While the Tigard football team’s record isn’t where he’d like it to be, Head Coach Todd Crist is pleased with the progress he has seen in his second year running the program.
“We are a coach-run, player-led team, and we’re moving in that direction,” he said. “It’s not where we want it to be, but it’s going in the direction we want it to.”
Those watching Tigard this year might notice some new features on the team. When the Tigers are kicking off, the players on the sideline all raise their helmets in the air. At the start of the fourth quarter, the team holds up four fingers. They have also added sticker helmets this year, which are selected for making impactful plays, as determined by a rubric.
“Those are all from the kids,” Crist said. “Those are the players coming up with stuff that builds excitement and energy around the program.”
As of our press deadline, the Tigers are 1-5 on the season, with only in-league games remaining in the ultra-competitive Three Rivers League. Crist is pleased with the effort his team continues to put out despite their record.
“This team has got more fight in them, and I’ve got more courage in them,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of grit in them, no matter what the situation, which is really good to see, right? Because it’d be easy to get down when you lose games and in light of some of the injuries we have, the guys that are out through the season, it’s always been a next-man-up mentality. We love that as coaches.”
Some of those losses came down to the wire, with the Tigers either blowing a lead late or not being able to pull off the comeback.
In the season opener, Tigard jumped out to a 20-0 lead over Sunset at home before the half, backed by two rushing scores from sophomore Taison Cepeda. Tigard led 38-28 heading into the fourth, and then Sunset out-scored Tigard 21-7 in the final quarter to pull out the 49-45 win.
A few weeks later, Tigard fell behind 16-0 after one quarter to Sherwood. The Tigers battled back to lead 23-22 after three quarters, but Sherwood pulled away late for a 35-31 win.
“If you look at two or three games, maybe if we don’t make the mistakes that we made, maybe it’s different,” Crist said. “Maybe the outcome’s a little bit different. It’s in our favor instead.”
They haven’t all been close losses, however. Still, Crist thinks there are positives to be taken from games like Tigard’s 42-6 loss to West Linn, the defending state champs. Crist said he wanted his team to embrace the chance to play such a good team.
“This is an opportunity, so why not give it our best?” he said. “Just step up and do your best, and we’ll see what happens.”
West Linn scored 1:11 into the game, and led 21-0 after one, but Crist liked that his team continued to compete.
“They’re bigger, faster, stronger, but that’s just the reality of it,” he said. “They’re a better athletic football team than we are. That’s the reality of it. But how can we come together as a team and try to do the best we can and try to go score, which we did? It was one of our goals to put some points on the board on these guys.”
Last year, West Linn beat Tigard 55-0. In the game this year, Tigard scored in the second half thanks to a long pass from Aris Dimick to Jaxon Lee to put the Tigers in the red zone. Cepeda punched it in for Tigard’s lone score.
Dimick, the team’s junior quarterback, is in his second year as a starter and was voted as a team captain by his teammates, the only non-senior to earn the designation this year. Crist said he has stepped up this year as a leader on the team.
He also said Cepeda has played a key role in the team’s success as just a sophomore.
“This team isn’t about individuals,” Crist said. “Our job is to put the best 11 guys out there on the field, and they take that to heart. When they play together, they’re a pretty darn good football team.”
It’s that program-first mentality, combined with the youth seeing the field for Tigard, that has Crist so excited about not only the rest of this season but also the years ahead for the Tigers.
“We’re fortunate enough to have a team that just responds regardless of what the scoreboard says,” he said. “All we ask is to do your best and give percent. Choose faith over fear, and things will work out. And they’re rallying together, and so you can’t complain about that.”
