Only North Salem, South Medford remain in 6A playoffs after week one
Special District One post season start includes South Salem upset, tight loss for Sheldon
The first round of the OSAA football playoffs began last week with the usual—expected victories, some wipeout results, even a few upsets. Here is a look at 6A and 5A post season contests involving a 6A Special District One and local schools in the mid Willamette Valley.
Tigard 17, South Salem 0
The Special District One football champion South Salem Saxons came into their first round 6A championship bracket game on Friday brimming with confidence. South—unbeaten and seeded sixth in the playoff placement, was facing a Tigard Tigers team (#11) with a 4-5 record, and losers of five straight games. But Tigard placed last in arguably the toughest 6A conference in Oregon—the Three Rivers League. The conference placed all six of their teams in the championship bracket—starting with top-rated and defending champion West Linn Lions and ending with the Tigers.
Add in predictable steady November rains in NW Oregon on the night, and South—which averaged 50 points a game during the season—was shut out Friday night in the 17-0 loss to the visiting Tigers.
Saxons QB Athan Palmateer—who was averaging over 300 yards passing a game—managed just 165 yards Friday night on 16 of 35 attempts—and had no TD passes. The Tigard defense played very tight pass coverage, forcing Palmateer to scramble out the pocket or get sacked all night long. The South signal caller had a team-best 82 yards rushing on 26 carries.
The lockdown defense by the visiting Tigers also limited offensive numbers for the South Salem receiving corps. Esteban Mendez—who averages double-digit catches a game—had just two receptions for 21 yards. 6-4 senior Jacob Nemecek topped all South wideouts with four catches for 63 yards in the game.
Despite the minimal offensive numbers—the game was tight right up until the fourth quarter, as Tigard managed a 23-yard field goal with just eight seconds left in the second quarter to break the scoreless tie at 3-0.
In fact, the entire first half was impacted by the heavy rains that varied in intensity through-out the ball game.
Both teams drove deep into opposition territory, only to turn it over and end the scoring threat. South Salem fumbled twice in the red zone—once near the ten-yard line, once at the five, giving the ball to Tigard. Both times, the ball bounced off Palmateer’s cold hands in the shot gun, and he was unable to recover.
For the Tigers, the lost ball mishap came with about nine minutes before the half as they faced first and goal at the South Salem one after a big 48-yard pass to Roman Martin. On the next play, the ball was snapped to Tigard running back Jake Fiest, but it went over his head. The Saxons jumped on the ball to stop the drive in its tracks.
South did have a chance in the third quarter to tie the game, but the chip shot field goal attempt by kicker Nathan Segura Coley was doomed from the start, as the snap was high and the kick was low—leading to a Tigard block with 9:03 remaining in the third.
Tigard finally broke through with a touchdown with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. The Tigers engineered a hard fought six play, 88-yard drive. Tigers quarterback Gavyn Simmons hit running back Trevin Laird on a swing pass from six yards out. The PAT made the score 10-0, Tigard.
South Salem looked to move the ball back down the field, but turned the ball over on downs. That gave the Tigers the chance to put the game away. They didn’t squander it.
After a couple of runs, the Tigers caught the Saxons napping, throwing a long pass to a wide-open Roman Martin who had gotten behind the South secondary. He sprinted into the end zone on a 73-yard TD completion with about 5 ½ minutes left. Although South attempted to get the offense going twice more, they finally turned over the ball on downs with about two minutes left, and the Saxons’ perfect season was over.
For Tigard, the team recorded 330 yards in total offense. Quarterback Gavyn Simmons completed 11 of 16 passes for 229 yards, with the touchdowns to Laird and Martin. The Tigers move on to round two of the championship playoffs, traveling to face #3 Sherwood next Friday.
South Salem concludes their season with a record of 9-1.
West Linn 42 West Salem 7
The West Salem Titans used a late season rush—including a stunning 21 point victory over Sheldon—to make the 16 team, 6A State Championship Bracket. West got the ultimate challenge, facing top-rated and defending state champion, West Linn.
The highly regarded Lions were as advertised—a football machine of epic proportions. They ran past West Salem 42-7 last Friday at West Linn.
The Titans gave up 42 straight points, scoring late to avoid a shut out. But West Salem coach Shawn Stanley had nothing but praise for his team—which improved steadily all season long.
“West Linn was better than us but if you were at that game or you ask them, I think they respect us,” said Titans coach Shawn Stanley after the game.
“They commented we were one of the better teams they had played all year.”
Stanley says knowing that this year’s current crop of seniors had won just one game their freshman year, he was especially proud of his team—specifically, the 42-21 victory to close the regular season at Sheldon. He calls that win one of the highlights of his coaching career.
West Salem junior quarterback Kaden Martirano played with poise and confidence, completing 17 of 24 passes for 185 yards with one interception. He also ran the ball well, collecting 59 yards on the ground on 11 carries, including the sole Titans TD. Carson Evenson had 41 yards on 11 carries, and Ian Herber collected 15 yards on four carries for the game.
In the receiving department, Titan Jordan Senados topped the category statistically with four catches and 84 yards. Demari Hall contributed 50 yards on three receptions, Cade Vandiver chipped in 39 yards on three catches, and Evan Wusstig was 3-31 yards.
On defense, Titan sophomore Deacon Shinkle topped all defensive players with ten tackles, including a tackle for loss. Cole Hansen had two tackles for loss to go with seven total tackles. Cougar Bailey recorded six tackles, and a team-high three TFLs. Carmelo Brown came up with six tackles and two TFLs.
When it comes to the long list of returning players for West Salem, coach Stanley says the West Linn game had a positive impact.
“Our younger players saw what it takes to compete at that level and we are closer than even I thought.”
West Linn collected 396 yards on 53 plays from scrimmage enroute to their five-touchdown victory.
The unbeaten Lions host Jesuit next Friday. The eighth-seeded Crusaders held off Lake Oswego 34-28 to advance to round two.
North Salem 27 Grant 0
After North Salem lost games to North Medford, a young Grants Pass team, and to rival South Salem, some football fans might have written off the Vikings. But that puts opponents exactly where the Viks want them: in their sights.
#26 North traveled to Portland Friday night, and after a slow start, dominated to the end, shutting out the host Grant Generals (#23 seed) 27-0, in the Columbia Cup (consolation) playoff game played on the former Marshall High School campus.
North Salem coach Jeff Flood was pleased with his team’s efforts after dealing with injury-filled weeks previously.
“I was proud of our kids for resetting this week after a couple of tough weeks of being undermanned and playing really talented opponents.”
North running back Jamahl Wilson—who rushed for 1500 yards in the regular season and sat out the regular season finale with an ankle injury—returned to have a monster game for the Vikings. Wilson rushed 18 times for 210 yards and a touchdown. Fullback Jerrik Wangler had six carries, 25 yards and a TD. And Wilson’s back up—Sammy Davis—rambled for 100 yards on ten carries.
Passing wise, North Salem got a solid performance from QB TC Manumaleuna. TC connected on a 25-yard TD pass to Braxton Singleton to open the Viking scoring in the first quarter. He also threw a TD pass to Jamar Soaladaob.
Defensively, the Vikings got three interceptions to stymie any Grants offensive effort. Singleton, Soaladoab, and Nary Nerio all had picks for North.
North Salem’s opponent in round two remains up in the air. South Medford had a 34-0 lead midway through the second quarter when there was a bench clearing incident on one side of the field, and the game was suspended at that point. North coaches say they have heard nothing from the OSAA, and expect a ruling will be made on Monday.
Lakeridge 13, Sheldon 10
A week after being soundly defeated by West Salem in the regular season finale’, the Sheldon Irish were out of the Oregon 6A football playoffs. The defending 6A runners up were edged by top-ten challenger Lakeridge 13-10 at Lakeridge High.
The host Pacers—ranked fifth--scored the winning touchdown with nearly nine minutes left in the game, and held off Sheldon’s chances to regain the lead.
Sheldon, the #12 seed, led the game 7-0 at halftime, thanks to QB Colby Parosa’s five-yard TD run. Lakeridge’s Noah Tisendorf scored on a nine-yard run late in the third quarter, but the PAT failed to give the Irish a narrow 7-6 lead.
Sheldon extended the lead slightly on a 24-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to make it 10-6 Sheldon.
The Pacer’s scored the decisive touchdown behind the strong legs of Tishendorf, who ran three yards for the score and the 13-10 lead.
Sheldon had three chances to tie or take the lead, but were stopped by the Pacers’ defense. After a stalled drive following Lakeridge’s last touchdown, the Irish were stopped late twice in short order. First, a sack of Sheldon’s Parosa on a big second down play lead to a turnover on downs with under two minutes remaining. Then, after successfully forcing the Pacers to punt in short order, the Irish got the ball back one last time. But Parosa was intercepted with just under two seconds left to seal the victory.
Sheldon finished their season with a record of 6-4.
Lakeridge (8-2) moves on to the 6A quarterfinals, facing #4 Central Catholic in a matchup at Hillsboro Stadium at 7:00 pm Friday.
Central Catholic 56, North Medford 0
Number-four Central Catholic made short work of North Medford in the opening round of the OSAA 6A football playoffs. The favored Rams accumulated 329 yards of offense in just 32 snaps, while limiting the 13th-rated Black Tornado to just 106 yards of total offense on 49 plays enroute to a 56-0 thumping at Hillsboro Stadium.
CC quarterback Cru Newman made quick work of North Medford through the air with three touchdown passes on 10 of 14 passes for 172 yards. The Rams scored one TD on an interception return, and four others on the ground.
The Central Catholic defense dominated the North Medford offense the entire game. Sophomore quarterback Traeger Healy was harassed all game long, completing 8 of 20 passes for just 37 yards with three interceptions. The North rushing attack was also bottled up, with just 69 total yards. The Tornado also fumbled the ball away once.
Central Catholic led the game 41-0 at the half.
North Medford finishes their season with a 7-3 record. Central Catholic improves to 10-0 and advances to round two of the 6A Championship Bracket. The Rams will entertain fifth-rated Lakeridge at Hillsboro Stadium this coming Friday.
Liberty 21, Grants Pass 17
The young Grants Pass Cavemen got into the Columbia Cup 6A Consolation football bracket by the skin of their teeth, nabbing the 32nd and last seed in playoffs for teams ranked 17th through 32. Their gift for the feat was a long bus ride and football date with Liberty High of Hillsboro. But the youthful GP squad made a game of the whole adventure, scaring the host Falcons before falling 21-17 in the opening round.
The Grants Pass effort came despite making a few mistakes. The Cavemen turned the ball over four times—with two fumbles and two interceptions. They also committed 11 penalties on the evening for 80 yards.
Still, the Cavemen stayed close for the entire game.
Liberty opened the scoring quickly after a GP fumble deep in their own end. The miscue was converted into Liberty points on a four-yard TD run from quarterback Reid Linkmeyer to make it 7-0 Falcons after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, GP got on the board with a 31-yard field goal from Tyler McIntosh to cut the deficit to 7-3. Later in the period, Liberty extended the lead to 14-3, when Tanner Steinbach rambled 91 yards for a TD. Steinbach finished the game with 10 carries for 181 yards and the long TD.
The game stood at 14-10 at halftime, after Grants Pass scored its first touchdown of the game on a 40-yard pass thrown to Isaac Johnson by sophomore QB Nathan Bassett. Bassett ended the game completing just 5 of 14 passes for 111 yards and an interception, but two of those completions were touchdowns.
Bassett’s second TD toss of the night came in the third quarter, when he connected with Cole Carnes for 29 yards on the play. The PAT gave the Cavemen the 17-14 advantage at the end of three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, the host Falcons mounted the only drive of the period, punctuated by a five-yard TD run from quarterback Reid Linkmeyer for the 21-17 victory.
Grants Pass finished the year with a 2-8 record. Liberty (7-3) moves on to the second round of the Columbia Cup bracket. The Falcons will entertain #24 seed Barlow of Gresham this coming Friday.
South Medford 34, Jefferson (Portland) 0 (suspended game)
South Medford went into Oregon’s 6A Columbia Cup consolation football bracket as the second highest seed--#18—in the Cup seedings. Jefferson of Portland was the second lowest (#31) seed in the bracket, and the game went about how you might expect. The 6-3 Panthers were in charge and led the game 34-0 over the 3-6 Democrats with seven minutes left in the second quarter.
Then, there was a sudden incident that led to the OSAA suspending the contest. According to a Medford area media site Medford Alert, tempers flared on the field following the interception that pushed the South Medford advantage to 34-zip.
The report says a Jefferson player allegedly ripped the helmet off a South Medford defensive player. The confrontation escalated when other players and some Jefferson coaches reportedly came on the field. Another report was that the entire Jefferson bench emptied. Regardless of what happened next, school and game officials managed to restore order, but no further play would happen. The OSAA was to conduct an investigation into the events at Spiegelberg Stadium, but as of the weekend, no resolution had been announced. The OSAA governing board is to resolve the situation. Coaches with North Salem High—which is scheduled to play one of the teams in the next round—say they were told to call the OSAA on Monday.
Stay tuned.
5A Football
Hillsboro 28 McKay 8
Heavy rains pelted the Hillsboro area last Friday night, and that contributed to one dimensional offensive performances by host Hillsboro High and the visiting McKay Royal Scots at historic Hare Field.
In the end, the weather limits on passing caused more issues for McKay, which fell in the opening round of the Oregon 5A football playoffs to the Spartans 28-8.
Hillsboro had just 223 total team yards, paced by the rushing efforts of leading running back Skyler Salzman—who amassed 109 yards on 23 carries, with a pair of touchdowns. Fellow Spartans RB Preston Echeverria recorded 68 yards on 15 carries, with one rushing TD, and another on a seven-yard pass to the end zone. Spartans senior quarterback Calvin Perkins completed 7 of 12 for a paltry 34 yards. He was also intercepted twice in the game. The Spartans had come into the game averaging 151 yards through the air.
McKay finally got on the board in the last two minutes of the game on a 23-yard pass from QB Kyrin Fuimaono to sophomore Gavin Aguerro. Fuimaono ran in the 2 point PAT.
Kyrin finished the game with 98 yards passing on 12 of 26 passes. Aguero was the top McKay receiver on the night with 50 yards on four caches.
McKay (#11) finishes their season with a record of 6-4.
#8 Hillsboro (7-2) advances to the 5A football quarterfinals, where they will play at third-seeded Mountain View of Bend next week. The Cougars pounded Eagle Point 46-9 in their opening round contest.
Silverton 44, Hood River Valley 7
The second-seeded Silverton Foxes romped into the quarterfinal round of the Oregon 5A playoffs Friday after a 44-7 drubbing of Hood River Valley this past Friday.
Silverton quarterback Sawyer Teeney had quite the night, throwing a pair of touchdowns while running for three more in the opening round contest in Silverton. All totaled, Teeney had 303 yards on the night. He ran for 137 yards on just five carries—including a 66 yard score. He also threw for 166 yards on 11 of 13 passing.
Fox teammates Elijah Howard and Brody Kuenzi had busy nights for Silverton. Howard nabbed six passes for 55 total yards, while Kuenzi caught three passes for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Hood River Valley finished the season with a record of 4-6.
Silverton (10-0) faces a familiar foe in the quarters—hosting Mid Willamette Conference rival West Albany next Friday. The Foxes thumped the Bulldogs (8-2) 49-28 on October 20. West Albany advanced after a 25-2 opening round win over Caldera of Bend.
Silverton, West Albany, and Lebanon are all Mid Willamette teams still in the hunt for the 2023 5A Football Title. The Warriors (#13) upset #4 Springfield 14-13 last Friday, and will travel to Bend to face defending champion Summit this week.