Expect to see the Redmond Panthers go to the air a bit more in the 2017 football season.

The Panthers reached the Class 5A state quarterfinals the last two seasons behind a strong running game. Running back Derek Brown ran for more than 2,500 yards in 2015, while a more balanced attack last season netted more than 3,500 rushing yards.

But three first-team, all-league offensive linemen have graduated, along with Matt Allen, who will play long-snapper at Washington State University. Other key players in the rushing attack, including three-year starting quarterback Bunker Parrish and running back Cooger Smith, have also moved on.

New head coach Gene Dales says the cupboard is far from bare, but the Panthers will have to work around their offensive line. That means relying more on perimeter players, including receivers.

“I’ve always been a proponent of passing the football, so we’re going to be passing the football more,” Dales said.

The players look forward to seeing the ball thrown more.

“I think it will be good for us,” said slot receiver Colton Mortenson, who made second-team, all-Special District 1 at defensive back in 2016. “A lot of our guys are much quicker. We have a lot of good backs and a lot of good athleticism on the team.”

Dales took over for former coach Nathan Stanley — he was previously defensive coordinator — after Stanley left Redmond after five seasons to become athletic director at Cleveland High School in Portland.

Dales got a chance to check out his new team at last week’s High Desert Football League Team Camp, which the Panthers played host to. Teams from Ridgeview, Crook County, Aloha, North Salem and St. Paul made the trip, with out-of-town teams staying in tents around the Redmond campus.

The camp gave teams a chance to practice twice a day, plus play seven-on-seven games in the evening. Dales viewed the camp from a motorized scooter because of recent surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon.

It also gave Dales a chance to look at possible quarterbacks for 2017. He said Tim Kent, a 6-foot-2-inch sophomore, is among the contenders. He is also looking at using players like Mortenson, Jack Taylor and Kamau Troutman, who previously played running back, under center.

Troutman is the brother of Alani Troutman, a former star in football and track for Redmond.

“He’s very athletic, just like his brother,” Dales said of Kamau Troutman.

Dales and wife, Jackie, moved to Redmond after a 40-year coaching career with the intent of retiring. But he was impressed by the community and school, so he returned as an assistant coach four years ago.

After the head coaching job came open, Dales said he was ready for another go at the top.

“I’ve just got enough energy in the tank,” he said. “It was something I wanted to do.”

In 2012, Dales left his job as coach at Eastlake High, near Seattle, at 57 because of personal and family issues after eight years at the school. At the time, Dales’ teams in Washington, Oregon and Arizona had made the playoffs in 23 of the previous 27 years, including appearances in three state championship games.

Dales grew up in Tacoma, Washington, and was a three-year starter at linebacker for Oregon State University.

He would like to see football gain popularity in Redmond.

“We’ve got a little different community in Redmond — it’s a good community, but a little different than some of the bigger schools,” he said. “I want to see these grandstands full. I want the community out supporting our team. I want a competitive team on the field that plays hard every down.”

Getting those results will require building a more “everyday” work ethic for the Panthers, Dales said.

The players don’t see Dales as a major change, since he was with the team last season, though they are adjusting to some new assistant coaches.

“We also have a young team,” Mortenson said. “We lost quite a few guys last year, but it’s nothing we can’t overcome.”

Also back is senior Jack Taylor, who ran for 1,034 yards last season and scored 14 touchdowns. He capped the season with 224 yards in the Panther’s 42-36 quarterfinal loss at Central.

Taylor looks for another big season for Redmond in 2017.

“I think once we get it all worked out and put everything together, we should do pretty well,” he said.

The 2017 campaign is expected to be Redmond and Ridgeview’s final season in the same league with the much larger Bend schools. Dales looks forward to having the Panthers in a league with teams closer to them in enrollment, but still feels his team will compete for the playoffs this year.

Dales expects to be at the helm of the Panthers in 2018 and beyond.

“As long as I’m having fun, continuing to build the program and helping the kids, I’ll do it for a long, long time,” he said.

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, gfolsom@redmondspokesman.com