One small Oregon town, two Super Bowl Panthers

Video: Derek Anderson, David Mayo talk about playing football at Scappoose (Ore.).

Less than 7,000 folks populate the bedroom community of Scappoose (Ore.), just outside of Portland. What once homed dairies and farms is now sprinkled with factories, and is home of Oregon Aero, Inc., which supplies Aeronautic seats and helmets.

Scappoose also boasts a high school football program that plays at a high level.

Under Sean McNabb, the Indians won three straight state titles starting in his second season in 2000. Since 2004, Scappoose has won at least seven games nine times and at least nine games in four straight years.

But what puts Scappoose on the football map these days isn't the state crowns or even winning ways. It's the fact that two former players are on the Carolina Panthers, who play in Super Bowl 50 on Sunday.

Quarterback Derek Anderson, a 2001 Scappoose graduate, and linebacker David Mayo (2011), back up the Panthers' most prized possessions, All-Pros Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly. But even if they don't play in Sunday's game against the Broncos — Mayo stars on special teams — their status is cemented as celebrity in Scappoose.

"It's pretty unbelievable if you really think about it," McNabb said. "It's so hard to even get in a training camp of the NFL, let alone make the team. Two have two kids from one small little town like ours make it and then get to the Super Bowl. That's pretty good stuff."
First memory

Anderson led the Indians to a state title in 2000 — he was the Oregon State Player of the Year in football and basketball — before a stellar football career at Oregon State, which catapulted him to the NFL.

Making it to the highest level of football couldn't have been counted on, but it was not a shock either.

"He was a blue-chipper," McNabb said of Anderson. "Everyone knew he was awfully special."

The state title and Player of the Year honors certainly solidified that notion, but McNabb remembers a single play that clinched that thought two years before the honors.

In a first-round playoff game with Ontario, Scappoose trailed 21-7 on a soggy night before Anderson caught fire, leading the Indians to a 28-21 win. In the third quarter of that game Anderson was flushed out of the pocket and was running for his life before he "set his feet and launched a throw all the way down field," McNabb said. "The next day when we watched on film, he threw it 70 yards. That was my first memory of ‘wow, we have something very special.' I mean, that was pretty phenomenal. I'd never seen anyone do that. Not in high school."

No big surprise

Mayo wasn't nearly as heralded as Anderson, but was second-team All-State as a linebacker in 2010 when he also rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the Indians.

With no concrete college offers, the undersized Mayo spent one season at Santa Monica College before landing a scholarships to Texas State, where he impressed Ron Rivera and staff enough to be selected in the fifth round (169th pick) of the 2015 NFL draft.

Though Mayo was considered a longshot for the NFL, McNabb said he never put anything beyond the kid "who is impossible not to root for."

"He's a special athlete," McNabb said. "He'd never played organized basketball but went out his senior year. He not only started, but also led the team in scoring and rebounding. What an athlete."

McNabb, also a track and field coach, asked Mayo to go out. As a junior shot putter and discus thrower, Mayo was asked by McNabb to run the hurdles to pick up a few points at the district meet.

"He ran two meets, scored the points we needed then ended up qualifying for state in the hurdles," McNabb said. "An average athlete just couldn't do that sort of thing. So you add that with his character, work ethic and self-motivation and I guess it's really not a surprise he ended up where he has. Maybe to others. Not me."

MaxPreps host Zack Poff caught up with Mayo and Anderson at "Opening Night" at the Super Bowl in San Jose. Both agreed playing for McNabb was a great experience.

"I loved playing at Scappoose," Mayo said. "I came from a neighboring town just so I could play at Scappoose. It's a great place to play and coach McNabb is awesome."