Class of 2026

For the first time in six years, The Madras High School Athletic Hall of Fame will have seven new inductees. The list includes: 

• Merlin Rodman
• Fran Moses Ahern
• Steve Rogers
• Darrell Ceciliani
• Dave Randle
• Dallas Stovall
• 1970 Boys Basketball Team

Merlin Rodman

MHS Class of 1948

• Football - Dynamic touchdown-making running back. Led the Buffalos to their first Class B state football playoffs his senior year.
• Basketball - Member of the 1948 Class B state basketball tournament qualifying team.
• Track - State champion in 1948 in the 100-yard dash, 220-yard dash and long jump, all with state record marks.

Merlin Rodman came to Madras Union High School as a junior, but he left as one of the best pure athletes the school had ever had to that point. Post World War II, amid a rush of growth in the county, the school made a commitment to athletics under newly hired Joe Piedmont. New uniforms were bought for every sport, the football field behind the high school was resodded and rechristened Kelley Field in honor of a student who had passed the previous December, Bill Kelley. In the first game on the newly named field, Rodman scored three touchdowns, including a 70-yard scamper, and led Madras to a 20-10 win over Lakeview. The week prior he scored three TDs in a 19-18 win over Burns. Merlin scored every touchdown during the team’s 3-0 start. Week four the Buffalos tied Crook County 7-7, with Merlin again scoring the Buffs’ touchdown. He reached paydirt several more times in big wins over Moro (34-12) and Maupin (44-0). Madras lost its last game of the regular season to Redmond 36-6 but Madras qualified for the Class B state football playoffs for the first time in school history. They faced post-war small-school powerhouse Henley and lost 27-13. In the winter of 1947-48, Merlin was a senior leader on the basketball team, which also made the Class B state tournament. In track, Merlin was legendary, dominating several meets during the season, then winning the state championship in three events — the 100-yard dash, the 220-yard dash, and the long jump — setting new state records in all three events.

Darrell Ceciliani

MHS Class of 2008

• Baseball - Four-year letterman. All-league as a sophomore, junior and senior, and all-state as a junior and senior. Team made state playoffs his sophomore seasons. MVP of the state baseball all-star game following senior season.
• Football - Three-year letterman.
• Basketball - Three-year letterman, third-team all-league as a senior. Twice his teams made the state playoffs.
• Post Secondary - Baseball standout at Columbia Basin Community College. Drafted by the New York Mets, the highest drafted Oregonian of that year. Made stops at every classification of the minors before reaching the Major Leagues with the Mets in 2015.

Darrell Ceciliani was a fiery football, basketball and baseball player at MHS who earned 10 varsity letters. Darrell excelled as a baseball player, helping the Buffalo baseball squad make the state playoffs in 2007. He was the MVP in the state senior all-star game. Darrell played one season at Columbia Basin Community College, earning all-American status, and was drafted in the fourth-round of the Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets. A highlight of his Minor League run was his 2010 season with the Brooklyn Cyclones, when he hit .351 with a .410 on-base percentage, a .531 slugging percentage, 12 triples, 21 stolen bases and 56 runs scored in 68 games. He led the New York–Penn League in batting average, runs and hits (95). His batting average, hit total, run total and triples set team records. Darrell first reached the Majors when called up by the Mets in 2015. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays after the season and played with the Jays for parts of the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Throughout most of his professional career, he battled injuries. Darrell has volunteered as a coach at MHS and has given private instructions. His career is immortalized with his name and number on the MHS outfield fence.

Fran Moses Ahern

MHS Class of 1977

• Basketball - MVP and leading scorer on the 1975-76 team that went 16-3. The 1976-77 team only lost one game and won the state championship. Fran was second team all-state tournament team.
• Volleyball - Started as a junior on the 1975 team that won the district tournament and finished third at state. Named first-team all-tournament in both the district and state tournaments. As senior, made the 1976 district all-tournament team where the team finished third.
• Softball - Wasn’t offered when Fran was in school but she was hired to coach the school’s initial softball season in 1984.
• Post Secondary - Started for Mt. Hood Community College in both volleyball and basketball; transferred to Washington State University where she lettered in basketball.

Fran was one of the centerpieces of the White Buffalos’ strong basketball and volleyball programs of the mid-1970s, when girls’ sports were still in its relative
infancy post Title IX. Her teams’ overall record in basketball her junior and senior years was 38-4, winning the state title in 1977. The 1975 volleyball season was one of the best in school history. Fran earned all-tournament honors while leading the team to a district championship and a third-place finish at the state tournament. During one crucial game at state, she served eight consecutive aces. Fran went to Mt. Hood Community College and was a starter on both the volleyball and basketball teams. After one year she transferred to Washington State University and focused on basketball. She earned her varsity letter and was a named plaintiff in a successful Title IX lawsuit against the university that resulted in significant improvements for women’s sports at WSU. As an adult, Fran participated in many native tournaments and won a basketball national championship in Oklahoma in 1987. Working as the recreation director for Warm Springs and then Kah-Nee- Ta, Fran passed on her love for sports to hundreds of youths.

Dave Randle

MHS Teacher and Coach 1964-1994

• 25-year career as a track and cross-country coach at Madras High School. Three cross country boys state championships and 18 district titles in boys track and cross-country.
• Five-time AA cross-country coach of the year; AA all-sports coach of the year in 1985.
• National High School Athletics Coaches Association Region 7 Lifetime Achievement award for track.

A football and track and field athlete at Lewis and Clark College, Dave Randle came to Madras in 1964 to teach physical education and health. Initially teaching at the junior high, Dave eventually taught and coached at MHS, both track and field and cross-country, leading both programs to league dominance. From 1979 through 1990, Dave’s boys cross-country team won 10 district championships (including nine in a row) and three consecutive state championships, from 1982-1984. From 1981 through 1993, the Buffalo boys track and field team won eight league district championships. Twice the Buffalo boys finished second at the AA state track and field championships. Dave was voted the AA cross country Coach of the Year after each of his squad’s state titles, plus two more times earned coach of the year honors. In 1985, he became the first MHS coach to win the AA all sports Coach of the Year from the Oregon Athletic Coaches Association. In honor of his stellar career as a track and field coach, Dave earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Region 7.

Dave was famous for his sense of humor, often ducking mid-conversation as if an errant javelin was heading his way, or unleashing his famous dog-bark to startle someone. Dave was also a highly respected high school basketball official, outdoorsman and a longtime Deschutes River guide.

Steve Rogers

MHS Class of 1981

• Football - Three year letterman. As junior, first all-league defensive end, second team all-league running back; rushed for 1,028 yards. As senior, first team all-league running back, first team all league defensive end; rushed for 1,325 Team MVP. Shrine Game starter on both offense and defense.
• Track - As junior and senior, was lead short sprinter on the team that finished second in district both seasons; member of school record-setting 4x400 relay team that finished second in state.
• Basketball - Two year letterman (1980, 1981) and honorable mention all-league as senior.
• Baseball - Varsity letter as sophomore (1979)
• Post Secondary - Played football at Portland State University.

A four-sport, eight-time varsity letterman during his prep career, Steve is recognized as one of the school’s best-ever football players. A dominating force on both offense and defense, Steve rushed for what was considered a school record 1,028 yards as a junior, earning second-team all league as a running back while earning first-team all-league defensive end. His senior year, he led a resurgent team to a 6-3 overall record, smashed his rushing yards with 1,325 yards, and continued
as a dominant defensive force, being a two-way first team all-leaguer. In 1981, he became the first Buffalo player since 1972 to play in the Shrine Game, where he intercepted two passes, returning them for 22 and 52 yards, and also rushed for a TD.

Steve also played varsity baseball as a sophomore and varsity basketball as a junior and senior, earning all-league honorable mention as senior in basketball. A track athlete his junior and senior seasons, Steve ran sprints and also ran legs on school-record-setting 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams, both years finishing second at state in the 4x400. Their 1981 4x400 relay mark remains the school record. Steve earned a football scholarship to Portland State University, where he played
running back for the Vikings.

Dallas Stovall

MHS Class of 1975

• Football - Four-year varsity letterman; Most Inspirational and Most Valuable Player as senior.
• Baseball - Three-year varsity letterman. Key member of teams that twice made the state playoffs. Senior year team swept Vale in district to make state. In quarterfinals, lost to eventual state champion Stayton. Players voted entire team as most valuable.
• Post Secondary - Began coaching in the Jefferson County Little League program in 1988. Coached Jefferson County’s Senior League All-Star team to the state championship in 1998. Lost Regional championship to Hawaii. In 1972, Dallas played on Jefferson County Senior League All-Stars state championship team.

Contributions to MHS Athletics -

• As CEO of family-owned Bright Wood Corp., Dallas for years regularly donated tickets to Moda Center events to be raffled off at fundraisers, helping support athletic and other MHS programs through community engagement.
• Donated fencing material for the MHS baseball outfield fence during the renovation of the baseball field.
• Bright Wood installed a batting cage on their property, providing year-round practice opportunities for baseball players and enhancing training resources.
• Provided helmets to the football team, supporting player safety and ensuring the team was properly equipped.
• Consistent supporter of the Madras Buff Boosters.

Bright Wood’s contributions were always made quietly and often without public recognition.

“With a successful high school athletic career, I personally felt the essential life skills that came with team sports. Coaching with discipline, leadership, and positive feedback, I was able to influence and pass on valuable lessons both on and off the field. Supporting the athletic department was a way to enable as many kids as possible to experience the positive outcomes of participating in athletics. I am most proud of the opportunity that Bright Wood and our family have had to enhance the lives of students in our schools. They are our community’s future.”

- Dallas Stovall

1970 Boys Basketball Team

District & State Champions

 

The outstanding boys basketball tradition at MHS started in the 1950s but its last state championship came in 1970. Coming off a 2-17 campaign in ‘1968-69, Rogue River High School coach Fred Sandgren was lured to Madras to become the new head basketball coach. Sandgren brought with him a 6-4 multi-sport star, Ron Jones, an all-state player as a junior. Behind Jones and fellow senior starters Danny Martinez, Ken Shafer and juniors Willie Stacona and Phil Utter, the Buffalos grew into a unit in December, and after a 4-3 start, they lost just once the rest of the season.

At state they beat Myrtle Point 47-38, then dominated the second half to douse Sutherlin 82-63. Awaiting in the finals were the Knappa Loggers, who had beaten MHS in Knappa in January. It would be the last defeat the team suffered. The title game was all Madras, an 87-69 victory. Jones set a three-game tournament scoring record with 83, was first team all-state tournament, all-state and an all-American. Martinez made the all-tournament second team. The 23-4 1970 Buffalos are the last MHS boys team to win a state basketball title.