WOODLAND — By now, questions surrounding Tyler Flanagan’s transition to Woodland High School’s starting quarterback have long subsided and are replaced with various adjectives to describe the senior’s style and statistics.
Flanagan threw just two passes — both trick plays — in his high school career when asked to start at quarterback his final high school football season.
From an all-league receiver and starting safety freshman year to making the jump on offense to running back in 2017, Flanagan’s done it all at Woodland.
Well, almost all, anyway.
“Back in CCYF (Clark County Youth Football League),” he said, “I played center for one play.”
But don’t expect a center sneak from Flanagan, though. Even if he did, it might be as impressive as a 30-yard run for a 2-point conversion off a high snap in last week’s win over Ridgefield, or juking defenders and utilizing his speed and shiftiness to be a part of 37 Woodland touchdowns.
The eighth-ranked Beavers face Columbia River (5-2 overall, 4-1 league) on the road at 7 p.m. Friday in a game that’ll likely lock up second place in the Class 2A Greater St. Helens League and a guaranteed postseason berth.
With Flanagan leading the charge of a a senior-heavy and experienced Woodland team, the Beavers are believers of not only ending the regular-season with its most wins in five years, but also reaching the 2A state playoffs. Flanagan wouldn’t like anything more than to make that happen.
Like the selfless and humble person he is, the number on the soft-spoken Flanagan’s mind is Woodland’s record through seven games — 6-1 — over the individual milestone he’s on pace to set.
Flanagan is 339 yards from breaking the school’s 30-year single-season rushing record held by none other than his father, longtime defensive coordinator and head girls basketball coach Glen Flanagan.
As a senior in 1988, Glen Flanagan rushed for 1,583 yards on Woodland’s 9-2 season state playoff team, breaking Vic Parrish’s 1982 record from the team that lost to North Mason for the Class A state title.
Names such as Quincy Guy (2007) and Justin Leonard (2003-05) over the years came close to surpassing the single-season rushing record, but never did the elder Flanagan imagine his mark could be taken down by his son playing quarterback.
But alas, Tyler Flanagan has rushed for 1,244 yards (8.03 yards per carry) and 22 touchdowns and also thrown for 1,454 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also has a touchdown on special teams.
Everything has to fall into place at least in the final two regular-season games, but Glen Flanagan is already thinking how special it’ll be if it happens.
“All the players I feel are sons,” he said. “It’s always going to be special just to be able to coach the kid who breaks it.”
Woodland entered 2018 needing a new starting quarterback after the departure of four-year starter and career passing leader Wyatt Harsh. Flanagan happily said yes to coach Mike Woodward’s suggestion of playing his seventh high school position, and most important one of his career.
“I’ll still wear No. 21,” Tyler Flanagan said, “and I’ll take the challenge on.”
By halftime of the season opener against Kalama, Flanagan had almost 200 yards rushing, 107 yards passing and five touchdowns. Tyler has worn No. 21 every year but one since second grade — the same jersey number worn by Dad in his all-state senior season at running back.
Glen Flanagan said he sees a lot of how he played in Tyler: speed, shiftiness, vision to alludie defenders. Perhaps that started as early as age 7 when Tyler performed agility drills for fun in the backyard and later set the sixth-grade shuttle run school record.
“He’s such a hard worker; you never had to tell him to work hard,” Glen Flanagan said. “We’re blessed in that way.”
Glen Flanagan played one season of college football at Boise State and has taught in Woodland Public Schools since 1995. As a physical education at the middle school, he puts kids through various forms of fitness testing.
Tyler was no exception. He’s the youngest of Glen and Jody Flanagan’s children to come through Woodland, and all with their own athletic accolades. Older sister Jessica was league MVP in two sports and surpassed 1,000 career points in basketball. She now plays softball at Portland State. Middle sister McKenna qualified for state cross country, was all-league in basketball and won a javelin state title in track and field.
The youngest Flanagan is well on his way to earning 12 varsity letters in football, basketball, and track and field.
Tyler has read old newspaper clippings and sees tapes of game film from Dad’s high school days. He sees the resemblance folks often point out to this day.
“His ability to cut and see things,” Tyler Flanagan said, “and making people miss all the time.
“No one could touch him.”
That can be said in 2018 version, too. Seven games in, Flanagan still continues to surprises teammates. But other times, they’re used to seeing something special happen on the field, senior Reid Hope said.
“Everytime he gets the ball, you think it’s going to be a big play,” Reid said. “You’re used to him pulling off something crazy.”
And that can go beyond football. Two weeks ago, Woodland set a program-record 731 total yards in its 47-13 win at Montesano, a game in which Flanagan threw for 302 yards, rushed for 237 and was a part of six touchdowns.
The next day? He played a Wiffleball doubleheader in Castle Rock with a stat line of three hits and 11 RBIs. He no longer plays baseball, but he is a gold glove-winning Wiffleball fielder for JAL, a 12-team Cowlitz County-based league.
The statistics continue to impress, but the only stat Flanagan has on his mind is winning. Woodland’s reached state four times in the past 20 years, and last won a state playoff game in 1984.
“I want to win as many games as we can and win that district crossover game,” he said. Woodland last won a Week 10 game in 2013 when it was Class 1A. “I just want to win.”
