The second they stepped on the turf at Hare Field, the group of Grants Pass linemen had already set a record.
But the Cavemen didn’t stop there.
They battled, competed, bonded, had plenty of fun and built up some momentum that they took with them on the long ride back home.
Grants Pass became the team that made the farthest trip in the 16-year history of the Metro Area Lineman Challenge when they competed in the 2026 edition of the event, a competition that features the 40-yard dash, shuttle run, vertical jump, standing broad jump, bench press, farmer’s carry, tractor tire flip, two-man blocking sled relay and team tug-of-war, held at Hare Field in Hillsboro.
“It’s great getting our team our here, showing what we can do and what we’re capable of,” Grants Pass senior-to-be Elijah Hernandez said.
Having teams from outside the metro area competing in the Metro Area Lineman Challenge is nothing new. This year’s competition featured McKay, McNary and Sprague from the Salem-Keizer area as well as Willamette from Eugene.
But no team in the history of the event has traveled as far as the 256 miles the Cavemen traversed to compete last weekend.
“It was rough,” Grants Pass junior-to-be Tyten Davis said. “It was like a four-hour car ride. We rode up here with our coaches. It was pretty cramped — I’m not going to lie.”
“We left yesterday at about 1 (p.m.),” Hernandez said. “It was a long, long trip. Yeah, it was uncomfortable, but it was worth it.”
How did this all come about for the Cavemen?
“The guy who runs this (Glencoe coach Ian Reynoso, the founder of the Metro Area Lineman Challenge) is friends with our coach (Matt Kennedy),” Davis said. “They went to college (at the University of Oregon) together. He reached out and asked if we wanted to come out, and we said, ‘Yeah,’ and we’re having so much fun.”
While some of the teams in the competition have taken part year after year, it was all brand new to the Cavemen, but they jumped right in.
“This is our first time doing anything like this. I love it. It’s so much fun,” Davis said. “So far, my favorite event has been the bench press. I did pretty good at it — I got 27 reps (at 185 pounds).”
Davis’ 27 lifts in the bench press tied for the third-highest total for all competitors. He also shined in the farmer’s carry, toting the weight a team-best 92 yards. Davis finished 11th in the final individual heavyweight division standings.
Hernandez also had a strong showing.
“I like tire flips,” he said. “The whole team was around us, screaming at us. You have to keep on going, and your whole team is believing in you. It’s pretty fun.”
Hernandez, Davis and senior-to-be Riley Toth each had 11 tractor tire flips to pace the Cavemen. Hernandez had the fastest time for Grants Pass in the 40-yard dash with his mark of 5.42 seconds. He topped the team in the vertical jump with a mark of 28.5 inches and in the standing broad jump with a leap of 98 inches.
Hernandez, who had 21 lifts in the bench press, finished ninth in the heavyweight division final standings.
“It’s been a ton of fun,” he said.
Grants Pass is looking to have a ton of fun in the fall, as the squad will return a strong group of players that went 7-4 and reached the quarterfinals of the 6A state playoffs last season.
“I think we’re prepared,” Hernandez said. “We have a lot of people coming back. We’ve got high expectations. We’re ready to compete and show people what we’ve got.”
“We’re looking really good,” Davis said. “We have almost our whole team coming back.”
Among the players eligible to return for the Cavemen are quarterback Jordan Rossetta, who was a first-team all-South Central Football Conference selection and an honorable mention 6A all-state pick, receiver Brevik Hill, who was named a conference co-offensive player of the year and a first-team all-state selection, and running back Treyton Powers, who earned first-team all-conference and third-team all-state accolades.
And then there are the linemen.
“Everyone is returning except our right guard, but we’ll figure that out at our team camp,” said Davis, who received honorable mention all-conference accolades on the offensive line as a sophomore.
Hernandez and senior-to-be Deshon Stinson were second-team all-conference selections on the offensive line and received honorable mention on the defensive line.
The returning Grants Pass linemen have another thing on their side entering the 2026 season — getting to compete in the Metro Area Lineman Challenge.
“Oh yeah, this will help us a lot, just seeing the competition and what we need to improve on,” Hernandez said.
“We’re super grateful that we got invited,” Davis said. “Oh yeah, this event will help us a lot with our team chemistry and bonding. It will also help us figure out our strengths and weaknesses.”
Also competing for Grants Pass at the Metro Area Lineman Challenge were Stinson, Seth Garrett, Osias Ellis, Kannon Clark, Luke Willaman, Michael Perez and Parker Coney.
The Cavemen will open the season Aug. 28, when they play host to Nelson in a nonleague game.
