High School football previews—week 7
Overview of upcoming games in Oregon’s Special District One
Oregon’s prep football postseason is on the horizon, and schools from 6A Special District One are jockeying for position behind unbeaten Sheldon to get into the state playoffs. Here are this week’s matchups.
Thursday—North Salem (4-2) at Sprague (3-3): It still has to sting a little bit for the North Salem Vikings. They led Grants Pass 14-12 at halftime, but the host Viks couldn’t mount any points-scoring offense in the second half. Grants Pass did find a way very late, scoring on a three-yard TD pass in the last 95 seconds to capture an 18-14 victory. The game changed the fortunes of both teams. GP moved up to #16—just in the money for the state championship bracket. North, in the meantime, dropped one slot to #25. With three games remaining, the Vikings need to win everyone of them to have a chance at competing for the state title.
For the Sprague Olympians, this week marks the first of two big challenges—facing the top two Salem-Keizer teams in the District. With wins over North this week, and South Salem next week, they can maneuver into a good position, ranking-wise, to compete in the Columbia Cup bracket. Coach Jay Minyard’s team was riding high after Friday’s dramatic 28-21 victory over rival West Salem—when Oly quarterback Athan Palmateer rolled into the end zone on an eight-yard TD scamper with three seconds left on the clock.
Both teams have decided challenges coming into the game. For Sprague, shutting down the North Salem wing-T offense, especially the run, is the top priority. Josiah Davis is the #1 target (131 yards, one TD last week), followed by speedy DeMari Thompson. The Olympians will also need to stay diligent in watching the pass, as Vikings quarterback TC Manumaleuna can launch bombs at any time—hitting Erick Gonzalez in particular for long scoring plays. The two hooked up on a 48 yarder in the first half versus Grants Pass.
On the North Salem side defensively—their primary target should be Colorado State commit Drew Rodriguez, who continues to find ways to get open for touchdowns. But they should also be cautious about overcommitting. Sprague used Rodriguez as a decoy, lining him up to the left when Palmateer rolled to the right for his eight-yard TD run as time expired against West.
The contest between Coach Jeff Flood’s Vikings and Coach Jay Minyard’s Olympians ought to be an interesting chess match.
South Salem (5-1) at Roseburg (0-5): For the Saxons, every win counts. They made sure of their victory last week, cruising past winless McNary 55-19. Daschel Smith continues to throw the ball well—with 200 yards and four TDs in the home win—plus he has an impressive stable of receivers—anchored by seniors Tini Tinitali and Zach Wustigg—to pass to each game. South also runs the ball effectively as needed—with a whole host of contributors over the course of the season.
But the schedule, under the OSAA power rankings, does the Saxons no favors. The host Indians are the second straight winless team South is facing. They will entertain Sprague next week, then finish with the traditional North Salem-South Salem showdown between the two best teams in the local community this season. Missing—and it is a big omission for South—is a game with unbeaten Sheldon. Not playing the Irish hurts the Saxons in the power rankings. The team is currently ranked 11th, but that ranking is likely to drop over the next three weeks. Hold your breath, South fans.
The Saxons should win this week’s game handily against an Indian team that has had quarterback injuries and is short-handed at several positions due to even more injuries, but the South power ranking will likely drop 1-2 notches in the process.
Sheldon (6-0) at North Medford (4-2): This might be the last chance for Sheldon to lose before the post season. They are traveling to face a North Medford team that has won four straight District games, and handled North Salem as part of that streak. The Black Tornado were dealt a blow last week, when starting QB Caiden Lacey was hit hard on the first play against Roseburg, and did not return to the game. Second-stringer JT Knobloch-Scott—a transfer from 3A Cascade Christian—had more than enough athleticism to help his team beat Roseburg by five touchdowns. But with Lacey out for two weeks with a concussion, will he have enough to stay with Sheldon? I will say unlikely with a good degree of confidence.
For North Medford, that loss won’t hurt a lot—after all, Sheldon is ranked second (well, should be first, but that is another story).
The Tornado will next face McNary, then wrap up against rival South Medford. If they want to stay in the championship bracket—they will have to end the season with two wins. Not as easy as it sounds, but if Lacey is back at QB for the South Medford game, it could happen.
South Medford (5-1) at Grants Pass (4-2): This is a good old-fashioned Southern Oregon football showdown. South Medford was rolling until they suffered a few injuries against Sprague, then were humbled by Sheldon (49-0) last week in a battle of unbeatens.
Grants Pass was absolutely crushed on a Saturday against South Salem several weeks ago, but has mostly been competitive in their contests. In their last game at North Salem, the Cavemen found a way into the end zone late to shock the Vikings 18-14. Jace Blanchard is a good, mobile quarterback for GP, and he has good receivers to throw to, in particular, sure-handed senior Jackson Tunick. But defending against South Medford’s offense is a tall order. Deacon Edgar is a veteran quarterback who knows how to spread around the offense. The Cavemen will need to control the line of scrimmage to control the game and pick up the win.
It is a game I sort of wish I could drive down to and watch. GP has a great football setting, and the two teams will make it awesome.
McNary (0-6) at West Salem (0-6): This is a game for staying out of the Special District One basement. Both teams have had their issues this year.
McNary first year coach Connor Astley knows his players as an assistant coach in previous seasons. But it is a decidedly young team that has taken its lumps all season long—giving up an average of 47 points per contest, while averaging just 12 points themselves. There has been improvement, but the Celtics still have yet to put together four solid quarters in one game.
West Salem has similar, but not identical problems. Coach Shawn Stanley’s worst start to a season prior to this one was 0-2. But this year’s team only returned two starters out of 22 from last season’s conference championship team. To complicate matters—all league transfer receiver Braiden Copeland was lost in week one due to a knee injury, and in week four, athletic sophomore quarterback Kaden Martirano broke his wrist—forcing West to scramble again.
Last week against Sprague, the Titans used three quarterbacks during the game, coming back from 14 points down to tie the game. But Sprague had the final word, scoring a touchdown with three seconds left to give the Olys a hard fought 28-21 victory. West Salem fans were heartbroken, to say the least.
This week’s game is a tough one to handicap. If you base it on experience, West has the slight edge—especially if Coach Stanley’s 25 years as a head coach are factored in. It will be interesting to see how this contest plays out.
5A—Silverton (5-1) at McKay (1-5): Silverton is the defending 5A football champion. Aside from a mis-scheduled non-conference game at a much larger Sacramento High School several weeks ago, the Foxes have been “perfect” in the winning sense of the word. They are coming off a 74-52 win over Crescent Valley last week, and would really like to limit opposition scoring this week, which is bad news for the host Scots.
Two weeks ago, McKay put up 51 points in their win at Crescent Valley. Royal Scots running back Jamahl Wilson—a junior—rushed for 444 yards and scored six touchdowns—setting an Oregon record for a junior running back.
Last week’s Saturday homecoming game didn’t go quite as well. McKay got out to an early 13-7 lead, but didn’t score the rest of the way in a 49-13 loss to visiting Central. Wilson had to sit out the last 1 ½ quarters after suffering an ankle sprain. Coach Brandis Piper says Wilson “should be good to go,” and is looking forward to hosting Silverton. He still managed to rush for 150 yards before going to the bench Saturday.
The Scots will need one of their best games of the season if they hope to win. A balanced offensive approach is a must. And defensively, McKay will have to play lights out against the pass—where they were burned several times last Saturday.
Go get ‘em, Scots.
Mark, a quick share, regarding your contribution to prep sports updates, in light of the lack of same, at Statesman, and other (few) local media sources. If only Bill Poehler was still on the beat… So great to get your input and insight on a weekly, if not more so basis. Continue to keep up the effort, it is much appreciated.
Thanks much, Brian.