Area football players headed to the next level

The Big Sky Conference is getting a taste of the Mid-Columbia with Wednesday’s signing of four football players to three schools.

Kamiakin leads the way with lineman Korbin Sorensen inking a letter of intent with Portland State, while receiver/defensive back Gavin Crow is headed to Montana.

Kennewick lineman D.J. Dyer and Hermiston defensive tackle Tre Neal will play at Eastern Washington University.

“We are really excited for the guys; they deserve it,” Kamiakin coach Scott Biglin said of his players. “It’s good to see a lot of our area guys get picked up. We have good talent here. They get overlooked a little here.”

Also signing with college programs Wednesday were Richland running back/defensive end Lakota Wills (Air Force), Liberty Christian quarterback John Lesser (Eastern Oregon University), Pasco running back Kaleb Ash (Central Washington), Pasco quarterback Kolby Killoy (Carroll College), and Richland’s Hunter Grade (OL/DL) and Brecken Galliher (TE/LB), who are going to College of Idaho.

It’s hard to miss Sorensen when he walks into a room. At 6-foot-7 and 284 pounds, he makes an entrance. A two-way player for the Braves, he was a first-team Mid-Columbia Conference lineman two years running and was first-team 3A all-state last fall.

“He is a hard worker,” Biglin said of Sorensen. “His work in the weight room and in the offseason, he just does it himself. Some kids you have to beg, but he was motivated. It paid off. He earned a scholarship for it.”

Montana State and Idaho also had eyes on Sorensen, who wants to major in business, but PSU was a good fit for him.

“I liked the coaches, and they have a top business school that will help set me up after school,” Sorensen said. “Not to mention the contacts I will meet.”

Sorensen also has family in Portland that will give him an instant fan base, and being 3 hours from home allows his parents to watch him play on a regular basis.

Though he excelled on both sides of the ball, Sorensen will concentrate his efforts at offensive tackle for the Vikings.

“It’s humble pride,” Sorensen said of being an offensive lineman. “Deep down, everyone knows the line powers the team to get the victories.”

PSU coach Bruce Barnum said he is looking forward to having Sorensen join the Vikings.

“(He’s) a very highly recruited student-athlete who committed to us late because he had a lot of choices,” Barnum said in a news release. “Our staff really showed him who we are as a program. Korbin is a great offensive lineman.”

Sorensen will follow in family footsteps playing college sports.

His uncle, Bud Bowie, played football at Oregon; his dad, Scott Peterson, played football at Nebraska; and his mom, Marie Bowie, was a pitcher on the Nebraska softball team.

Sorensen, who will graduate early, will begin classes in March at PSU.

Crow, who arrived on the scene at Kamiakin at the end of his freshman year, said Montana was an easy choice for him.

“I liked the coaches, and I had an instant connection with the other players,” said Crow, who also drew interest from Portland State, North Dakota, Eastern Washington and Wyoming.

A standout on both sides of the ball, Crow is giving up offense in favor of playing strong safety.

“I like hitting people and making big plays,” Crow said. “On defense, you get to bring your own style to the game. Better to be the hammer than the nail.”

Crow, who plans to major in business, was the MCC’s co-offensive player of the year with 781 all-purpose yards and 12 touchdowns (six rushing, six receiving). He also was a first-team defensive back.

Biglin has no worries that Crow will excel at the college level.

“He’s a kid who could pull off whatever position he wanted to play,” Biglin said. “He struggled a bit catching the ball the first couple of years, but this year, he stepped up his game. He made some special things happen when he had the ball. Then we put him in the backfield, and more good things happened. Defensively, he can play; that was never a worry.”

The 6-4, 290-pound Dyer was the MCC’s offensive lineman of the year. He also played on the defensive line, which caught the eye of Eagles coach Beau Baldwin.

“We like offensive linemen who played on both sides of the ball in high school,” Baldwin said in a news release. “We saw him in the summer at our camp, and we loved how hard he played, and his effort, attitude and his demeanor. He has great college size, but he adds great work ethic and true natural offensive line ability.”

Dyer, who will major in engineering, was a 3A all-state offensive lineman for the Lions, and was named a “White Chip” selection by The Seattle Times as one of the top 100 prospects in Washington.

Neal (6-3, 255), who transferred to Hermiston from 1A Ione before his junior year, was a 5A all-state first-team selection as a defensive lineman two years in a row, and was the Columbia River Conference defensive player of the year as a junior and senior. Over the past two years, he had 19 1/2 sacks, 33 1/3 tackles for loss, 161 total tackles, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries (one for a touchdown).

“A player with his versatility and his motor — and one who knows how to play with his hair on fire — will be a great addition to our defensive line,” Baldwin said in a news release. “He has a great work ethic and a grind, and knows how to win having played on a state championship team.”

Galliher (6-3, 210), the MCC defensive player of the year, helped the Bombers to the 2015 4A state semifinals. He also was an all-state selection.

Grade (6-3, 270) was an all-MCC first-team selection on both sides of the ball.

Ash (5-11, 190) was a second-team all-MCC selection. He ran for 964 yards — more than half of the Bulldogs’ 1,571 yards — and six touchdowns.

Killoy (6-1, 190) is a four-year letter winner for the Bulldogs. During his career, he threw for 4,025 yards and 33 touchdowns. His senior season, he threw for 665 yards and five touchdowns, and rushed for 149 yards.

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Area football players headed to the next level."