Coldren expands athletic horizons.

Byline: CURTIS ANDERSON The Register-Guard

Ryan Coldren shuffles into the training room at Marist High School, plops his overstuffed backpack onto a table, rolls up his baggy blue jeans and kicks off his right tennis shoe.

He's early for an ice whirlpool treatment for a sore ankle.

And he has company.

A television reporter is waiting outside for a few minutes of air time with the 6-foot-7, 196-pound Coldren, who arrived at Marist two years ago as a freshman phenom on the basketball court and has emerged this season as a quality quarterback for the undefeated and second-ranked Spartans (10-0).

`When I came to Marist, I wasn't that big on football,' Coldren said. `I was known more for basketball. Now, it's like, `Oh, you play football, too.' '

Yeah ... he plays football, too.

In fact, the lanky, bushy-haired junior is coming off what he calls his best game of the season, a 36-14 demolition of visiting South Umpqua on Friday night in the second round of the Class 3A state playoffs.

Coldren completed 11-of-19 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns against the Lancers. He also picked up 31 yards rushing in five carries, scored on a quarterback sneak and caught his first pass of the year, even though it was a trick play doomed by a missed block that lost 10 yards.

`I'm a lot more patient than I was at the start of the season,' Coldren said. `The first couple of games, I wanted to make the big play right away. I tried to force things a bit. Now, I know if I wait, the big plays will open up.'

The Sky-Em League champions were grateful for Coldren's breakout performance.

Marist went into the South Umpqua game without the services of junior tailback Dale Morris, the team's leading rusher (1,058 yards in 130 carries), who was suspended for academic reasons.

Morris will be back in the lineup Saturday when the Spartans play host to Sisters (10-1) at 7 p.m., the third time in the past five years those two teams have met in the state quarterfinals.

`When somebody like Dale goes out, we miss him,' Coldren said. `But Pat Brown stepped in and did a really good job. He started for us last year. We lost a lot without Dale's speed, but Pat would be starting on a lot of teams.'

And so it goes at Marist this year.

The Spartans have met every challenge. They were the preseason favorites in one of the toughest 3A leagues in the state and backed it up. They scored 27 straight points in the second half to rally past Junction City, and with the game on the line, they delivered a clutch, time-consuming drive late in the fourth quarter to edge Pleasant Hill and clinch the league title.

Coldren's steady improvement has been a key component to Marist's success.

`It's been interesting to watch Ryan grow and mature as a quarterback and a leader on this team,' Marist coach Mike Allison said. `He seems to have gained confidence each week ... he's made better decisions as the season has gone on. Instead of picking out just one target, he's learned to look at everybody and spread the ball around.'

Given his athletic genes, Coldren's emergence shouldn't be too surprising.

His father, Bruce, was one of the original `Kamikaze Kids' under former Oregon coach Dick Harter after a stellar prep career at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, Calif. His mother, Karen, was a swimmer in high school.

Bruce Coldren was a four-year letterman for the Ducks (1972-76), and he was a starter on the team that beat top-ranked UCLA at Mac Court in 1974, a victory that gained national attention when UO teammate Gerald Willett was featured on Sports Illustrated's famous `Lost Weekend' cover. Coldren knocked down 12-of-14 shots in that game to lead the Ducks with 24 points.

Ryan's older sister Jamie helped Marist win three state titles in basketball (1996, '97 and '99) and one in volleyball (1998). She also was chosen as the 3A player of the year in both sports after her senior season. She went on to play basketball at the University of Idaho.

The Coldrens live in Fall Creek, a small town outside of Lowell. Bruce Coldren is a longtime coach in the area, and he has been the athletic director at Lowell High School for the past 24 years.

Both Jamie and Ryan attended kindergarten through eighth grade in Lowell before enrolling at Marist.

The elder Coldren, who stands 6-8, is glad that Ryan has chosen to play multiple sports.

`I don't like to see kids go to one sport. I think they need to be well-rounded ... football will help Ryan be a better basketball player and vice versa,' he said. `Ryan is pretty level-headed, and he knows the games. He grew up playing every sport.'

In just two seasons of high school basketball, Ryan Coldren has demonstrated his enormous potential. Marist basketball coach Corey Anderson said Oregon, Oregon State, Portland and San Diego are already hot on the recruiting trail.

As a freshman, Coldren played limited minutes on Marist's 2001 state championship team.

Last year, he blossomed into a second-team all-league choice and averaged 13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks at the 3A state tournament as the Spartans placed seventh overall.

`From what I've seen, Ryan should have his pick of colleges that want him for either football or basketball,' Allison said. `At what level, we don't know yet. But he's talented in both sports, and he works hard at both.'

Just don't ask him to choose.

`Right now, I love both sports,' said the 16-year-old Coldren, who also sports a 3.40 grade-point average.

He laughs when asked about the future. There are simply too many games to be played before any decisions can be made, starting Saturday at Marist High School.

CAPTION(S):

Ryan Coldren threw for 226 yards last week as Marist earned a spot in the Class 3A state football playoff semifinals. "I'm a lot more patient than I was at the start of the season." - RYAN COLDREN, Marist quarterback