Making a move in the right direction

Ryan Gorton did it all for the Tigard High School football,

By Dan Brood

The Times, Jul 3, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

JAIME VALDEZ / The Times

TOP TIGER — Ryan Gorton, a 2008 Tigard High School graduate, had a big senior year at Tigard High School.

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TIGARD — Following his freshman year in high school, Ryan Gorton wasn’t very happy.

That’s because, back in the summer of 2005, Gorton and his family moved to Tigard from Longview, Wash., where he attended Mark Morris High School.

“That was tough,” Gorton said, looking back on the summer between his freshman and sophomore years. “It was tough for a long time. It wasn’t until basketball season when I was a sophomore that I felt OK. It was like a whole new life — but sports helped a lot.”

The story turned out to have a happy ending. There were plenty of new friends, plenty of special memories made and, oh yeah, there were a heck of a lot of success and amazing performances on the football field, basketball court and baseball diamond.

“Moving turned out to be a good thing,” Gorton said. “I learned a lot of things about life here in Tigard. I have a lot of special memories.”

There’s also Gorton’s amazing high school athletic career, capped off by a spectacular senior year. As a senior at Tigard, Gorton was a standout football, basketball and baseball player, earning all-star accolades in all three sports.

He capped off the year by helping lead the Tigard baseball team to the Class 6A state championship game.

Gorton also has yet another achievement as he is The Times’ Athlete of the Year from Tigard High School for the 2007-2008 school year.

The honor is given annually to the top senior-class athlete, as seen by The Times, from Tigard High School.

And while Gorton’s athletic achievements as a senior are certainly remarkable, there are other aspects that make him special.

“What I tell people is that while he’s an amazing athlete, he’s even more special as a person,” Tigard High School boys basketball coach Shawn Alderman said of Gorton. “He’s got a great personality, he’s a great leader, he treats everyone the same and he’s got no ego whatsoever. He’s just a wonderful kid.”

That wonderful kid’s super senior year started off with a hard-hitting performance on the gridiron for the Tiger football team last fall.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Gorton made the switch from quarterback, where he started as a junior, to wingback on offense.

“I didn’t mind the move,” Gorton said. “Whatever coach thinks is best is fine with me, and it was fun blocking for Scott (Grady).”

Meanwhile, Gorton was one of the leaders on the Tigard defense, providing big play after big play, and big hit after big hit, from his safety position — earning first-team All-Pacific Conference honors on defense.

It was on defense where, as a junior, Gorton had one of his biggest moments as he came up with a victory-clinching interception in a win over rival Tualatin.

“We all had so much adrenaline for that game,” Gorton said. “All of the games against Tualatin in every sport were so much fun.”

That was just part of what made football special for Gorton.

“I have a lot of good memories from football,” he said. “The coaches, the players, time in the locker room. We had awesome leadership from guys like Seth (Rose) and Eric (Chesnutis). We had a special senior class — that was pretty cool.”

During basketball season, Gorton certainly seemed to be the main man for the Tigers. On defense, his job was to shut down the opponent’s top offensive player.

“I take a lot of pride in defense,” Gorton said. “I don’t want to let my guy get a shot off. If you’re doing a good job on defense, then, late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter, you can see by their body language that they’re getting frustrated. That’s a good feeling.”

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