Lake Oswego football coach Steve Coury became the eighth Oregon coach to reach 300 career victories Friday night when his Lakers defeated Sherwood 51-16.
Senior Griffin Ellingsen caught two touchdown passes from Ryder Lemm, ran for another on an end-around and returned a kickoff 80 yards for a fourth touchdown, and the No. 1 team in this weekās High School On SI Oregon Top 25 rankings improved to 4-0.
But the night belonged to Coury, who improved his record to 300-97 in 35 seasons at the suburban Portland-area school.
And as his nature, he gave much of the credit for his sustained success to his longtime assistants, including two who have been on his staff since he took over at Lake Oswego in 1992 ā Karl Hallberg and Brian Newcomer ā as well as Jeff Young, a Lake Oswego graduate who joined the staff in 2004 as an inspirational coach after he was diagnosed with ALS as a student at the University of Oregon.
āItās so much not just me,ā Coury said after the game. āI really sincerely mean that. Iām just the guy on the front. Weāve got such great people and coaches and just really good solid people. So, itās great. I mean, Iām thrilled about it, and Iām sharing it with all those guys.ā
Coury starred as a player at rival Lakeridge and Oregon State in 1970ās
Coury was a standout player for Lakeridge, where he was a two-time two-way all-state selection at running back and defensive back in 1974 and 1975 before going on to play wide receiver at Oregon State, where he was a third-team All-American as a senior in 1979.
After one season playing in the Canadian Football League, he embarked on a coaching career, starting at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, Calif. He joined his father, Dick, on his USFL Portland Breakers staff as a wide receivers coach for three seasons (1983-85), then was an assistant coach at the University ofĀ Pittsburgh for three years.
He returned to the Northwest following changes in the Panthersā coaching staff in 1989, then returned to the sidelines with his first head coaching gig.
āI told them I loved themā: Coury established a program tenet from Day 1
Coury took over the Lake Oswego program in the summer of 1992 following the sudden resignation of Gery Weber, who the previous season had led the Lakers to just their second semifinal appearance in school history.
Weberās resignation due to an administrative conflict was part of a tumultuous offseason, but according to a 2002 story in The Oregonian, Coury settled things down at his first meeting with the players.
āThe players had been told by everyone that they didn’t have any talent,ā Dick Curtis, the school athletic director at the time, recalled to the newspaper. āThat very first meeting, Steve looked at everyone and said that he didn’t care what anyone thought, the team was going to have success. Then he told them he loved them.
āI donāt think any of the players had ever been told by a coach that he loved them. That was the start. That set the tone for everything.ā
In that same article, Coury explained why he said what he did.
āI really wanted to relay to everyone that I was going to build something to be proud of,ā Coury said. āWe were going to do it right. We were going to love and believe in each other no matter what happened. I told them I loved them and together we were going to get things done.ā
Lakers have missed playoffs only three times during Couryās 35 seasons
The Lakers went 5-4 in Couryās first season, including their first win over crosstown rival Lakeridge in 13 years. They returned to the playoffs the following year, made it back to the semifinals by 2001 and advanced to their first title game the next year, falling to Sheldon 31-24.
Finally, in 2011, Coury delivered the school its first football championship, going 14-0 and defeating Sheldon 47-14 in the final. The Lakers also won titles in 2018 and again last year, routing Central Catholic 35-6.
During Couryās tenure, theyāve finished below .500 only once ā in 2013, when they went 5-7 yet still reached the second round of the 6A playoffs. Lake Oswego has advanced to the postseason every year since 1999, missing the playoffs only three times during his 35 years at the school.
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