An adrenaline junky would have really enjoyed the roller-coaster ride that was the Caldera boys basketball season a year ago.

But for the Wolfpack players going through the ups and downs, twists and turns throughout the season, it was a ride they were happy to step off from.

“It was really frustrating to be honest,” said Caldera senior post William Jenson. “Having that roller-coaster ride really took its toll on everybody. Right now we are cruising, but we have to keep that consistency going. That is going to be the key for us.”

“Since freshman year there has been a lot of losing,” said senior guard Miles Macomber. “It’s our senior year — we want to make a deep run in the playoffs.”

With nearly the entire rotation and top playmakers from last year’s playoff team back and a new coach taking over the program, the Wolfpack are off to a 7-3 start this season.

“We are looking to challenge for the IMC title,” said senior guard Jack Bents. “We are trying to make a deep run in the state playoffs. We think we have the guys and the talent to do that. We just have to keep the right mindset. Last year we got pushed around at the end of the IMC, but we got a new coach in and everyone was excited to get back in the gym.”

Led by first-year coach Evan Dougherty, who was an assistant coach at Ridgeview last season, Caldera has found its stride the past few weeks playing in holiday tournaments.

The Wolfpack won two of three games at the Silverton Tournament the weekend before Christmas, then followed that up by winning the East Bracket on their home court in the Oregon Holiday Hoopfest, taking down Forest Grove, Crook County and McNary along the way.

After a 2-2 start to the season, the Wolfpack have now won five of their last six games and are on a four-game winning streak.

“We have had a challenging nonleague schedule,” Dougherty said. “Those road tests right away show us where we need to get better. It has been great for us to see what we are made of, and to be able to attack every day in practice.”

“We have found a way to play together,” Jenson said. “Our motto is ‘team over me’ and when we are playing our best basketball, it is an embodiment of that. We are sharing the ball, not taking selfish shots; getting good, methodical shots. Playing for each other has been the key.”

At this time last season, the Wolfpack were in a similar situation. Caldera won eight of nine games and started Intermountain Conference play on a five-game winning streak.

The arrows were pointing upward for the program playing in its second varsity season. But then came the drop.

The Wolfpack closed out the regular season losing eight of their final 10 games. They still reached the Class 5A state playoffs for the first time in program history, but lost in the first round to the eventual third-place team, Woodburn.

“We are working on the consistency piece,” Dougherty said. “We’ve been using the term ‘roller-coaster ride’ and trying to keep it on the ups rather than the downswings. That starts by being consistent in practice and being disciplined in practice.”

With IMC play still a couple of weeks away, the Wolfpack will have a few more tune-up games, starting with a second meeting this season against North Eugene on Friday night.

“It’s a grind,” Jenson said. “We are just trying to not have those roller coasters like we did last year. We have to stay consistent with our grind. We have to keep that energy up and continue playing for each other. That is going to be the key for us to go deep and do what we want to do.”