MaxPreps Oregon Team of the Week: Taft football

It's no magical formula, said Taft (Lincoln City) football coach James Mick. It's 50 players coming together. Simple.

The Tigers' 4-0 start would seem to have been derived from some magical formula, considering the most wins the program had produced in a season since 2004 was three. Coming off a 2-7 season, the Tigers went 17-75 from 2004-2013.

But Taft has already surpassed its top season win total and scored at least 50 points in three of the four games.

That's why the Tigers are the MaxPreps Oregon Team of the Week, presented by the Oregon National Guard.

"This team has come together on common goals," Mick said. "Goal one is to work as a team. This means we help to sustain each other in all facets of life. Whether it be on the field or in the classroom these players back each other. It has made them a strong and confident group. Challenges are much more easily surmounted when you have 50 teammates backing you."

And it's much easier when you're scoring 50 points a game, including a 55-34 win over Horizon Christian last week.

They've also had wins of 50-2 over Colton to start the season, followed by a 54-0 win over Toledo.

"Our main goal is to play fast," Mick said. "We play using our instincts and we don't second-guess ourselves. We want all our actions to be second nature so we can perform without having to think."

Evidently, Pete Lahti hasn't been thinking much — just playing. The senior quarterback has completed 98 of 144 passes for 1,225 yards and 18 touchdowns. He's thrown just one interception. He has a quarterback rating of 130.8.

"Pete is the ignition to this team's engine," Mick said. "He makes all the reads and checks. Pete is a very smart young man that has put hours and hours into learning our offense and its nuances. He is also an amazing, athletically gifted young man."

He spreads the ball around beautifully as five players have 10 or more catches, led by junior Rylan Fisher (31 catches, 482 yards, 7 TDs).

Fisher is followed by junior Alroy Zacarias (22-350-4), while Tyler Fisher and Bai Stecher both have three TD grabs and both are juniors as well. Another junior, Trent Daniels leads the team with 292 rushing yards and two scores. Lahti has also rushed for five scores.

"Playing fast also allows us to open up the field," Mick said. "We found early on that we were big enough to line up with anybody and knock them around so we open up the field. Playing fast for us on offense means we want to be the most exciting team on the field every game. On defense we strive to play fast to the ball as a unit."

MaxPreps staff writer Kirstin Beal contributed to this report.