Small town goes semi pro with Knights

TRI CITY — In this small town, the professional athletes don’t duck fans in blinged-out, bullet-proof Escalades, or issue statements through team spokespeople, or sign helmets for $200 at convention centers.

In fact, the Umpqua Valley Knights, Douglas County’s semi-professional football team, are the antithesis of all things NFL.

“No Escalades,” UV coach and owner Bion Mills said. “Just regular people who have an extra love for football.”

These men play on high school fields — they call South Umpqua High home — and in front of small crowds (usually 40 or 50 people) for myriad reasons, but none is rooted in expectations of fan adulation or eight-figure contract extensions.

Some are a year or two removed from high school, while others enter worn down and banged up, the nostalgia of prep-careers past grappling with the limitations of an aging body.

The fuel, it seems, is a pursuit of one more season of camaraderie.

“They miss it and come play,” said Mills, who left the defunct Douglas County Outlaws in 2002 to help create the Knights. “It is kind of a drug.”

Brian Marsters, aka “Grandpa,” is an outside linebacker in his early 40s, Mills said.

“Grandpa has played in the league for 11 years,” Mills said.

Players’ ages range from 18-43, with the average being 28. They earn their livings in the construction and logging trades, at juvenile detention centers and Home Depots.

“We work nine-to-five jobs every day of the week and we all have families and normal lives,” 39-year-old OFL veteran Rob Walton said. “Come weekends, we feel like football stars to some of these younger kids and to our families.”

There are more than 700 amateur football teams in the U.S, and forty-two men hope to participate for the Knights this year — 20 more than the team’s usual turnout. Eight played in college and most everyone else in high school, though a few have never suited up.

Experience aside, they all want beat the Vancouver Vipers Saturday on the road in the Knights’ season opener Saturday, Mills said.

“They want this one,” Mills said.

The team

Starting quarterback duties go to QB/WR/DB Tyler Edwards, who went to Glide High School and played signal caller last year for Umpqua Valley. Ryan Frazier competed for the spot but tore ligaments in a knee that may keep him out as long as six weeks.

The Knights are headlined by former Oregon Duck Robin Knebel, a two-year starter on the offensive line who played on teams featuring Kellen Clemens, Haloti Ngata, Igor Olshansky and Samie Parker. This will be his second year on the squad — last season, the 2000 Roseburg High graduate was the OFL Most Valuable Offensive Player.

“He brings a lot of knowledge to the team,” said Mills of Knebel, who once signed a free-agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens but was later cut. “He’ll play all over.”

Landyn Trammell should be Umpqua Valley’s best running back. The 5’ 11” 215 pounder has participated in the last two NFL combines, Mills said.

“Luckily, he’s with us,” Mills said.

Roseburg High grads James Snyder and Ben Sharp are both starting wide receivers. The 5’ 8”, 160-pound Snyder once bolted for 102 and 98-yard kick returns in a single game. Sharp, a 5’ 6”, 140-pound wideout, is diminutive, but accounted for about 75 percent of the Knights’ offense last season in Mills’ fly offense, he said.

Walton, a cornerback, defensive back, wide receiver and fifth-string quarterback, works as a counselor for the Yreka, Calif., school district and car pools with three other Knights to Myrtle Creek for practices and team meetings. It’s a two-and-a-half hour drive, but the on-field experience makes the travel well worth it, Walton said.

“If you have a good game it feels just like you are in the NFL,” Walton said.

While the Knights shine on the field, they make themselves accessible off it in an effort to become more connected with the community. Umpqua Valley, which participates in charitable events including blood drives and golf tournaments, is a nonprofit organization that relies on sponsorship, fundraising and ticket sales. Players pay $250 in fees to try out and participate and are encouraged to find sponsors for help.

Mills said that if the Knights wins their league, they may be able to advance and play other region’s victors. The team will maneuver through an eight-game schedule and compete against opponents including the South Coast Storm, Klamath County Crusaders, Springfield Buzzards, High Desert Lightning, Oregon Monarchs and Columbia River Coyotes.

The Knights’ home opener is April 5 at 6 p.m. against the Rogue Warriors — Mills gave away 500 free tickets to the game in hopes of drawing attention to the squad.

“There are so many people out there who don’t know there is a semi pro team out here,” Mills said.

The cost is $5 at the gate for adults, $2 for students and free for children 12 and under. A full-season pass costs $15. Check www.uvknights.com for more information.

By the last game of the year, Mills expects that injuries, family commitments and occupational obligations will have whittled down his roster to 18. But that’s OK: Mills brings his No. 88 jersey with him to every game, just in case an extra body is needed.

“I am confident I can still play, but I’m getting a little older and recovering from an injury,” Mills said.”