Going into the fall of 2016 Madras High School hired a new and highly motivated Head Coach named Kurt Taylor. Taylor walked into a Madras locker room that hadn’t seen the bright lights of a playoff game since 2012 and had been winless the season before. 

From 2013-2018 Madras football won a total of 5 games and lost 37 (winning percentage of 14%). Things were visibly different after Coach Taylor was hired, though things did start bumpy. The four-season turn around from winless to playoff participant has been nothing but spectacular. 

The main goal that Taylor had during his first year as Head Coach was to change the culture and the number of players coming out for football. Coach Taylor stated, ”We define our culture by three aspects.

 1) Our core values (D.E.S.I.R.E: discipline, effort, service, integrity, respect, and excellence)

 2) Player behavior; Abiding by our core values is paramount

 3) Player experience

Taylor later added,” The program struggled previously because there was no direction or sense of family. We do many things that allow our athletes to feel like they are apart of something special”. 

During the 2018 football season, Coach Taylor and the Madras football team posted more wins in just one season to the five previous years combined. The culture is changing and the rest of 3A should really treat Madras as a serious threat week in and week out.

Coach Taylor said,” during the rebuild, we emphasized a deeper aspect of the game and actually taught the game of football. Redefining fundamental skills and deciphering how our players learn the easiest, and how we can practice more efficiently”.

The key for Madras to have success this season will be feeding Treyvon Easterling the ball. Going into his senior season, Treyvon is hearing from a couple of smaller D1 schools such as Portland State and Eastern Washington University. Easterling is also fielding interest from Pac-12 Oregon State. During the offseason, Treyvon said, “I want to work on my balance and speed, he also added that the offensive line play will be a huge factor in their success.

The Madras football team attended the George Fox football camp last week and held their own versus some good Washington schools. One of the big keys for success this season will be having the younger players stepping up in multiple positions. 

From doormat to possible title contender. What a turn around. 

Key Players for Madras 2019

Robert Pacheco (Qb), Keenan Miller (Wr), Reece White (TE/WR). Andrew Ganuza (OL), David Sumner (OL).

 Kody Zemke (Ilb), Seth Colton (DE), Eric Boynton (FS), Jeremiah Smith (OLB), Liam White (OLB)