A trip to his old stomping grounds wasn’t necessarily a bucket-list item for Roseburg football coach Dave Heuberger, but nonetheless he’ll be happy to see some familiar faces when his team takes a trip north to Springfield’s Silke Field for the season finale on Friday.
“Some good times up there and some good memories, but the main thing is getting the kids another opportunity to get a game in,” Heuberger said.
The contest will be the first between Roseburg and class 5A Springfield since the 1996 season, when both schools were in the highest of four classifications in Oregon. The teams will kickoff at 6:30 p.m.
Heuberger spent four years coaching at Springfield High School and sees some familiar names on the Millers’ coaching staff, including current head coach Miles Haley who coached with Heuberger at Springfield and Marist.
Some of Heuberger’s former players are also on the Millers’ staff.
Friday’s match-up will be the last chance for either Roseburg (0-4) or Springfield (0-5) to get a win during this winter/spring season.
“It’s always important to win,” Heuberger said of his desire to finish the schedule with a victory. “That’s the goal.”
Springfield is a team, much like Roseburg, that has been using this shortened season as a chance to explore options and prepare for next school year, according to Heuberger’s scouting report.
“I’ve been impressed with them on film, the amount of players they’re trying out at different positions and moving kids in and out and getting a lot of kids rotated into it.”
The Millers returned three all-league second team selections from last school year, but have been outscored this season by an average of nearly 30 points a game. Junior Gavin Colter is a first-year starter at quarterback.
Heuberger said he felt Roseburg had its best offensive game of the season last week, although the Indians managed just 151 yards in a 42-7 loss to Crater.
The coaches will likely give a number of JV players an opportunity to see the field against Springfield, mostly on special teams. The plan is to get those guys their first chance to experience a Friday night under the lights.
With the season winding down, Heuberger says the Indians haven’t lost their focus as they prepare for just their second road test of the schedule.
“Our practices have gone well, the energy is great,” Heuberger said, although he added that some players might play fewer minutes this week as they start transitioning into spring sports, which begin competition next week.
“The head coaches at the high school work good together and I think we’re taking into interest the ability for that kid to play multiple sports and what we need to do to make sure they can do that. That kind of falls on us as coaches a little bit.”
Roseburg’s football game at Springfield will be broadcast locally on sports radio station The Score 92.3 FM/1490 AM and streamed online at 541radio.com.
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