As a reporter at KPIC Television in Roseburg I get to occasionally take the video set-up out to do a report on a local sports team. When visiting the Sutherlin football team a day prior to their second-round playoff game against ninth-ranked Scappoose, I couldn't help but notice the laid back feeling of the players and coaches. Sure, it's the day before the game and those days are normally light practice days, but this is a team that has built a strong chemistry within thanks to the laid back style of its unique coaching staff, led by not one, but two head coaches.

That mood is clearly evident as I walked out on to the soggy, muddy SHS football field Thursday evening to conduct a few interviews under the lights. As the players did their stretching, I walked out to the group of coaches. Assistant coach Josh Riley jokingly yelled something at me as I walked out and the inevitable happened: Which head coach would do the interview?

"Can Larry (Gurule, the other head coach) do this one, Jason?" Coach Gary asked. "I did the one yesterday and he's dressed better for TV."

After some blank stares and bantering, coach Gary finally conceded to the interview, asking me to shoot from the waist up. The other coaches chuckled and quickly found other meaningful things to do, probably to stay away from the camera. The coach and I walked over to the nearest goal post to do the interview.

"You look beautiful, baby," one of the players shouted through the misty field at his coach as Gary settled in for the interview.

"Shut up," Coach Gary shouted back with a smile. This is the laid back, fun style that has helped the Bulldogs go from worst to a tie for first in the Far West League this year and a 6-4 overall record heading into the second-round playoff game at Scappoose. Also helping to set that loose tone along with Gary, Gurule, and Riley are assistant coaches Isaac Bright, Kurt Sorensen and Brian Vaugh.

I interviewed coach Gary to get his thougts about the big game along with Senior fullback Ricky Bodenschatz and junior quarterback Dane Gilman.

Jason Hink: Tell me a little about your opponent. What are the Scappoose Indians all about this season?

Josh Gary: Scappose runs a west coast offense and they're tough. Three out of the last seven years they have won the state championship, three in a row. They're obviously the 'upperdog' ... I guess we're the underdog. We have to play well to beat them, obviously. We've worked on lots of pass coverage this week. They throw the ball 90% of the time, so those are things we've been working on.

Ricky Bodenschatz: We've been running their offense on scout offense. Our offense is running against their 'd'. We've been just going against some of the formations and shifting they do.

Jason Hink: This is the first time Sutherlin has ever been to the second round in football. What is the feeling among the players and coaches about all the excitemnt you are finding yourself caught up in?

Josh Gary: We're excited. I've been very happy. Practice has been really good. Normally after a big win like that you can get practice to slow down but the kids have just ben great ... they're working very hard and I appreciate that.

Ricky Bodenschatz: The excitement is huge. We've never made it this far in the four years I've been here. This is the first year we've ever made it to this round of the playoffs so the excitement is huge. We're ready to play and hopefully come out with a win.

Jason Hink: What do you have to do to win this game? What will the Indians bring to the field?

Dane Gilman: We've been watching film a lot. They mix up their man and zone quite a bit. We've watched and we know when they blitz. I have to pick that up. I have to know when they're blitzing so I can get rid of the ball quick. So, really I have to watch their DBs so we can have a successful passing game, because we're going to need it Friday night.

Ricky Bodenschatz: They like to throw, run and shoot. They're real good at that and we're just really going to try to stop that.

Dane Gilman: We've mainly been trying some defenses to stop the quads, the four and five receivers and the trips. They pass a lot so we have to stop that pass. We're pretty confident with our run defense so we've been working on the pass quite a bit.

Jason Hink: Scappoose has a rich football tradition. What do you think your chances are against this year's Indians, the ninth-ranked team in the state?

Josh Gary: We have no injuries. Everyone is healthy. Everybody feels good and is ready to play. We expect to play with them. They're a good ball club, but we've looked pretty good the last six or seven weeks. We started out slow at 1-3 and we've really bounced back from a tough preseason so I think we can play with them.

Dane Gilman: Practice all week has been great. Everyone has been intense. Everyone is ready for Friday night. We haven't been this far ever. Everyone wants to make the town of Sutherlin proud so we're ready for them.