REEDSPORT — A year ago, Reedsport’s football team won half its games in coach Steve Chase’s first season. The Braves followed an endowment game win over Central Linn with two more nonleague victories and then two league wins, including one in their final game to clinch a 5-5 season.

“We were pretty thrilled,” said all-league cornerback Cory Christoffersen.

Reedsport has no intention of settling for a .500 season this time around.

“This year, everyone seems motivated,” said senior John Covey. “Everyone has a goal to make the playoffs.”

The Braves are optimistic about a trip to the postseason because of a speedy, physical defense and what should be an improved offense.

The offense took a big hit in the first game of the season last week, when junior quarterback Adam Chase suffered a shoulder injury in this year’s endowment game against Central Linn.

Chase likely is done for the year, said his father and Reedsport’s head coach, Steve Chase.

That means the team will go through some growing pains with sophomore Jason Fegles up from the junior varsity team.

But the Braves should still be solid on the other side of the ball.

While the offense struggled after Chase went down last week, the defense was stout until giving up a touchdown in the final minute of an 8-6 loss.

That type of defensive effort is what the Braves expect.

“We’re really fast and we all like to hit,” said Cesar Lira, a mainstay at linebacker, where he earned honorable mention all-league honors in the Sunset Conference last year.

The Braves return a strong core of the defense, including Lira and linemen Robert Olson, Ismael Osorio and Gunnar Kaufmann, who started at linebacker last year. Reedsport also has a speedy returning defensive backfield with Adam Chase at safety, if he’s able to come back, along with Christoffersen and Keelan McDuffy at the cornerback spots.

Senior Sean Horton is back on the team for the first time since his freshman year, having concentrated on basketball the past two seasons, and will  be a major contributor at linebacker, along with junior Josh Palmer. Sophomore Jon Thurber, a wrestling standout, also will play linebacker after missing last season to a shoulder injury.

Speedsters Kole Freestone and Dillon Chudy, part of the big junior class that also includes Christoffersen, Chase, Kaufmann, Osorio and McDuffy, will see time in the defensive backfield. Covey could play on the line, at linebacker or at safety.

Brice Young, one of the team’s tallest players, figures to play defensive end.

All those elements combine to form a strong defense.

“It’s a lot better,” said Christoffersen, who earned first-team all-league honors for his play at cornerback last fall.

Depending on the health of Chase and the development of Fegles, the Braves could be set for a big year on offense, too.

During fall camp, the team was thrilled about its progress while running a new spread-option attack in addition to the base double-tight formation the Braves used most of last season.

“We should do good,” said Lira. “We have a bunch of speed and we’ve all gotten quicker.”

Then there’s the improvement of Chase.

“I think he’s matured a lot since last year,” said Covey. “He just throws it on a rope. He puts it where it needs to go and it’s an easy ball to catch.”

Steve Chase said Fegles also has a good arm, and potential at quarterback.

When the Braves are in the spread formation, they will throw the ball a lot, which puts pressure on the receivers, who will have an expanded role.

Covey, for example, plays running back in the double-tight formation and receiver in the spread.

He and the other receivers have improved along with their quarterback.

“Cory Christoffersen is fast and he can catch (anything),” said Lira.

Meanwhile, the line also is improved.

“The line looks quick,” said Covey. “They get to the spots they need to.”

“We’ve got some bulky kids, but they’re fast,” added Christoffersen.

Lira, Olson and Osorio all return as starters on the line, while sophomore Brendon Gibbens plays center and Kaufmann plays guard opposite Lira. Olson and Osorio are the tackles.

Another benefit of the offense is that the players all love it.

“I like it because we pass a lot,” said Horton, who is a receiver unless he needs to go in at quarterback. “We’ve got the right kids for it.”

Among the biggest strengths of the Braves are speed and toughness — the speed exhibited by the many members of the sprint corps from the track team and the toughness coming in part from Reedsport’s successful wrestling program, which is headed by assistant football coach Philip Lopez. Nearly all of Reedsport’s wrestlers also play football.

“The wrestlers are a big part of the team,” said Covey, who counts himself among that group.

Steve Chase said the group is off to a much better start in preparation after going through an adjustment in his first year last fall.

“I’m excited that we’re just ahead of the curve,” he said. “We’re a quicker learning group. We have more speed, more athleticism.”

The players also have a better knowledge of what Chase expects.

“Last year, we had no experience at the skill positions,” he said. “Our learning curve was really slow.”

Nearly all those players returned this fall, though.

“We’re light-years ahead of where we were last year,” Chase said.

Many of the players also worked hard during the summer to improve their strength, and as a whole the players get along great with each other.

The result is a lot of optimism.

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a good season,” said Christoffersen. “This year, we have more focus and we’re bonding better.”

One other thing the team needs to improve, Lira said, is its composure during games.

“Last year, when something went wrong, everybody put their heads down,” he said, adding that he doesn’t expect the same this season.

“There’s games last year we played that we lost that we could have won,” Lira said. “If we stay together, we’ll be fine.”