Oregon Prep Football Week Four Preview
Big match ups, and at least one apparent mismatch
It’s week four of the 2022 football season, and the second week of play in Special District One has some intriguing games on the schedule. Here is the run-down.
Sheldon (4-0) at McNary (0-4): On paper, this one could be accurately described as a mismatch. The Sheldon Irish are the top team in the OSAA power rankings. They have beaten one heavy weight opponent already—think a road win at West Linn—and are averaging 44 points a game, while shutting out two of their “victims,” including Sprague last week by a count of 41-0.
On the other side of the ledger is McNary. First year coach Connor Astley continues to coach up the Celtics, and has watched his young squad go from no points in week one to 21 points in their loss at South Medford in week three. Still, the defense has struggled—giving up an average of 48.6 points a contest.
The good news for the Celtics is that they play Sheldon at home. The bad news is that Sheldon doesn’t miss a beat on the road. Here’s hoping the Celts find some moral victories in this game—like scoring first, as they did last week in their 55-21 loss at South Medford.
Keizer fans should pack the stands and see what happens.
West Salem (0-3) at Grants Pass (2-1): This game features two teams struggling a bit so far this season. Grants Pass—on paper—looks like they are solid with wins against Shasta, CA, and upstart school Caldera of Bend. But the opposition in those first contests are a combined 1-5. The Cavemen came to South Salem last Saturday, and were effectively smoked by a count of 48-7, and it wasn’t even that close—the game went to a running clock at halftime and GP scored late in the third quarter against a mix of Saxon starters and back-ups. That could shake the confidence of most teams.
Their opponent is West Salem. The Titans are struggling on a historic level. Head coach Shawn Stanley has never had a team begin a season with an 0-3 record, but with all eleven starters gone from last year’s conference champion offense and nine of eleven lost from the defense, a downward dip could be expected—and Stanley did say as much. It also didn’t help that transfer receiver/d-back Braiden Copeland suffered a season-ending knee injury in week one at Sherwood. Copeland was perhaps the best athlete the Titans had.
Still, West has some reason for optimism. Sophomore QB Kaden Martirano has a fantastic arm, and the Titan running game—still under development—could break out against a Caveman squad that struggled to limit the rush against the pass-happy Saxons last week. Add to that West Salem’s traditionally successful performances at GP, and the Titans could very well pick up their first victory of the 2022 season.
Make the trip to Grants Pass, West fans. It is a great venue to watch a football game from.
Roseburg (1-1) at Sprague (1-2): This is a dead-even game at first glance. Maybe. But Sprague’s home game after a shutout loss at top-rated Sheldon last week could be easier than the win/loss numbers might indicate at first.
For one thing, Sprague coach Jay Minyard was ecstatic that his team escaped the Sheldon game with no injuries. Staying healthy is key for most high school teams, but in particular, a young Olympians squad with limited numbers on the line. Sprague went with junior transfer Athen Palmateer at quarterback last week, but Minyard will return to a rotation of Palmateer and senior Wil Hassoun at QB for this next game. Both signal callers played very well in the Oly’s 42 point home win over Beaverton.
Add in the biggest x-factor on the field in Sprague receiver/safety Drew Rodriguez—bound for Colorado State next season—and the Olympians have a distinct athletic advantage.
Roseburg (at last word) will be relying on back-up quarterback Broagan Rackley to guide the Indians offense after losing starter Owen Bentea in a week two game canceled at halftime due to forest fire smoke. The difference was stark for Roseburg in their 26-0 shutout loss last week to unbeaten North Salem. The Indians had net zero yards at halftime of that contest. Sprague will need to make sure they limit the long runs from running back Cayden Eckel—who rushed for 1,000 yards last season as a sophomore.
Bottom line: the healthy Olympians have the edge at home in attempting to secure their second win of the season.
North Salem (3-0) at North Medford (1-2): North’s resounding 26-0 win over Roseburg last week was their best performance of the young season. Their first two victories against Portland-area teams (Roosevelt, David Douglas) were against squads with marked struggles on both sides of the football. Roseburg, even with injuries, was a much more physical opponent.
Week four presents yet another hard-hitting challenger on the road for the Vikings. North Medford struggled to put points on the board in their first two games, but found the groove last week at West Salem, where the Black Tornado posted a 35-14 victory. Hard hitting running back, senior Ty Pugliano, had three TD runs. His brother, wide receiver AJ Pugliano, had two TD catches from athletic QB Caiden Lacey. The Tornado’s large offensive line will be able to match North’s physicality.
This is the Vikings’ biggest test to this point in the season—playing on the road after a four-hour bus ride. It is a very winnable game, but North will need to avoid mistakes like unforced penalties and turnovers.
Vikings running back Josiah Davis, who was hurt on the last offensive play of last week’s game, indicated that his injury was very minor. North hopes so, after seeing their offensive star run for three touchdowns against Roseburg. The Viks also hope to duplicate the stout defensive effort from last week that resulted in a second straight shutout.
Some North Salem fans are making their way to Medford’s Spiegelberg Stadium. Their team can use all the support they can find so far from home.
Should be an entertaining game.
South Medford (3-0) at South Salem (3-0): This is the game of the night featuring #3 (South Salem) and #11 (South Medford). Both squads have dynamic offenses: South Medford is averaging 39 points a game, and scored 55 in a 34-point win last week at home versus McNary; South Salem throws the ball early and often, is averaging 41 points a game, and has yielded just one touchdown in each of its last two games.
The host Saxons will need their defense to play well against a Panthers squad directed by quarterback Deacon Edgar, who runs the ball effectively (68 yards vs. McNary last week), and also throws with precision to senior receivers Ty Henry and Andrew Walker. South also can’t forget about junior Ryder Scheid, who had nearly 100 yards on the ground last week.
The Panthers will have defensive concerns as well. South Salem quarterback Daschel Smith is among the top passers in Oregon—and showed it last Saturday when he threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns in the first half against Grants Pass—a game that was essentially over at intermission. Two of his scoring passes went to transfer Zach Wusstig for 46 and 45 yards. The Saxon defense also held the Cavemen out of the end zone while it mattered, giving up a late TD during the running clock of the second half. Senior Tini Tinitali anchored the Saxon defense with two interceptions.
This game has all the numbers and athletes to make it a fantastic showdown. The winner will likely be determined by who executes more consistently with few mistakes. Caldarazzo Stadium should be rocking all night.
McKay (0-3) at Galena, Nevada (4-1)—Saturday: McKay gets a break from the murderous schedule that part of is the 5A Mid Willamette Conference with a long road trip to Galena, Nevada—which is located in Southwest Reno.
The Royal Scots were simply outscored in their first two games of the year before being soundly thumped by South Albany 39-8 last Friday. McKay is hoping to get their offensive rhythm back this week, but face a team that has yet to lose to a Nevada-based team. The Grizzlies’ only loss was to Foothill, CA by a respectable 10-7 score.
The two schools are approximately the same size, enrollment-wise—Galena is at about 1500 students, while McKay is about 2200 kids. It could be a competitive contest, if the Scots can overcome a trip that will take at least 9 ½ hours to complete.
Coach Brandis Piper says the travel game—supported by the district and school administrators, and parents alike—came together after Galena’s coach was the first to get back to him about an open spot on the schedule. He says this contest will serve as a bonding opportunity for the team, with a stop at Crater Lake and a few other activities mixed in.
The game is scheduled for 4:30 pm on Saturday afternoon. The team loads up on the bus at 7:00 am sharp Friday. Be sure to pack your favorite blankie, Coach (kidding-kidding). Safe travels, Scots.
There are plenty of games to choose from locally, so find your favorite team and make plans.
Thanks Mark for prep football game preview. The old coach in me loves to read the breakdown of teams competing! Great job! coachj