Week Eight Prep Football Round Up—6A Special District One
Top teams solidify their positions with post season just around the corner
It was a week of expected victories in games played this past Friday. Here are overviews of each contest.
South Salem 42, Sprague 12:
Last Friday marked the 50th anniversary of football rivalry between South Salem and Sprague. And for a short time, it looked like it could be a very competitive ball game. But the Saxons made sure that impression didn’t last for long.
South struck early when quarterback Daschel Smith found receiver Tini Tinitali for a 41 yard touchdown pass just 2 ½ minutes into the game. The Jacob Mueller PAT gave the Saxons the early 7-0 lead. The touchdown capped off a seven play, 65-yard drive. It was the only score of the first quarter. Both teams traded punts until the end of the quarter.
After Sprague had a quick three-and-out on their opening possession of the 2nd quarter, the Saxons responded with another seven-play drive set up by a diving interception of a pass by Sprague’s Athan Palmateer at the South 41 yard line. A 12 yard run right by Tristan Geer got things started. Two more runs by Tinitali—the last for 19 yards—put the Saxons inside the Sprague 30. A pass, followed by a penalty against the Olympian defense put South at the Sprague 14. Wustigg’s sweep to the right side garnered 13 yards. But on first and goal, Wustigg was stopped for the loss of two. On the very next play, Tinitali capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown run from the Wildcat. Sprague’s Wil Hassoun blocked the extra point attempt, and it was 13-0 South, with 7:26 left in the second quarter.
The steady rains—the first of the season—helped contribute to a slowing of scores in the game for a time. But South got on the board again late in the second quarter after Brady Vogt intercepted a Palmateer pass at the Oly 24. South got to the Sprague 11 before having to settle for a Mueller 26-yard field goal, and a 16-0 advantage with 3:45 remaining until the intermission.
Sprague responded with their first score of the game, engineered by quarterback Athan Palmateer. It was a rapid seven play, 72-yard drive that was capped off by an 18-yard dash to the end zone by Olys running back Kenya Johnson. The two-point conversion try was rebuffed by the Saxons, and the score stood at 16-6 with just 1:19 left in the half.
But South wasn’t finished yet. A series of short passes by Smith, and a run by Brady Vogt set up the scoring play—a 17-yard Smith TD pass to Tinitali at the goal line with 47 seconds left in the half. The extra point made it 23-6 at the break.
In the second half, the Saxon defense put the squeeze on the Olympians, who were playing short-handed along the front line and in the receiving corps. On their opening drive, the Olys fumbled at their own 28, and the Saxons recovered seven yards behind the line of scrimmage. South took just three plays to cash in after the Sprague fumble. Smith hit Tinitali on a swing pass that yielded 19 yards and a first and goal for the Saxons. After losing a yard on his first attempt, Wustigg thenwent off right tackle on the next play, and punched in the touchdown from 3 yards out to make 29-7 with 11:04 left in the third.
Palmateer, who finished with a team high 51 yards rushing—even with sacks factored in—tried again to get the Sprague offense rolling—but South limited them to just three snaps. On fourth down, punter Kenya Johnson fielded a very high snap, and had his kick partially blocked in the process.
That that left the ball sitting at the Olympian 8-yard line—translating into a very short field and another short drive for the Saxons. The possession began with a Smith rollout pass to Tinitali that got South down to the one. Two straight rushing attempts yielded nothing. On the next play, a scrambling Smith found Tinitalli in the left-hand corner of the end zone for a one-yard TD reception. The PAT was missed again, and the South advantage stood at 35-6 with 8:28 remaining in the third quarter.
South’s last score came with just over two minutes left in the third. The Olympians had the ball near midfield, but had to turn the ball over on downs when Palmateer failed to connect with Drew Rodriguez on pass across the middle. After three plays and a penalty sandwiched together, the Saxons got what they wanted. Smith fired a bullet to a streaking Esteban Mendez on the left sideline. Mendez secured the ball, sidestepped a defender, and cut back across the field into the end zone on a 56-yard scoring play. The PAT was good this time, and the Saxon margin was 42-6 with 2:12 left in the third. A running clock came into play with the 36-point South Salem advantage.
Sprague wrapped up the scoring with subs in on both sides during the running clock fourth quarter. A Saxon back-up running back caught a pass in the flat, but fumbled as he was tackled. That left the door open for Oly Landon Baldwin-Branch to scoop up the ball and ramble 16 yards for the touchdown. The missed two-point conversion made it 42-12 with 6:37 remaining. And that was how it ended.
For the game, Daschel Smith passed for 190 yards and four touchdowns—his fifth game with four TD throws. South receiver Tini Tinitali had three of those scoring grabs on the night to go along with his short touchdown run. He ended the game with six pass catches for 88 yards.
For Sprague, Palmateer managed 74 yards passing on 8-12 attempts, with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Drew Rodriguez caught three passes for 46 yards to lead the Olympians.
The high-scoring Saxons have recorded at least 34 points in all their games this season.
South (7-1) travels to North Salem (5-3) to face the Vikings at Littlejohn Field in the Mayor’s Cup game on Friday night. Sprague (4-4) will entertain McNary (0-8).
North Salem 31, West Salem 6: The game between North and West was postponed until Saturday due to forest fire smoke in the air. The delay didn’t matter for the Vikings, who ground down the visiting Titans in a 31-6 victory at Littlejohn Field.
Viking running back Josiah Davis—who missed last week’s loss at Sprague due to a broken toe—was back for North Salem—and was a decided difference maker in the contest.
On North’s opening drive, Davis set up his team’s first score with a 41-yard run that put the Vikings at the West 10 yard line.
The Titan defense stiffened, and was also helped by an illegal procedure call against North on third and goal, backing up the Vikings to the 13-yard line. After a run for no gain to make it fourth down, the team lined up for a field goal, and Davis—bad toe and all—booted through a 30-yarder, to make it 3-0 Viks with five minutes left in the first quarter.
The North Salem defense produced the next score. Erick Gonzalez ran under a long, errant pass by West’s Cole Hansen, and weaved his way through defenders for a 45-yard pick-six. Davis’s extra point pushed the Viking lead to 10-0 with two minutes left in the opening period.
North pushed the lead to 17-0 just minutes later, beginning with another interception by Gonzalez, who picked off the ball at the West 45 (again) and returned it down the sideline to the Titan’s 26-yard line.
The Vikings offense then used a run-only drive of six plays using Davis, DeMari Thompson and Jerrick Wangler to get into the end zone. Wangler had the money run with a two-yard plunge with 9:28 remaining in the half. That made it 17-0, Vikings.
After an exchange of punts, West had a short drive that ended at the North Salem 44 when the Titans turned the ball over on downs with 2:46 remaining til halftime.
Another grinding drive for the Vikings ensued, with a mix of run and pass.
Davis got the bulk of the touches, with a pair of screen passes and a physical run to get the Vikings to the West Salem 16 with 16 seconds remaining. Coach Jeff Flood then dug into his playbook and executed a flea flicker, with a pass from quarterback TC Malumaleuna to Gonzalez, and a lateral to the speedy Thompson—which resulted in a gain of 13, and an airborne Thompson shoved out of bounds to make it first and goal with six seconds left.
Coach Flood dialed up a quick pass from Malumaleuna to Davis in the end zone. The catch was made and with the PAT by Davis, North went into the locker room with a 24-0 lead.
West came back from intermission with marked determination. After holding North to three downs and a punt to begin the third quarter, the Titans worked the ball down the field with a balanced blend of pass and run.
Since the loss of quarterback Kaden Martirano to injury in week four, Coach Shawn Stanley has used sophomore Cole Hansen and senior running back Jimmy Lathen at QB. He utilized them both at the position on Saturday.
Lathen began the drive at signal caller and moved the team quickly down the field on a nine play drive. Key plays included a long pass to tight end Hudson Whipple to put the ball at the North Salem 13, followed by a seven yard run by Roman Burrow to the Viking 6. Two plays later, Lathen scampered across the goal line from three yards out.
The two-point conversion failed, and North’s lead was cut to 24-6.
West then attempted an on-side kick on the next play, but North quickly jumped on the ball, and started from near midfield. But the ensuing Viking drive stalled at the West 29, and a fourth down run left the ball for the Titans at their own 28.
Sadly for West, the next possession ended well short of the end zone. With a fourth and nine at the West Salem 40, a pass from Hansen to receiver Nic Martinez was knocked away by Erick Gonzalez, giving the ball back to the Vikings.
North’s drive also ended with the team losing the ball on downs at the end an 8 play drive, after the Titans sacked Malumaleuna for a loss of six on fourth and seven.
But with time running down, the Titans began a furious attack of the Viking defense from their own 38. Lathen began the drive with a 9 yard run as quarterback, but a pass to Whipple was knocked away.
Lathen was moved to quarterback and converted for the first down with a 3 yard plunge into the line. A Cole Hansen pass to Connor Oertel was knocked away. But back-to-back runs by Burrow resulted in a first down at the North 32.
After another incomplete pass, Hansen threw another pass across the middle—which was picked off by Jamar Soaladoab—the third Viking interception of the game. Soaladoab was tackled at the North Salem 49. But North had the ball with 6:15 left in the game.
The Vikings then ran nearly three minutes off the clock on a nine-yard drive. Wangler, Davis and Micah Ritcher did the bulk of the work. Wangler’s bruising 20-yard run on the fourth play gave North a first down at the West Salem 16.
Two plays later, Malumaleuna threw a bullet to Gonzalez on the sideline, who sprinted to the goal line, coming up a yard short of paydirt. But Wangler bulled in for the score on the next play, and the Davis kick stretched the Viking lead to 31-6 with 3:24 left in the game.
West had one last, extended drive—but on fourth down of the ten-play drive, the Titans came up short on a pass completion to get the first down, and the Vikings took over at their own 8 yard line with 1:16 left. The offense took a knee three times, and the game was over.
Davis topped the North Salem offense rushing the ball, with 75 yards on 15 carries. Wangler added 13 carries for 65 yards, and a pair of touchdowns. Davis also had 4 catches for 35 yards and a TD. Gonzalez recorded 3 catches for 40 yards, while Wangler grabbed one pass for 30 yards. All together, the Vikings had 262 yards in total offense.
For West Salem, Lathen rushed for 61 yards on 17 attempts, and had his team’s lone score. Roman Burrow ran for another 60 yards on 9 carries for the Titans, who finished with 246 yards in total offense. West committed three turnovers on the afternoon—all interceptions.
West Salem (1-7) will conclude their season at home Friday against powerful Sheldon (8-0), and North Salem (5-3) wraps up the regular season at home, facing South Salem (7-1) in the Mayor’s Cup game.
5A—McKay 42, Corvallis 25: The Royal Scots played four solid quarters of football, getting out to a 22-6 halftime lead—and then recording twenty points in the third to establish an insurmountable lead against the visiting Corvallis Spartans.
“Our offensive line and full backs played extremely well,” said McKay Coach Brandis Piper.
“They consistently moved the line of scrimmage, which allowed Jamahl (Wilson) the space to take advantage of the defense.”
Wilson ran for 274 yards on 24 carries with four touchdowns for McKay. Quarterback Kyrin Fuimaono completed 8 of 10 passes for 172 yards—including a pair of touchdowns to Justice Anthony.
Coach Piper was also complimentary of his team’s defensive.“Through out the game we had multiple players step up and play spots successfully,” said Piper.
“They made plays all over the field. Middle linebacker, sophomore Jadyn Garibay, continues to improve each week, and has truly embraced being a leader for our defensive.”
The Scots (2-5) wrap up their season next Friday at West Albany (5-2), which upset league rival Silverton 21-20. Corvallis (0-8) conclude their year at South Albany (5-2).
North Medford 52, McNary 6: North Medford came into Friday’s contest near the top of the District standings, but had lost last week to unbeaten Sheldon, and will face South Medford next week to wrap up the regular season. Black Tornado coach Nathan Chin was understandably nervous going into the game against winless McNary.
Chin’s team was playing without leading rusher Ty Pugliano—who was nursing an injury—and there were concerns they might overlook the Celts.
But the worries quickly dissolved as the Tornado got good production from their backup running backs, and added in a touchdown pass by second-string quarterback JT Knobloch-Scott to cruise to an easy win in a game decided by halftime.
North Medford’s large defensive line effectively stymied the best offensive efforts put forth by McNary’s young and injury-riddled squad, forging a 39-0 lead through two quarters. Scoring by the team in the first half included not only five touchdowns, but also a field goal, and a safety when McNary’s punter had to fall on the ball in the end zone after an errant snap.
The Tornado added two more TDs in the second half, while McNary recorded their own points in the fourth quarter on a broken play where quarterback Jackson Alt ran into one of his own linemen, then found his bearings to connect with Jabol Balos on a 70-yard touchdown pass.
For North Medford, Alexander Angulo scored on a pair of 6-yard TD runs, and Kilohana scored on a two yard plunge behind the formidable Tornado offensive front. Quarterback JT Knobloch-Scott also connected with tight end AJ Pugliano on a 24 yard scoring pass. Kick returner DeAndre Card also had a 93-yard kickoff return for a TD late in the game.
North Medford (5-3) faces rival South Medford (6-2) this coming Friday, while McNary (0-8) visits Sprague (4-4).
Sheldon 56, Grants Pass 6: Do-everything quarterback Brock Thomas guided the Sheldon Irish to their eighth straight victory—in Sheldon’s 56-6 home win over Grants Pass.
Thomas threw for six touchdowns and ran for two more as the unbeaten Irish ran away with yet another Special District One victory. The eight TDs accounted for by Thomas was a personal best for the senior signal caller. Thomas has a total of 30 touchdown passes this season.
Luke Leighton and Isaac Peters had interceptions for Sheldon, which was led in tackles by Leighton, Teitum Tuioti and Josh Merriman. Cade Welch caught three of Thomas’s TD passes during the game.
Grant Pass’s only score of the game came early in the second quarter, on a Trevor Reeves one-yard run.
Sheldon (8-0) wraps up the regular season Friday at West Salem (1-7). Grants Pass (5-3) finishes up district play at Roseburg (0-7).
South Medford 37, Roseburg 0: South Medford quickly took control of their home game against winless Roseburg last Friday. A workman-like 60-yard opening drive for a score, followed by an interception that set up yet another touchdown were only the start, but it gave the Panthers a huge early boost.
In the end, South Medford took its team foot off the pedal, and cruised in for an easy 37-0 victory over the struggling and winless Indians at Medford’s Speigelberg Stadium.
Senior quarterback Deacon Edgar passed for four touchdowns, and added one rushing score to pace the Panthers. Edgar finished 13-for-16 for 273 yards with two interceptions, with receiver Andrew Walker slicing up the secondary with seven catches for 111 yards and two scores of 8 and 13 yards.
South Medford led the game 25-0 at halftime.
The victory was the 150th career coaching victory for South Medford coach Bill Singler in 25 years at the helm of the Panther football program.
Defensively, the Panthers limited the Indians to 44 yards rushing and 112 total yards while recording three pass interceptions.
Roseburg (0-7) hosts Grants Pass (5-3) next Friday. South Medford (7-1) faces rival North Medford (5-3) in their regular season finale’.
Hi Mark,
This week’s results makes the Mayor’s Cup more intriguing. Right?
Are we rooting for North Medford to beat South Medford in their game to help boost South’s seeding in the playoffs?
Lastly, update on middle school football:
Top seeded Judson plays 4th seed Parrish on Wednesday night at 7:00pm at McKay HS.
The 2nd and 3rd seed Straub and Crossler also play Wednesday night at 7:00pm. The victors play Wednesday Nov 2nd at 7:00 pm at McCulloch Stadium for the City Championship. Kellen is 10-0 as a starting QB and is doing great. Maybe there is a Gilman on Sports story in the near future on MS football.