‘Just like me growing up’: In Junction City, a former Duck finds what he always loved about the game

The sun is close to setting, the flies are out and the temperature is still hovering around 90 degrees. The Junction City High School Tigers are huddled around first-year head coach Tye Rauschert, who closes out this Tuesday practice with momentum as the Tigers prepare for a Friday night matchup against 3-0 Marshfield.

“Keep getting better every day,” Rauschert says to his team. “Build and grow.”

The Class 4A Tigers are 1-1. They beat Woodburn last week on the road, 30-13, to equal their 2024 win total. And yet, after the team breaks their huddle with a “family” on three, a different voice rises from behind the scrum…

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