Ryan Brennecke / The BulletinMembers of the Redmond football team run drills during practice Tuesday afternoon.

REDMOND —

It is an expression Nathan Stanley shares often with his players. Derek Brown can confirm that.

“He does,” the Redmond High junior running back says. “A lot.”

But the message from the Panthers’ third-year coach is simple. More important, it is clear: Enjoy the moment, but ignore the noise.

“Enjoy that we’re winning,” Brown explains, “but don’t let it get in front of you.”

It is a message that the Panthers have taken to heart. Yet it is difficult to ignore what they have done so far this season, what they have accomplished a year after winning just once in nine tries. Because in 2014, a year after posting their worst record in four years, Redmond is showing flashes of 2012 — the season it advanced to the state semifinals for only the second time in school history.

The Panthers are 4-0. And while they have compiled that record against opponents whose combined record is just 1-15, this team is rolling — rolling to the most points scored in Class 5A while limiting opponents to the fifth-fewest points in the classification. No doubt because of its relatively weak schedule to date, Redmond is rated only 18th in the latest OSAA Class 5A rankings heading into Friday’s Intermountain Conference opener at home against Bend High.

Ignore the noise, Stanley emphasizes each day, and enjoy the moment. The undefeated Panthers are enjoying every second, because they traversed a rough road to arrive here.

Last season, with its roster flooded with youth and inexperience, Redmond struggled to a 1-8 record, losing its final seven games and allowing nearly 47 points per contest during that span.

“It was pretty difficult. It wasn’t very fun, that’s for sure,” says quarterback Bunker Parrish, who was the Panthers’ starter last year as a freshman. “We didn’t really think about losing going into each game. It was just one of those things that happened. We came out and tried our hardest, but it just never seemed to work in our favor.”

Stanley recalls speaking with veteran assistant coach Kurt Davis, who guided Culver to a 2A state title in 2007. After Stanley shared his thoughts about his struggling team, Davis replied: “You guys weren’t bad. You were just young. And there’s a huge difference between those two.”

“It doesn’t matter how talented you are,” Stanley says now. “When you’re young and you play (against) seniors who are worth their salt, you’re going to get beat. We found that out.”

While Stanley ached for the seniors who were unable to taste anywhere close to the success they had experienced as juniors, the Redmond coach understood that he needed to prepare for the future. He needed to mold his young Panthers and ready them for a strong return the following season. In short, as difficult as it might have been during one of the roughest seasons in program history, he needed to be patient.

“We had a young team last year,” says Brown, the running back. “We were ready for this season. Last year, we didn’t have that much confidence. This year, we’re a year older, and we should be ready to compete with anybody.”

But now, with Brown rushing for 18 touchdowns and more than 950 yards through four games (that’s nearly 240 yards per contest) and Parrish adding a total of five scores (and 253 yards rushing in the past three games), Redmond has returned to prominence.

The Panthers withstood a disappointing season, learning how to lose, Brown notes, while developing a hunger to win. And as eye-opening, as challenging, as 2013 was, there is no reliving it within the Redmond camp.

“We kind of just brushed it off,” Parrish says. “We don’t really want to think about it that much. It was something we needed to move forward from. We don’t really like to talk about it now.”

Redmond is not rewriting history. Instead, the Panthers are burying it. They are submerging it beneath 228 points, a potent offensive backfield and a stifling defense that has Redmond at 4-0 and primed to make a run at the IMC title.

But Redmond has little concern for those numbers and facts, Stanley points out. The Panthers avoid being caught up in how many points they put up or how many yards they gain. All that matters each week for the revived Redmond program is the final score.

“We’re just all ready to win,” Brown says. “We have one goal: Win a ballgame.”

Enjoy the moment, but ignore the noise. A difficult task. Because the Panthers are creating all the racket.

—Reporter: 541-383-0307, glucas@bendbulletin.com.