FORKS — Braden Decker had a few college options.
Should the Forks standout play basketball or football, and at which school?
He chose to play football, and will do so at Division III Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma.
Two other Spartans will also play college football next season.
Shane WhiteEagle, who missed the 2012 football season with a knee injury, will play at Santa Barbara City College, and Mark Jacobson at Pacific University.
Choosing football over basketball wasn’t easy, but Decker’s reasoning was simple.
“I like it way more,” he said.
“[Pacific Lutheran] is close to home, and it’s a good program.”
The Lutes were ranked 17th in the final 2012 Division III football poll, and made an appearance in the Division III playoffs.
During his senior season at Forks, Decker was named All-SWL-Evergreen Division First Team defensive lineman (for the second consecutive season) and honorable mention as a quarterback.
He also is a two-time Peninsula Daily News All-Peninsula honoree at defensive line.
For the Lutes, he will return to his preferred position, tight end. As a junior, Decker received all-league second-team recognition at tight end.
“I’m way more comfortable [at tight end],” Decker said.
“I’ve done that longer; I was kind of pushed into [playing quarterback] last year — I was stepping in for the team.”
Decker also is fine leaving the defensive line behind, preferring to chase six points rather than quarterbacks.
“I like scoring touchdowns,” he said.
The Lutes return one of the top tight ends in the Northwest Conference in Lucas Sontra, but beyond that, they are thin at the position.
“It’s looking like it’s going to be a real good opportunity for [Decker],” Forks football coach Mark Feasel said.
“He has a possible [Division III] All-American in front of him, but Braden has a real strong chance to step right in and back him up.”
Feasel said that the Pacific Lutheran coaching staff is “real high” on Decker, and believes his combination of size (6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, though Decker wants to add 15 more pounds) and athleticism makes him a good fit at tight end.
In their spread offense, the Lutes often lineup their tight end in the slot, so their tight ends have many opportunities to catch passes.
As a tight end, Feasel said Decker “runs tight routes and catches everything.”
Although he chose football, Decker hasn’t ruled out also playing basketball for the Lutes.
“I’ll see how the football season goes, and see if I have time,” he said, noting that the overlapping seasons could make playing both sports difficult.
At Forks, Decker was just as decorated on the hardwood as he was the gridiron.
He earned the SWL-Evergreen Division MVP and PDN All-Peninsula co-MVP as a junior in 2011-12, and was all-league first team and All-Peninsula this year.
Jacobson a Boxer
At Pacific University, a Division III school in Forest Grove, Ore., Jacobson is expected to play defensive end.
Like Decker, Jacobson will be competing in the Northwest Conference.
But the Boxers don’t have the history of Pacific Lutheran.
Next season will be Pacific’s fourth year with a football program. In 2012, the Boxers finished fifth in the conference.
Jacobson was All-SWL-Evergreen Division Second Team as a linebacker, tight end and punter last year. He was also on the All-Peninsula defensive team.
Feasel said defensive line will be a great fit for Jacobson.
“He was a force; he was the most feared defender in the league,” Feasel said.
“That kid can hit.”
Two sports
WhiteEagle, meanwhile, will head to Southern California to compete in football and track and field at Santa Barbara City College, a two-year school in the Western States Conference.
WhiteEagle, a first-team All-SWL-Evergreen and All-Peninsula running back as a junior, missed his entire senior football season after sustaining a knee injury at summer football camp at Linfield College in Oregon.
He healed in time for the track and field season in the spring, but only ran the sprints once.
“He definitely wants to play football,” Feasel said.
“That was the whole goal this season. We had a good conversation about trying to lay up on the running [during the track season].”
Instead of running, WhiteEagle turned his attention to the shot put and discus, and posted the second- and third-best marks, respectively, on the North Olympic Peninsula in the two events.
And the one time he did run, he recorded the fourth-best 100-meter dash time in the Peninsula.
Raben, Williams also college-bound
Forks has two other athletes moving on to play sports at the college level.
Jillian Raben, a All-SWL Evergreen first-team pitcher this year, will play softball at Shoreline Community College.
Casey Williams will play volleyball at Pierce College in Puyallup. Williams was the SWL-Evergreen volleyball MVP.
New football coach
Forks will have a new assistant football coach in 2013: Joey Tivnan, who will serve as the Spartans’ offensive line coach.
Tivnan is a 2012 graduate of Central Washington University, where he was a four-year starting center.
He also was an Academic All-American. He will teach math at Forks.
“He graduated in the top six percent of his class, and he’s a math guy,” Feasel said with a tone of amazement.
Tivnan, who played at Centralia High School, hasn’t moved to Forks yet, but he has already spent some time working with the Forks players.
“He’s extremely kid-oriented,” Feasel said.
“The kids already like him.”
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Sports reporter Lee Horton can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
