Knappa High School graduate Gustave John Benthin will begin his NFL career with the San Diego Chargers.

After going undrafted in the recent NFL draft, Benthin and nine other rookies were invited to a Chargers minicamp last week.

This is great for John, said Arne Ferguson, Benthins coach at Western Oregon University. He has worked so hard for this opportunity. I think if he continues to work hard, with his work effort, he has a great chance to make their roster.

The Chargers held the minicamp last week, for both drafted and undrafted players.

Ill start off by saying not a bad start, San Diego coach Mike McCoy told chargers.com. The young players have got a long ways to go, but I think they did a nice job in the last 24 hours. Some of them just got here and some have been here since the draft, so some guys have spent more time with the coaches than others. But as an overall group, not bad for the first day. They worked extremely hard. They made some mistakes and theyre going to learn from them, but were excited with the group of guys we have.

Benthin will be the fourth player from Clatsop County to play in the NFL in the last 10 years.

Last year, Astorias Jordan Poyer was drafted with the 12th pick of the seventh round (218th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles, and now plays for the Cleveland Browns.

Other recent Clatsop County players with NFL experience include Warrentons Dusty McGrorty, the record-setting running back from Southern Oregon who signed as an undrafted free agent and spent the 2004 season with the St. Louis Rams; and Seasides Ben Archibald, who signed as an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco 49ers in 2003, and played for the New Orleans Saints in 2005 and 2006.

Archibald announces retirement

The BC Lions Football Club recently announced that offensive tackle Ben Archibald has informed the club of his intention to retire.

Archibald, a graduate of Seaside High School, spent three seasons with the Lions, never missing a game from his left tackle position after signing as a free agent in 2011.

Coming over from the Calgary Stampeders, where he starred for three seasons (2008-10), Archibald ultimately earned four West Division All-Star nods (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012) along with two All-Canadian selections (2009, 2010).

In total, he played 102 regular season games (54 with BC), six playoff games and two Grey Cup championships, winning with Calgary in 2008 and with the Lions in 2011.

Ben brought a quiet professionalism to the BC Lions and he was a great example of the complete player, said Wally Buono, BC Lions vice president of football operations and general manager. Good on the field, good in the dressing room and a great role model as a husband, father and teammate. We wish him and his family the very best in the future.

I was very blessed to enjoy a great CFL career, Archibald said. I am grateful for the opportunity to have played for two great organizations in Calgary and BC and I will always treasure the memories from my time in the CFL.