Explore the remarkable journey of Bryce Peila. A 2008 Crater High School graduate now honored in Athletic Hall of Fame.

A 2008 Crater graduate, Bryce earned three letters in both football and basketball and two in baseball while at Crater and was a highly rewarded Crater athlete. He was selected as a First Team All-League performer and defensive player of the year in football, received All-State honorable mention in football, and was selected to play in the Les Schwab Bowl. He was also named to an All-Conference first team and All-State First Team in baseball as a shortstop.

Upon graduation from Crater Bryce attended Western Oregon University (WOU) where he played for the school’s football team for four years (2009–12). While at WOU, Bryce was a two-time All-American safety and a three-time All-Conference selection for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. As a junior, Bryce was a unanimous First Team All-Northwest Athletic Conference selection at safety and tied for first in NCAA Division II with nine interceptions. He finished his WOU career second all-time in career interceptions with 20 in the Northwest Athletic Conference.

Bryce left WOU in 2012 after signing a one-year contract to play for the Portland Thunder during their inaugural season of the Arena Football League. He went on to play for five years in the Arena Football League where he was part of the 2017 Arena Bowl (XXX) Champion Philadelphia Soul. He was named to the Second-Team All-Arena Team in 2014 before being named a top-50 player with the Portland Thunder.

In 2019, Bryce returned to Western Oregon University to finish a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education and was an assistant football coach at WOU. After completing his degree, he was an assistant football coach at Grant High School in Portland and also at Crater High School and Scenic Middle School. Currently, Bryce lives in Medford and is a teacher and coach at Oakdale Middle School in Medford. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing, the outdoors, listening to music, drawing, and working out. Besides his parents, Mike and Georgia, he has a long list of teachers who made a significant impact on his life. These include Paul Lunte, Donna Sabin, Mike Johnson, Tom Rambo, and Donna Hildebrand. He has an equally long list of coaches, including Ron Dungey, Don Molloy, Jay McRoberts, Jay and John Campbell, Brian McCoy, Jason Baumgartner, John Beck, Brad Eaton, Chris Parnell, David Douglas, Mike Schaan, Ame Ferguson and Matt Overlin.