Cascade Christian has new energy after finishing 1 yard short of semifinals last season

Just one more yard. One more possession. One more crack at the end zone.

The Cascade Christian High School Cougars had every reason to come into last Saturday’s first two-a-day practice of 2018 still in a post-state quarterfinals loss daze after finishing that game on the 1-yard line, inches away from moving on.

As coaches and players began showing up just before 8:30 a.m., the demeanor was quite the opposite. They were filled with nothing but laughter and excitement for the new season.

This upcoming season is a bit different than others, though. This new version of Cascade Christian football had one of, if not the smallest, turnouts since first-year coach Devin Snyder, a former assistant, took over the program. This season’s team is pushing mid-20s, when it normally produces 40 or more. Despite such a large change, the standard of Cougar football remains the same.

“We’ve had a lot of success and won a couple of state championships,” Snyder said. “So, that’s always part of the goal. As a team, we never want the bar to drop. We always expect excellence and effort. We had a high bar last year, and I expect we’ll pick it up and run with it this year.”

This early on, the memories of the 41-35 loss to La Center in the state quarterfinals still lingers. Whether it was Cascade Christian ending the game 1 yard away from a game-tying score, or the injuries it suffered to its starting tight end, receiver and safety throughout the season and that game, and a flu bug that almost consumed the team, the Cougars appeared to suffer one setback after another.

If that wasn’t enough, the program graduated nine seniors.

It was evident in the opening minutes of the team’s first big practice of the new season that players who had a large roll in that game, such as senior captain and fullback Torreto Magalei, wanted nothing more than to move beyond last season’s final moments.

“We got stopped short,” Magalei said. “Like inches away. We lost a lot of seniors, too. It’s easy for people to say we’re ‘rebuilding’ now and this year, but we don’t operate like that.”

The most significant loss in the quarterfinals was junior Michael Gurr.

While executing a routine run play, one he’s done too many times to count, Gurr was tackled and came down awkwardly and suffered a broken arm.

For the next four months, Gurr went through grueling surgery, physical therapy and rehab to get back to full strength.

He continued to attend team meetings and participated in minor workouts throughout the winter and spring until he was fully healthy and able to return to the team.

“For me, it was all about being able to persevere through all that stuff,” Gurr said. “Working on legs, calves and abs helped me more mentally for me than physically, I think.”

On the first day of its first two-a-days practice of the new season, along with the other team captains, Magalei and Gurr were front and center, leading Cascade Christian in pre-workout stretches.

As practice went on to active drills, it was as if the mounting injuries and the memory of last season’s final plays were a long way in the past.

Coaches and players were filled with excitement, the music was loud, and the bonding and chemistry this abnormally small group formed during spring football camp carried right over into this first major practice of the summer.

On this day, Snyder looked at last year’s quarterfinal conclusion much differently than he did in the moment. Between the unexpected injuries and coming up inches short, the loss and disappointment has since manifested itself into one of the tightest bonds, within a team, he’s witnessed as a football coach.

Months later, as a new season with a new-look program began, the desire for one more crack at the end zone has turned from a wish to a top priority in 2018.

“Since camp, every guy has leaned on one another,” Snyder said. “And this was the strongest camp I’ve seen in years. If that continues to be the identity moving forward, I really like our chances.”