Salem-Keizer football preview: Week Two

Local teams were 2-4 opening week, looking to do better

Salem-Keizer football teams managed to win only two games out of six during opening week, and it goes without saying that the teams will be gunning to do better as a group this coming weekend.  Here are the matchups each team has for week two:

Beaverton at Sprague: The Olympians had a horrendous first half last Friday on the road at Liberty of Hillsboro, following behind 14-0.  Sprague’s best player—WR/DB Drew Rodriguez—accounted for the Olys only first half points with a 79 yard fumble return to get his team on the board—but Sprague still trailed 21-7 at the half after the host Falcons converted twice on fourth down to set up a late TD pass in the second period.  Things looked pretty glum at that moment.

In the second half, Sprague was the offensive aggressor, and played solid defense to shutout Liberty’s offense in the last two quarters.  Coach Jay Minyard decided to go with strong-armed Athan Palmateer at quarterback for most of the second half, and while it wasn’t a five-star performance, the junior transfer did complete key passes—to Rodriguez—for a pair of touchdowns, while also opening up the running game for tailback Barick Hill, who had nearly 100 yards.  Still, Sprague couldn’t convert near the goal line late and ended up falling 21-19.

Minyard has been retooling at some positions in preparation for his team’s home opener against Beaverton. The Beavers were thoroughly dominated at home last week in a 41-0 loss to South Medford.  Like Sprague, the Beavers have had to rebuild their team with a number of younger players.  Could be a real chess match Friday at Olympic Stadium.

Lake Oswego at West Salem: West finds itself in an unfamiliar position—winless after the first game of the season.  The decidedly inexperienced Titan squad stayed with Sherwood for 2 ½ quarters before being outgunned late in a 31-14 road loss to the Bowman.  Something to build upon was the performance of sophomore signal caller Kaden Martirano, who threw for 256 yards and a touchdown to senior transfer wide out Braiden Copeland.

Playing Lake Oswego in game two will be a challenge, but the Lakers aren’t the team opponents normally fear.  Head Coach Steve Coury likes the players he has, but many are still under development and the player numbers at L-O have been on the gradual decline in recent years.  The Lakers handled Barlow in their opener 20-8, but had their share of miscues, especially near the goal line offensively. Those facts don’t guarantee anything, but it does give the Titans a fighting chance in their home opener this coming Friday.  Should be an entertaining match up.

Tualatin at McNary (Saturday):  First year McNary coach Connor Astley didn’t have the sort of debut he might have wanted.  The Celtics were dominated by Lakeridge 47-0.  Coach Astley spoke highly of his team’s effort, but a lack of points still made for a long night for the entire squad.

McNary’s Saturday home opener doesn’t seem any more promising, as they entertain defending state 6A runner-up Tualatin.  The Timberwolves graduated the bulk of their team that lost to Central Catholic in last year’s championship game—and also saw their coach resign to take over at 5A power Silverton.

But for all the change, there is still plenty to like about the T-Wolves.  They still have veteran quarterback Jack Wagner—who threw for 237 yards and three touchdowns in Tualatin’s 19-12 win over Summit last Friday.  New coach Dominic Ferraro still has lots of work to do as he installs a new, up-tempo offense.  But his defense was a decided strong point in week one.

For Coach Astley, the objective is to have a much better game two with his collection of younger or inexperienced players.  Several steps forward and an offensive score or two is probably near the top of the list for McNary.  Such is life for a team in rebuilding mode.

McKay at Dallas: The Royal Scots are coming off a game that they very well might have won, but Lebanon rallied late from 20 points down to beat McKay 41-39.  Those are the kind of losses that tend to sting, but the ever-optimistic coach Brandis Piper still sang the praises of his team, saying the put it all on the line against a Lebanon team that was markedly bigger up front.

Lebanon at McKay—week one

Week two puts the Scots on the road at Dallas.  The Dragons had the unenviable task of facing defending 5A champion Silverton in week one—a game won by the Foxes 40-29.

Dallas lost seven all-conference performers from last year’s playoff team that fell in the quarterfinals.  But they still have plenty of returnees to challenge for the post season in 2022.  Emilio Miranda is one of those veterans.  He rushed for over 100 yards and two TDs in the home loss to Silverton.

McKay has plenty of confidence in its offense, directed by quarterback Kyrin Fuiamaono.  He threw for 300 yards in the loss to Lebanon, and looks poised to do it again at Dallas.  Plenty of fireworks look to be in store for fans in Dallas.

North Salem at David Douglas:  For a second straight week, the Vikings head for the Portland-Metro area, looking for their second straight win.  In week one, North marched into Roosevelt High School and shutdown the Roughriders offense enroute to a 35-3 win.  The Viks made their own share of mistakes, including giving up the ball deep in their own territory.  But the defense played well, and limited that possession to just a field goal. Josiah Davis led the North offense with three TD runs.

North’s next opponent for week two will not be the pushover that Roosevelt was.  The David Douglas Scots advanced to last year’s state playoffs for the first time since 2015. They did lose a half dozen key players to graduation, but still return plenty of offensive players from their run-heavy scheme. 

Injuries to returning two-way standout Caleb Clardy prior to their opening game with Tigard was a definite blow to the Scots.  Tigard scored 41 points in the first half of the contest, and cruised to a 48-0 blowout victory.  David Douglas was limited to just 38 yards of offense in the first half, and will be looking to return their confidence to a high level as they host North Friday night.

North Salem coach Jeff Flood has been tinkering with his squad to improve on both sides of the ball.  If North can continue to run the football behind the strong legs of Davis, and count on more stifling play from the defense led by Jerrik Wangler, the Vikings could run their record to 2-0 this week.

Sunset at South Salem: South Salem was the mileage champion last week, traveling to the Seattle area for their opening game against Liberty High School of Renton, Washington.  After a slow start caused in part by player disciplinary issues, South roared back from a 14-0 deficit, and tied the game with the Patriots in regulation.  In overtime, South’s defense held Liberty out of the end zone, then needed just two plays to score the winning touchdown in a 34-28 victory.  Quarterback Daschel Smith threw for 350 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win.  There were plenty of other Saxon heroes to salute in the contest—including wide receivers Tini Tinitali, Esteban Mendez and Zach Wusstig—all who scored touchdowns for South.

Photo courtesy of Rebekah Wilhite

Up next for the Saxons is a Metro League stalwart—the Sunset Apollos.  Sunset got off to a fast start in 2021, going 4-1 to start the year, but key injuries slowed the team’s development and led to a first round playoff loss. They opened this season with a 14-9 victory over Sandy.

Apollos coach Damien Merrick has a number of good athletes back this year—many of whom played out of position last year due to the aforementioned injuries.  Coming out of camp, junior Drew Nees emerged as the starting quarterback for the run-heavy offense, and performed well against Sandy with 266 yards passing and running combined.  Understudies from last year’s playoff team are now filling the running back and wide receiver spots.  The defense is expected to be solid with a number of returning players on the front line.

South Salem has a very high measure of confidence with so many returning players on the front line and at the skills positions.  If they can continue to play with confidence, the Saxons should be one of the favorites out of Salem to advance to the 6A post season out of Special District One.

BOTTOM LINE:  It is a new week, and another game to gain valuable experience.  Should be lots of fun, and local residents should be sure to attend one of the local games this coming weekend.