If you want to shore up a weakness on defense, moving one player is a good start.
When you move Emmanuel Miranda into a new spot, it can solve a lot of problems.
Emmanuel (Manny) Miranda is photographed following practice on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016.
The 5-8, 170-pound senior moves to safety from his outside linebacker spot and brings experience and his football smarts to the defensive backfield for the McKay High football team.
“Especially for this defense it helps tremendously,” senior middle linebacker Matthew Jarding said.
“Manny, he used to play linebacker last year, but I believe he played safety his freshman and sophomore year so he’s experienced with it so with this defense when we send a linebacker on a blitz we can have him roll down and play linebacker like he did last year. He’s going to be helpful on the pass tremendously and the run.”
Also moving to safety is senior Justin Kemble, who started at cornerback last season, making it one of the strongest points in the defense.
Emmanuel (Manny) Miranda, right, and teammates practice on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016.
Miranda recorded 46 tackles as a junior, and his ability to cover a lot of ground makes him an ideal candidate to play safety.
“I feel like I’m going to have a breakout year, along with a lot of other players,” Miranda said. “If one player breaks out, other players are going to follow that.”
In McKay’s new spread offense, Miranda will continue to play running back – he rushed for 129 yards and one touchdown on 36 carries last season – but not as much.
He will rotate with Jarding and Leo Silvia in the backfield because those players will rarely come out on defense.
McKay players practice on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016.
“Right now it’s kind of defining roles for those kids and understanding who we need to get the ball in the hands of,” first-year coach Josh Riddell said. “We do have a pretty good number of running backs.”
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McKay
Coach: Josh Riddell, first year
Last year’s record: 1-8 overall, 1-7 GVC.
Key athletes: Matthew Jarding, Sr., RB/LB: A first-team all-conference linebacker as a junior who led the team in rushing as a junior with 586 yards and eight touchdowns on 128 carries. Hector Diaz Lopez, Sr., WR/DB: Caught four passes for 17 yards in an injury-shortened junior season. Noah Tavera, Sr., QB/DB: The team’s leading receiver last year with 17 receptions for 237 yards and a touchdown, he is fighting with Joey Davis for the starting quarterback spot. Damon Coronado, Sr., OL/DL: A transfer from Willamette High School. Carlos Garcia, Jr., OL/DL: A returning player up front.
Outlook: McKay has a first-time had coach in alum Josh Riddell, and he is bringing a spread offense back to the school with him. The team has lots of questions on the line, where there are players with potential, but not much depth up front. “That’s the thing as coaches we want to develop something is some depth,” Riddell said. “We don’t have 11 starters on offense and 11 different guys on defense.”
Secret Weapons
Everyone in the valley knows the big names in high school football – players like Central’s Marlon Tuipulotu, South Salem’s Tyler Coates and Blanchet’s Nick Orlandini – but the Statesman Journal is highlighting the lesser known players who will make their presence felt on football fields this fall.
Here’s the schedule:
Aug. 24: McNary, Dallas and the Mid-Willamette Conference.
Aug. 25: North Salem, Salem Academy and the PacWest Conference.
Aug. 26: West Salem, Cascade and the Oregon West Conference.
Aug. 27: Sprague, Amity and the West Valley League.
Aug. 28: McKay, Kennedy, the Tri-River Conference and Class 1A.
Aug. 29: South Salem and Central.
Aug. 30: Volleyball.
Aug. 31: Soccer.
Sept. 1: Cross country.