Seven years together on gridiron

Seven years ago, Caleb Rath, Ryan Murphy and Cameron Elisara came together on a football field for the first time on a newly formed YMCA team.

Now in their final year together, the Ferris High School seniors are trying to fight their way into the state 4A football playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Saxons, in spite of a 6-2 overall record (5-2 in league), Ferris is trailing Mead, Gonzaga Prep and Central Valley for the three available 4A playoff berths from the Greater Spokane League.

“I’d just feel cheated,” Elisara said. “The terrible thing is if we go 8-2 and stay home. Our team has earned it.

“We’ve been working hard. We were the first team to start the YMCA program in fifth grade. We’ve been playing football since the fifth grade trying to get to this point, and if we don’t make it to the playoffs, it’s just going to be a killer.”

“It’s kind of hard because coming off of last season, we went 7-2 and made the playoffs,” said Rath, who succeeded Elisara’s brother, Travis, as the Saxon quarterback three years ago. “Coming into this year, we expected a league championship and to make the playoffs. To not make the playoffs would be a big disappointment, but we can’t really look at it like that.

“We just have to go into these next couple games, play our game, do our best, come out with wins and see what happens.”

Rath, who leads the GSL in passing this season, has led the Ferris senior-dominated lineup. He is fourth all time in GSL history in total offense and has benefited from the tutelage of a former Gonzaga Prep coach.

”Don Anderson works with him specifically, and so to have a mentor like Don has been outstanding for Caleb, as skilled and experienced as he is,” said Ferris head coach Clarence Hough. “He’s gotten better every year, and we’ve asked him to do more things every year.

“He’s always a pleasure to work with. Here’s a kid who’s kind of running dry in the tank because he does baseball and basketball, too.

“He’s really one of the last of the three-sport athletes and a kid who’s busy all the time and keeping a 4.0 in the classroom at the same time also.”

Rath has also learned to win with more than just his arm.

“I just try to tell myself you can’t be stressed; you can’t be uptight,” said Rath. “You just have to go out there and be relaxed and play your game.”

“He’s a really bright guy,” Hough said. “He’s very mild mannered, extremely pleasant, very polite guy … the whole package.

“He’s had a good group of seniors with him for three years with him, too.”

Those seniors include the team’s leader in interceptions, Scott Ward, receivers Pat Burke and Anthony Zachery, kicker Taylor Yonago, linebackers Byron Stevens, Mark Nyberg, Josh Wedel and Patrick Haase, and linemen Jonathan Brateng, Tony Poole, Kyle Krustangel, Tadd Gehring, Jack Grippi and Adam Eucker.

When Rath has problems in the huddle, he can lean on fellow senior running back Murphy, who has shared the backfield with his friend over the past seven years.

“Ryan’s awesome,” Rath said. “He knows the plays just as well as I do, and we can joke back there. It’s cool because we aren’t so stressed before the game.

“We’re all relaxed, and it’s fun in the backfield.”

“It’s been real fun,” Murphy said. “Caleb’s always been a real good friend of mine.

“We’re both pretty bright kids, and if he’s having trouble making a read, we’ll have a little chat before the play in the backfield talking about what we’re seeing.

“That kind of chemistry really helps us to be successful out there.”

It’s a chemistry the Saxons hope leads them to one final postseason, but if it’s not to be, they are still proud of how far they’ve come over the past four years.

“We really have improved,” said Murphy, who leads the Saxons in rushing. “Over time this senior class has really been the strength of this team.

“Sophomore, junior and senior years, we were really the heart and soul of this team. We’ve really progressed.

“It’s too bad – we were really hoping to bring home a GSL championship to Ferris for the first time in a while. It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen, but it’s been everything that I hoped it would be.”