It’s led right over to this.”

Sutherlin took a hit from graduation, but Gary likes the group he has back.

“I like our physical attitude,” he said. “We have a lot of great tacklers. We’re fundamentally sound. We’re not overly fast, but we’re strong in physical toughness.”

The team will use more of a wing-T look this year on offense, with the strength being the line, including returning starters Ryan Fullerton and Jimmy Henry. Henry was a fullback last year, but moved to the line along with 2007 receiver Dylan Becker to give the Bulldogs the best front five they could have. Kyle Summers, the team’s tallest player at 6-feet, 5-inches, is a strong blocker at tight end.

“I feel really good about up front,” Gary said. “And I’ve been doing this long enough to know that’s what matters.”

Jake Gilman returns at wing back, while new quarterback Dirk Katz shows potential.

On defense, Henry returns at linebacker, where he should be a force. He probably is the team’s best overall player, Gary said.

Defensive ends Nick Bradley and Ryan Scevers also will be key players.

“I feel we have a good football team,” Gary said. “A lot of these guys played JV football last year, but they worked really hard over the summer.”

South Umpqua

The Lancers are down in numbers after last season’s winless campaign in the Far West League — with about 15 fewer players this fall — but coach Kevin Hubbard said the team’s players are enthusiastic in the new season.

“The kids are working hard,” he said. “The attitude of the kids is ... they know we’re down in numbers and they just keep pushing themselves.”

The Lancers have a strong senior class, but only 10 juniors and eight freshmen.

Leading the way are a quartet of seniors who are returning starters and never missed a day of weight lifting during the summer.

Ryan Smedley returns at quarterback, surrounded by running back Triton Crane, wide receiver Ky Schoonhoven and fullback Clayton Lent.

That group plays an equally big role on defense, with Lent at linebacker and the other three at defensive back, which is the Lancers’ strength.

“All of our athletes are DB type people.”

Douglas

Veteran coach Rick Taylor left the Winston school this year to take over the head job in North Bend, but new head coach Joe Polamalu said Taylor didn’t leave the cupboard bare.

The Trojans improved greatly last year and also had an unbeaten junior varsity team.

“It’s a team that had a lot of respect for coach Taylor and what he was trying to establish,” Polamalu said. “He’s laid a foundation. It’s a pretty good transition for me.

“We’re just on the bubble of being competitive. We’ve got to compete a whole (four quarters) and hopefully good things will happen.”

Polamalu, the cousin of former Douglas standout Troy Polamalu, now a star for the Pittsburgh Steelers, will stick with the option attack that Taylor used with the Trojans.

“I like what the option does,” he said. “It’s something that we’ve done. The kids are familiar with it, and I do believe that we have the personnel to run it.”

Leading the way are a pair of junior running backs, Sky Woods and Jered Stoffel. Senior end and safety Bryce Norton may be the team’s most dynamic player, while several linemen return, including seniors Kyle Meals, Tyler Barker and twins Derek and Darryl Watson.

Some of the players from that junior varsity team also will contribute.

“We do have a group of young talent,” Polamalu said, adding that some of the freshmen from last year will stay on the junior varsity team, while others will contribute to the varsity, along with the juniors who moved up this season.

“They’re a talented group,” he said. “They’re also a very competitive group.”