Despite dwindling participation, Auburn Riverside in state tournament for first time ever
There were moments over the past several months when Greg Herd found himself wandering about the locker room at Auburn Riverside just scanning unmanned lockers. From spring practice moving forward, the Ravens numbers seemed to constantly be dwindling.
“I’d go rummage through lockers, just recollecting gear,” Herd said. “We had two teams this fall. On a good day, we’d have 55-60 kids. More than 25 kids have quit this year since spring ball started.”
Herd is at a loss to find a reason for the exodus. Riverside is one of the largest 3A schools in the state with around 1,900 students. The Ravens will be reclassified into the 4A ranks next September.
“If I knew, I would tell you,” Herd said. “But a lot of kids just stopped showing up.”
With such low numbers, the 2023 season could have proven disastrous for the Ravens. Health and longevity became major issues for the coaching staff to overcome in order just to keep enough players suited up to play games this season.
Yet what could have been an unmitigated failure somehow became something far more historic for the Ravens football program. The 2023 season turned into the first time in the school’s 28-year history that the team will play in the WIAA state bracket.
That’s right, Auburn Riverside made the Round of 16 for the first time in school history by beating Juanita, 28-9, in a Week 10 playoff. To get to that point, even, the Ravens stormed through the 3A North Puget Sound League, going 6-0. They are 7-3 overall.
And their reward for getting into the bracket for the first time? A daunting trip to Seattle to play the No. 2 O’Dea Fighting Irish and all-everything senior running back Jason Brown.
“We had guys speculating about being seeded higher,” Herd said. “But I knew. I could feel that we were either going to be at Memorial (Stadium) or Yelm. We didn’t handle our nonleague opponents well enough for anything else.”
Herd said his team will have about 40 guys in uniform for kickoff at 5 p.m. on Friday night. They’ll be dwarfed by the numbers on the other sideline. But then, the Ravens are used to it. And they’ve become a versatile group to compensate for the low numbers this season.
A look into just one of Auburn Riverside’s core group of seniors illustrates that versatility.
Center Cameron Copeland doesn’t look like the typical offensive lineman. He stands less than six feet tall at 5-11. He weighs less than 200 pounds (190), and before he was pressed into duty when the previous starter at the position was no longer available, he’d played linebacker, defensive end and tight end.
“When we needed somebody, the guy jumped up,” Herd said of Copeland. “And he’s not made a peep or said a word about it. He’s never asked out of the lineup. And let me tell you, he’s become a really good lineman for us.”
With such small numbers, the coaching staff got creative about practices to keep everyone healthy and available each week. And the players embraced the work ethic that Herd saw in them from the moment they stepped on campus as freshmen – especially in his senior class.
“This is actually my first time where I’ve had a class for four years,” Herd said. “It’s the first time I’ve been somewhere long enough to have that. And four years ago, we thought this freshman class was pretty special. We thought this group could do it.”
With guys like running back Thyrou Umi-Tuato’o, who has been contributing in some capacity since he got to Riverside, Copeland and the other 15 current seniors (out of 57 total names listed on the roster) leading the way, this group of Ravens has soared to heights not previously seen with this program.
Now that they’re here, Herd said he is using lessons learned as an assistant for Colby Davies during Steilacoom’s run to a title several seasons ago.
“Absolutely,” Herd said. “The week feels the same (as any other), but everyone knows there’s more to it. Coach Davies was excellent at prepping the kids. I want these players to share the same enjoyment that those kids had at practice. At this moment, the kids are all plenty motivated. They know what’s at stake.”