The text popped up on Nathan Bernards? phone before school on May 14. It was from Dayton football coach Gary Thorson, telling the team captain to text players and let them know that there was going to be a football meeting at lunch.
Bernards said he had no clue what it was about. Not a week before, Thorson had been talking to him about summer workouts. But at the May 14 meeting, Bernards found out with the other players in attendance that Thorson was stepping away from football to become the director of local and world mission for West Valley Community Church in Hillsboro.
?I had no clue what to think,? Bernards said. ?I thought he was going to be here for a long time.?
Thorson?s tenure at Dayton lasted two seasons. The Pirates went 22-3 and lost in the 3A state championship game in 2011 to Santiam Christian. They won two West Valley League championships and made a name for not just winning games but dominating them.
Bernards said the first text he received about Thorson?s resignation was from defensive coordinator Brodie Unger. Bernards asked him if he was taking over, and a month later, Dayton athletic director Todd Shirley confirmed that Unger was the new coach.
?Coach Unger is a football genius,? Bernards said. ?I hope he stays here for a long time. Everything he does is about football. He?s who we all wanted, and he?s who we are comfortable with.?
The transition was nearly seamless, which was Unger?s plan. The coaching staff stayed the same, and he was able to continue with spring practices and planning for the summer.
Unger, 31, graduated from Linfield and is close with Thorson, also a Linfield product. The two talk and text frequently, but since camp started this week, Unger hasn?t thought much about Thorson.
?I think as a staff we?ve been so focused on moving forward,? he said. ?Gary was a mentor to me. A lot of what I do, I got from him.
?But yeah, I?m different.?
The Pirates are different as well. Yes, all-state selections Forrest Garcia, Kevin Castillo, Nathan Bernards and Jered White return, but 13 seniors from last season have graduated. Defensive Player of the Year Hayden Craig and Offensive Player of the Year A.J. Hedgecock are now on Division I teams, causing many around the league and around the state to breathe easier.
?It?s not a secret,? Unger said, ?We graduated some key spots, and now we want to see who rises to the occasion.?
Bernards said he gets angry when people ask him how the Pirates will be this year. The past few seasons that was never a question. Everyone knew Dayton was going to be good, but with five starters returning on both offense and defense, it?s a valid question.
?I don?t care what people say ? ?(The seniors) are leaving. Dayton?s done. Dayton?s in a rebuilding year.? I don?t believe that at all,? Bernards said.
?Losing A.J. and Hayden and the rest is going to suck, but we have numerous guys that can be Players of the Year.?
Unger is of the same mind.
?We need to understand that our seniors this year were a big reason for our success last year,? he said. ?A huge reason. They?re doing a great job of picking up where we left off.?
Bernards and Garcia will be the biggest focus of opponents? game plans. Bernards? composure and knowledge of the offense at quarterback helped the Dayton juggernaut run smoothly last year when it outscored opponents 606-174.
Unger said Bernards is as dedicated as they come. Unger was at the movies one Saturday and got a text from his quarterback.
?It said, ?Hey coach, what do you think if we did this and this in this situation??? Unger said. ?Not many high schoolers are texting their coach on a Saturday night about football.
?That?s what you get with Nate. It?s been a lot of fun. He?s a great guy.?
Garcia will probably garner even more focus than Bernards does during the season. He has made a name for himself the past few years with his game-breaking speed and deceiving athleticism in the passing game.
?At the Linfield football camp, Forrest made some catches and runs, and I had a couple of friends who said we looked good,? Unger said. ?I said, ?Well, Forrest makes a lot of coaches look good.? ?
Unger said the biggest test for him is to make sure that the coaching staff doesn?t rely on Garcia too much and become one-dimensional.
?You have to pick your spots,? he said. ?He is by far one of the quickest and most explosive players I?ve ever coached.?
The Pirates do have other pieces in place to help. Unger has been telling his players that they have to play older than they are, and he said a lot are stepping up. Junior Corwin Hiatt is a tall, athletic tight end and receiver to try to fill the void left by Craig.
?Corwin is jumping in and being that bigger receiver,? Unger said. ?He can jump.?
Unger said players like White, Justin Sutton and J.J. Jones will all have to be key players this year if they have any chance of repeating. Yeah, Unger said, they lost 13 seniors, but worrying about that won?t bring them back.
?Every year, depth concerns you,? he said. ?You always wish you had more, but it?s one of those things that you can?t change, so why worry about it??
That might be Unger?s biggest talking point. Why worry about things out of your control? He talked to players during the spring after he was hired and told them he didn?t want to hear any talk about the state championship game or last season. Not because they couldn?t learn from their mistakes, but because it already happened and it wouldn?t help them win football games today.
?You can?t focus on the past,? he said. ?It?s not going to do us or the program any good. It?s wasted energy.?
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