On a night when most Oregonians were marveling at the heavy rains and wind buffeting most of western Oregon, the state’s football playoff teams were attempting to adjust their game to deal with mother nature’s storm-driven assault. How well those teams altered their game plans was a huge factor in most wins and losses.
Here is a run-down on last Friday’s games from Oregon 6A’s Special District One.
#8 Sherwood 48, #9 South Salem 6: South Salem came in as one of the state’s top passing teams, paced by the nearly 2800 yards and 33 touchdowns of senior QB Daschel Smith. The extreme rain and wind at Sherwood wreaked havoc with the Saxons’ normal game plan, and with their less-than intimidating running game to fall back on, South quickly became an unwitting victim of the elements in the opening round game in the Oregon 6A Football Championship Bracket.
South’s woes began in the first quarter, when Smith threw an 80-yard interception return by Sherwood’s Elijah Douglass that gave the host Bowman first down deep in Saxon territory. Sherwood scored easily out their wing-T formation on a TD pass from quarterback Kasen Covert to Oliver Fisher to take an early 7-0 lead.
The heavy rains and stiff winds kept both teams off kilter much of the night—with a large number of fumbles that either were gobbled up by the opposition, or simply stopped any promising drive. Neither team scored again in the first period.
It was 14-0, Sherwood in the second period after another South miscue— a fumble—that set up another Bowman TD—this time, a 54-yard Nick Gribble touchdown run.
A frustrated Saxon offense finally got on the board as the clock was winding down before halftime. After a series of short passes got South close, Smith punched it into the end zone. The extra point was missed, and the Saxons went into the locker room trailing only 14-6.
Things went down-hill in the second half for South.
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Smith was intercepted for a second time, and Sherwood returned the pick to inside the South 20-yard line. Bowman quarterback Kasen Covert then found Oliver Fisher with a 15-yard pass for a touchdown, and a big 21-6 advantage.
After a Saxon short drive and punt, Covert rolled out and then took off on a 50-yard dash to the end zone, and a 28-6 advantage.
It was 35-6 after Bowman running back Nick Gribble burst through a big hole on a 39-yard TD run, pushing the Sherwood lead to 35-6. Gribble finished with 150 yards rushing for Sherwood.
Senior Ayo Papoola scored on another run—this one totaling 12 yards to make it 42-6. Another score—a pick-six by Douglass made for the 48-6 final score and victory for the Bowman (8-2), who move on to face top-ranked West Linn (9-1) at the Lions’ home field next Friday.
The final stats reflected the misery South suffered through for the entire game. Daschel Smith completed just 10 of 27 passes for 77 yards, with three interceptions. Senior Zach Wustigg caught six passes for 49 yards—and also rushed for 25 yards on eight carries. South also lost two fumbles.
The Saxons were without senior receiver Tini Tinitalli—who sat out the game due to a slow-healing injury. South Salem finished the season with a record of 8-2. Sherwood (8-2) moves on to the second round, traveling to top-seeded West Linn (9-1).
North Salem 34, Newberg 14: After the evening rains helped North Salem cough up the football and fall behind early, the Vikings righted the ship and took over control of the game to post the hard-fought road victory at Newberg High School in the first round of the new Columbia Cup Football Bracket.
Newberg—hosting their first playoff game in three years—got off to a fast start. The Tigers softened up the center of the Viking defense early with several runs up the middle, then gave the ball to junior Isaac Heveron, who rambled 61 yards for the first touchdown of the game only two minutes into the contest. The PAT made it 7-0, Newberg.
The Tigers then successfully executed an onside kick and started another march down the field, which stalled just inside the North 30. The Vikings, however, gave the ball back after an unsuccessful possession, mishandling the punt attempt. Newberg was back in business again at the North 16.
But the Tigers went nowhere on three straight runs in the driving rain, and a field goal attempt was no good.
North coach Jeff Flood admitted to being a bit frustrated with his team’s struggles early in the game, but happy they survived the early trials.
“Our resilience was a key, said Flood.” It was very impressive to see the kids rally”.
“Adversity is going to happen and you’ll have to respond.”
The first quarter came to an end with just a seven-point advantage for Newberg, and North Salem finally found their offensive footing just as the opening quarter came to an end.
Just ten seconds into the second period, the Vikings surprised the Tigers with a home run ball from quarterback TC Malumaleuna—who hit Pierce Walker for a TD pass of 64 yards. Josiah Davis hit the extra point and the game was tied at 7.
“TC handled the ball very well, and we probably could have thrown more,” said Flood.
“But considering the weather, it seemed better to just run the ball.”
Newberg struggled to find their offensive footing for the rest of the first half, fumbling away the ball on three possessions. The visiting Vikings made them pay for two of those miscues.
After recovering a Tiger fumble at midfield, North struck quickly. Using the driving legs of Josiah Davis and Jerrik Wangler, the Vikings took just three plays and 49 seconds to get to the end zone. Wangler scored from one yard out, and the Davis PAT made it 14-7, North, with just under 9 ½ minutes left in the period.
It was 20-7 just four minutes later. Newberg lost the ball at their own 29-yard line, and North Salem ground out another touchdown with a five-play drive, capped off by a one yard Davis run. The PAT was no good.
The Vikings extended their lead to 27-7 with their first possession of the second half. Driving 80 yards on nine plays, the North rushing attack—led by Davis, Wangler, and Micah Richter--ground up yards and clock—culminating with a Wangler 9-yard run with 7:20 remaining in the third.
Newberg finally got on the scoreboard in the third quarter on their very next drive. Heveron scored on a six-yard run with 4:10 left in the quarter, capping off a drive of seven plays and 54 yards, and cutting the North advantage to 27-14.
But the North Salem ground game was too much for the Tigers defense. The Vikings used up the rest of the third quarter and scored early in the fourth quarter—driving 51 yards on nine plays. Davis punched it in from four yards out and added the PAT to give North the 34-14 advantage 11:24 left. Neither weather-weary team could score the rest of the way.
The win earned North a second round Columbia Cup game on the road at Jefferson. The Vikings (6-4) face a Democrat squad that outlasted McMinnville 18-9 last Friday. Start time for the contest has been set for 7:00 pm.
Sprague 30, Sunset 14: The wet weather was bad enough, but Sprague and Sunset both faced another handicap in their first round Columbia Cup contest. The two teams were without their best players. The host Olympians were without Colorado State-bound Drew Rodriguez, who was ejected from the team’s last game against McNary, while the visiting Apollos were without their starting quarterback due to reasons not disclosed by the coaches.
In the end, the tougher player loss belonged to Sunset, as they failed score until the fourth quarter—while Sprague got out to a big lead in cruising to a 30-14 victory.
Rodriguez—a talented receiver and defensive back—was tossed last Friday after a hard hit on McNary quarterback Jackson Alt was ruled to be excessive. His appeal was denied, and so he watched the game from the sidelines. For Sunset, junior Drew Nees’s absence was more problematic. The team tried no fewer than three other players to fill the void, but it wasn’t until late in the wet ball game that anything seemed to work.
Sprague, however, hardly seemed to have any concerns about Rodriguez’s loss on either side of the football.
After the kickoff from Sunset went out of bounds to give Sprague the ball at their own 35, the Olympians went on an impressive drive to start the game—running ten straight times before tailback Kenya Johnson ran it in from two yards out. The two-point conversion was good on a strong run by Johnson—and Sprague led it 8-0.
The Olys got the ball back rather quickly. After starting at their own 33 yard line, the Apollos picked up a eight on a dash by wide receiver-turned quarterback Cole Massar. His next run yielded nothing, and then a five-yard procedure call made it third and long. The Apollos coaching staff then inserted freshman Hudson Kurland to run the offense, moving Massar back to his normal wide out position. When the ball was finally snapped to Kurland, it was short and rolled on the ground. Sprague promptly jumped on the football, were just 31 yards away from another score.
Olympians quarterback Athan Palmateer then made one of three throws of the entire ball game. The ball was knocked down, but Sunset was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, giving Sprague a first and ten at the Apollos’ 16. It just took three more runs, capped off by Barik Hill’s four-yard scamper into the end zone to put Sprague up 14-0. Hill’s two-point conversion run made it 16-0 with 4:39 left in the opening quarter.
Sunset started a drive, but it quickly fell apart after a pair of penalties along the way—and they were forced to punt. Sprague began the second quarter drive effectively enough, but then Palmateer was asked to toss a pass into the rainy skies from the Sunset 43—and it backfired.
The pass intended for Barik Hill hung up in the wind, and was picked off by Sunset’s Logan Sullivan at the Apollo 23.
Two straight runs yielded a first down, but then a shotgun snap came in a little low to Kurland. The freshman got to the ball and tried to scramble away from the Olympian defense, only to fumble the ball. Sprague recovered and had a first down at the Sunset 21.
The Olympians just took three plays to find pay dirt. After being stopped for no gain on the first play, Kenya Johnson took the ball off right tackle and motored 15 yards to the six for a first down. On the very next play, Johnson again ran right and put the ball in the end zone. A two-point conversion play—a reverse pass—was too slow to develop, and Sprague lead stood at 22-0.
Sprague tried an onside kick on the next play, but Sunset quickly pounced on the ball. The visitors then ran the ball six straight times, and faced a fourth and 1 near midfield. Sprague called time out, then stuffed the next run attempt for a loss and got the ball back. But time ran out as they moved the ball deep into Sunset territory, and score remained 22-0 Olympians at halftime.
Sunset received the ball to start the second half, but Sprague was not ready to yield any ground. Starting from their own 35-yard line, the Apollos lost a total of 21 yards on three straight plays—the last of which resulted in a fumble recovered by Sprague. The Olympians seized the opportunity to score one more time.
After losing seven on the first play, Sprague called time out. The next run by fullback Casen Collins yielded nine yards and a first down at the Sunset 12.
Barik Hill got the ball on the next play and powered, spun and burst into the end zone for the touchdown. Hill added two more points on a PAT run, and the Olympian lead expanded to 30-0 with 8:48 left in the third quarter.
The game was all but settled, with only the margin of victory to be determined. Sunset did tally two late touchdowns as the Olympians subbed in liberally in the fourth quarter in particular.
The third QB of the evening, senior Jeff McMillan, set up the first Sunset score of the game, lumbering 54 yards down the near sideline. Cole Massar scored on the next play on a nine-yard fly sweep. The two-point PAT made it 30-8, Olympians with 9:49 remaining.
Sunset would score once more as McMillan hit Massar with a middle screen pass. The senior wideout traipsed into the end zone un-touched from 19 yards out. The two-point conversion was no good, and the 30-14 score was the final.
Sprague ended the game with an unusual stat line for the modern era of football, with absolutely zero yards passing. Barik Hill led the Oly ground attack, reeling off 97 yards on 16 carries, with two touchdowns (4, 12 yards) and a pair of two-point PATs. Kenya Johnson also carried the ball 16 times for 64 yards, contributing a pair of touchdowns (2, 6 yards) and one two-point conversion. Fullbacks Casen Collins (6-34 yards) and Riley Penn (3-24 yards) also ran the ball effectively for Sprague.
“We knew it was going to be wet, so we put in a double tight end wing set,” explained Sprague Coach Jay Minyard.
“Our quarterback (Palmateer) was very good about being selfless, knowing we were going to have to run the ball… it turned out being a fun night.”
Sunset tallied 145 yards in total on the night, with 48 of them coming from the pass.
The difference in the game was turnovers. Sprague had the one interception early in the game, while Sunset coughed up three fumbles leading to Olympian scores.
Sunset (4-6) sees their season come to an end. For Sprague (6-4), their Columbia Cup journey now hits the road. The #23 Olympians will visit #18 Westview (5-5) next Friday. The Wildcats advanced to round two with a 37-0 win over Century.
Sheldon 57, Barlow 7: Sheldon came into the 6A Football Championship Bracket as the favorite in the coaches’ poll. And the Irish certainly played like the top contender, rolling up solid offensive numbers while also taking advantage of numerous mistakes in their 57-7 home rout of Barlow.
Sheldon blocked two Barlow punts during the game, while also intercepting two passes and recording two safeties.
The Irish defense limited Barlow’s offense to three plays-and-out to open the game. Sheldon quarterback Brock Thomas then guided his team to the end zone on the next possession. The scoring play was 20 yard pass from Thomas to Cade Welch to make it 7-0, Irish.
After Barlow’s next drive stalled, the Bruins punt was blocked by Luke Leighton, who picked up the ball and returned it nine yards for another score to make it 14-0.
The third Barlow drive also was unproductive for the visitors. Nikko Klem picked off a errant pass. That set up another touchdown for Thomas, who rumbled in from 15 yards to make it 21-0.
On the next Barlow possession, the Irish picked off another pass—this time it was EJ Peterson. That led to another Brock Thomas TD pass—this one covering 15 yards—to Zach McEwen. The score at the end of the first quarter was 28-0, Sheldon.
In the second quarter, Sheldon added not one, but two safeties, a three yard TD run by Grafton Robinson, the second punt block of the game by Leighton, and a second TD pass from Thomas to Welch.
It was 43-0 Irish at halftime.
Thomas played just a half for Sheldon, completing 12 of 14 passes for 112 yards and 3 TD passes.
Barlow finished their season with a record of 5-5. Sheldon (10-0) advances to the second round of the championship bracket next Friday, facing Lake Oswego (7-3). The Lakers beat North Medford 28-13 in their opening playoff game.
Lake Oswego 28, North Medford 13: The heavy Friday night rains didn’t seem to slow down perennial football power Lake Oswego in their first round 6A football championship bracket game against visiting North Medford. After falling behind early, the Lakers scored four straight touchdowns—and cruised in for the 28-13 home win.
North Medford got on the board first, scoring in the early minutes of the second quarter when senior running back Kilohana Wailehua hauled in a 7-yard TD pass from quarterback Caiden Lacey, putting the Black Tornado up 6-0.
But that was all North Medford’s offense would produce until the final quarter. In the meantime, Lake Oswego went on an offensive tear—beginning with the very next play from scrimmage.
Laker southpaw quarterback Liam Davis hit Ethan Park over the middle for a 65-yard TD, and the extra point put LO on top, 7-6. They would never trail again.
Davis—who finished the game completing 20 of 23 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns—hooked up on his second score of the night on the next Lake Oswego possession, hitting junior receiver Matt Layne on a 20-yard pass for six.
Later, Lake Oswego running back Calvin Macy popped a 60-yard TD run up the middle, and the home team led it 21-6 at half.
North Medford was hampered by an injury suffered by Tornado running back Ty Pugliano. The Medford Mail Tribune reported that Pugliano had a shoulder injury in the first half, and would not return.
In the second half, Lake Oswego scored first—with Davis finding Park again—this time on an 18 yard pass hook up, extending the lead to 28-6. Park finished the night with six receptions and 169 total yards.
North Medford got their final score of the evening on a one-yard run by Wildcat quarterback Jeremiah Robbins with 6 ½ minutes left.
The Black Tornado, which began the season 0-2, finished their season at 6-4. Lake Oswego (7-3) advances to round two-traveling to fade second-seeded Sheldon (10-0) in Eugene.
Central Catholic 62, South Medford 6: The injury-riddled South Medford Panthers made the long trip North to face two-time defending champion Central Catholic, and left with soaking-wet uniforms, and a first-round loss in the OSAA 6A Football Championship bracket.
The Panthers (6-4) were down 14 players due to various injuries—and were simply no match for Central Catholic, which hadn’t lost to an Oregon school all season.
Rams quarterback Cru Newman led his team with three rushing touchdowns, and two TDs passing in the game at Hillsboro Stadium.
Newman completed 9 of 15 passes in the pouring rain for 185 yards, and added 135 yards running the football. Zhaiel Smith nabbed both of Newman’s TD passes.
Four other Rams scored TDs during the game.
For South Medford, senior quarterback Deacon Edgar was able to connect with sophomore Ajani Ingram for a 10-yard touchdown in the first half, but offensive victories were few and far between for the Panthers. Edgar completed 6 of 20 passes for 103 yards.
Central Catholic (9-1) moves on to round two of the title game bracket, playing at #4 seed Jesuit (9-1) on Friday. It is the 10th time in the last 11 years that the Rams have advanced to the 6A quarterfinals.
Tualatin 36, Grants Pass 6: The third-seeded Timberwolves scored in the opening minute of the first quarter on a two-yard TD run by Luke Ash that was set up by a long pass completion, and Tualatin cruised in for the easy 36-6 Oregon 6A Championship Football Bracket win over visiting Grants Pass in a torrential rain storm at Tualatin High.
The T-Wolves’ Jayden Fortier returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown, while quarterback Jack Wagner completed three TD passes during the game to help guarantee a second-round playoff appearance.
For Grants Pass, quarterback Jace Blanchard managed to complete just 5 passes out of 28 attempts for 69 yards—including a late 21 yard TD to Jackson Tunick. GP had just 173 yards in total offense.
Grants Pass ends its season with a record of 6-4. Tualatin (8-2) moves on to host Mountainside of Beaverton (9-1) next Friday.