12/19/2012 football Edit

Grant Schroeder A True Talent

Dirk Knudsen

OregonPreps.com Editor

Grant Schroeder Mans Up At Bowl Game

byDirk Knudsen| Posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2012

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Grant Schroeder is a 4.0 Student, An All League and All State Athlete, and proved he can play at any level.

Santiam Christian is a very successful school academically and athletically. And fans and coaches that follow 3 A football know who Grant Schroeder is. They have known ever since he entered the State Championship game as a 10th grader and three 3 Td’s in the Second half in 2010 against a tough Dayton squad.

This weekend at Lewis and Clark Grant got a chance to play in the Academic All American Bowl as one of the 3 QB’s on team Oregon. Playing in rotation and alongside top rated 6 A QB’s Justen Ruppe (Lake Osweg0) and Sam Riddle (Century) Grant got had his chance to shine with some of the best players in the State of Oregon.

And he looked very convincing in doing so. The bowl game format allowed all these guys to go up against an All Star Team from Hawaii. The Santiam Christian gunslinger completed several passes and was on target as much as anyone.

Several of the small college coaches at the game were clearly wanting to know more about this guy. And so were we. So we caught up to him and asked him about the experience.

“It was a great event. For me I got to see some of the top guys in the region. It was a lot of fun and Sam Riddle and Justen Ruppe and I all got to be really good friends,” offered Schroeder.

He is 5’11″- and 175 pounds. He showcased accuracy and the ability to read at the same level as the other QB’s and hooked up with as many or more of some of Oregon’s best Wide Receivers in a game that went to the wire with Oregon loosing to Hawaii 27-25.

“That was a tough loss but it was a bowl game and we were all playing one more time and thankful for that. I think it was well run and very well Coached. We are so thankful to have a guy like Chris Budke work with us. IN the cold weather and rain we all just had a blast,” said Grant saying he is going to remember this one for a long time.

The First Team All League and All State QB in 2011 and 2012 certainly left his mark on the 3A ranks. Here is a look at some of his Stats over these past two seasons:

2011 2012

Yards Passing 2978 2848

TD’s Passing 35 37

Yards Rushing 546 748

Rushing TD’s 8 12

WOW!! That is 92 TD’s and over 7,000 yards of offense he generated at Santiam Christian. He will be sorely missed there. The three sport athlete really can stand out regardless of what level he plays at. And after his performance Saturday it appears he is going to be ready to move on.

Is anyone speaking to him about College?

“Yes I am really pretty close to Lewis and Clark and am looking at their program and academic offerings. There are some other schools in the mix for sure but I will likely move on and play at one of the smaller D3 Academic schools as long as they have the degree programs I am looking for.”

So Lewis and Clark and other likeWillametteand Linfield have Academic barriers to entry. Can he make it in?

“Well I have a perfect 4.0 GPA so it should not be a problem. I work really hard in school.”

After the game Grant reflected on how nice it was to meet and play with some of the other guys like WR Cody Oden from West Salem and Jerred White from Dayton.

“Well this gave me a look at what football will be like in college where everyone is going to be really good. That was the best thing that came out of the event was I can now see I can compete and play really well when there are a whole lot of very good players on the field. I am more excited then ever to get back out there.”

The State Champ from 2011 says his accuracy, his ability to read defenses, and his Football IQ are the best skills he can offer.

“That and I can run when I need to and get the yards and the points too,” he said.

This young man has a little ways to go to figure out what College is going to be for him but the Academic All American Game was a real boost to his confidence.

“You know when your a smaller school guy that your going to get overlooked. You take the good with the bad. This game just lets me know that I am able to play with the very best and that I can play with them in college too.”

Congrats to Grant Schroeder of Santiam Christian on the things he is accomplishing and his great performance at the Bowl Game this past weekend.

See More Info On Grant here and catch some of his film too.

TAGSGrant Schroeder Santiam Christian

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About the AuthorDirk Knudsen

Dirk is a lifelong resident of the Pacific NW; athlete and Merit scholar. He runs camps, clinics, and has been a sports writer and analyst for nearly a decade now; mostly with Rivals.com as the editor of OregonPreps and WashingtonPreps.com. Dirk is the founder of NWPR & BrainChampions.org; a charity for injured athletes suffering from Brain Trauma / Concussion. He is a father of three and married.