Week Nine Preview-Special District One 2022
Who wins in game-last of the regular season
The 2022 Oregon prep football regular season comes to an end Friday. This edition of the preview is coming to you a bit late this week—my apologies… I blame my wife who wasn’t here to keep me on task.
Thursday--Sheldon (8-0) at West Salem (1-7): OK, so I don’t have to write an actual preview for this game since it is already over. Sheldon—a top three team and rarely challenged all year, was the prohibitive favorite in this game against Coach Shawn Stanley’s short-handed, but determined Titan squad.
For the record: I went to this game, and watched for a different reason than tracking statistics. I was curious about how well West Salem would stand up to the onslaught of the Irish juggernaut offense. What I saw was a home team not ready to hand over a victory to the highly regarded opposition.
The visitors won the coin toss and elected to receive, but Sheldon didn’t score until nearly five minutes was off the clock in the opening period. The Irish, directed by their do-everything quarterback Brock Thomas, drove 53 yards on five plays, scoring on a five-yard TD pass from Thomas to senior Cade Welch with 8:45 left in the quarter to make it 7-0.
West’s opening drive resulted in no points, but the offense did get a first down—a moral victory in every sense of the word. And they milked the clock effectively. Sheldon got the ball back and immediately marched down the field, scoring on another TD pass, this time from Thomas to Zach McEwen with 2:22 left in the first. That was the way the first ended—14 to nothing.
Things were a little better in the second quarter. Three points of interest here. First, the West Salem crowd, on hand to honor Titan seniors, found something to cheer about with 9:28 left in the half when the West D collapsed the pocket around Thomas, and sacked him for an eight-yard loss. Fans did applaud the effort with great enthusiasm.
Two, Sheldon still had the ball after the sack and drove into the West Salem red zone with just over four minutes left in the quarter. But the Irish drive stalled and they tried a 35-yard field goal. The kick was hooked right, and the score remained unchanged.
Point three is a more general observation of the second quarter. With just under a minute to go in the period, the Irish scored their only touchdown. The extra point was blocked, and the lead was just 20-0. The defense had done a phenomenal job. Except they weren’t done yet, as the West offense sputtered and managed a very short punt, giving the Irish another opportunity to score on the Titan side of midfield. Except nobody showed West the script for this drama. They sacked Thomas for a second time with just 14 seconds left in the half. Then, on one final play—the Irish running back broke one, two… three tackles before being stopped just a couple of yards short of the end zone. West Salem escaped the first half down just 20-0.
In the second half, Sheldon came out with a little fire in their eye, and proceeded to score 21 straight points—throwing long passes each time. Several times, the Titans slapped the passes down, but they couldn’t defend them all. It was 41-0 Sheldon late in the third quarter, and the running clock session began. And that was how it ended.
So even though West Salem ultimately lost the war, they won enough battles to prove they belonged on the field with Sheldon. For a program struggling through a tough season, it was a small consolation prize for the players. And for the coaches who prepared them.
Final: Sheldon 41, West Salem 0.
5A—McKay (2-6) at West Albany (5-2): The Royal Scots recorded their second victory of the season last week, running out fast against visiting Corvallis with a 22-6 halftime lead, and then settling for a decisive 42-25 win over the winless Spartans in Mid Willamette Conference play. Jamahl Wilson rushed for 274 yards on 24 carries and scored four touchdowns to lead McKay to the victory.
West Albany has been savoring a rare road win over their arch-rival, defending state champion Silverton. The difference was an extra point in the Bulldogs’ 21-20 victory at Silverton’s McGinnis Field. In fact, West Albany’s Camden Johnson blocked two extra points during the game, including one in the wild fourth quarter that helped his team forge the one-point win.
This is a game that McKay would love to win to ease the disappointment of a losing record and no playoff opportunity. But it will be a tough task against a West Albany team that has been in the top ten most of the season—and who is looking to give themselves a spring board into the 5A playoffs. Being on the road also doesn’t help the Scots’ cause.
If they play the four strong quarters in the game that have eluded them most of the season, the McKay squad will have a competitive chance. Consistency will be the key.
South Salem (7-1) at North Salem (5-2): This is a game that has been circled on the calendar since the season began. South Salem has been considered the top team in the local community all year long, with a disappointing loss to South Medford the only blemish on their gridiron resume’. Saxon quarterback Daschel Smith tends to be the barometer of his team’s success—and a good showing by number-12 means a good showing for South. His athletic and speedy receiving corps is among the best in the state, and the Saxon defense is also solid. Weekend adjustments to the power rankings dropped South a slot to tenth, just behind South Medford—which beat the Saxons on their home field on September 23rd.
North Salem’s power rankings (#28 this week) have been low all season long, due in part to a weak preseason schedule previously covered by this author in earlier weeks. But North has shown some resilience. After falling at Sprague two weeks ago, the Vikings recovered with a resounding home win over West Salem. It also marked the return of Josiah Davis, who had been hobbled by a broken toe in recent weeks—and had not played a down against Sprague two weeks ago. He scored on a short touchdown pass from TC Malumalenua, rushed for 75 yards on 15 carries, and kicked four extra points and a 25-yard field goal in his team’s 31-6 win last Saturday. Apparently, that toe on his right foot is all better.
This year’s Mayor Trophy game has extra significance because South—currently tenth in the OSAA power rankings, needs a win and a little help to move into eighth and a home playoff game. On the North side of things, a win over a team of South Salem’s caliber will help them greatly in playoff positioning in the Columbia Cup playoff bracket.
It ought to be—as my dad would have said—a “barn burner.” I predict the fourth quarter will be the key to victory.
McNary (0-8) at Sprague (4-4): This is a game between two tradition local powers that have fallen on tough times.
For McNary, it has been a time of regime change. Connor Astley took over in July as head coach, and directed a squad that lost some of its best players to other schools. The result has been a frustrating—but at the same time rewarding—season of learning. Sadly, the lessons have included an awful lot of losing. McNary’s offense is only averaging about ten points a game, while the defense has yielded about triple that many points.
For Sprague (ranked #22), the future looks bright—with a large freshman class turning out this year. But numbers in the upper classes are still a bit low, and the Olympians lost one of their top players to a move out of state. Still, the development of transfer quarterback Athan Palmateer has been a bright spot. The Olympians still run the ball very well under the direction of Coach Jay Minyard. And they have the x-factor on the field in Colorado State-bound Drew Rodriguez, who was essentially neutralized by South Salem in the Saxons 42-12 win last week. Not thinking the neutralizing will happen again this week.
The game is being played at Sprague—advantage Olys. And Sprague has scored their highest number of points (56) in two different games at Schmidt Field/Olympic Stadium. Again, a check for Sprague.
If the McNary defense can stymie the Olympian offense consistently, they will have a fighting chance. A chance.
North Medford (5-3) at South Medford (6-2): Half of Medford could be crowding into Spiegelberg Stadium Friday night for a game between two teams positioned near the magical 8th spot in the power rankings—good for a home playoff spot. South Medford is ranked ninth, and North Medford 13th. Some weekend adjustments in the rankings moved the Panthers ahead of South Salem, which had been in the ninth slot on Saturday.
Both Medford teams have played well overall this year. South Medford counts South Salem among its victims, while North Medford beat North Salem. Both teams were victims of top-3 Sheldon.
Injuries are a factor for the Black Tornado coming into the contest. North Medford was without bruising running back Ty Pugliano last week against McNary. He sat out the game as a precaution after suffering an undisclosed injury. He is a must-show this week for a Black Tornado team that relies heavily on the ground game.
Also expected back for NM is quarterback Caiden Lacey—who was carted off after the first play of a North Medford victory over Roseburg a few weeks back. He reportedly has been on concussion protocol and should be back this last regular-season game. If not, transfer JT Knobloch-Scott, who is also the team kicker—has proven himself to be a reliable signal caller.
South Medford has been steady since their loss a few weeks back to Sheldon. Quarterback Deacon Edgar threw for four touchdowns last week in a 37-0 drubbing of winless Roseburg. The win was the 150th in the career of Coach Bill Singler, who has directed the Panthers for 25 years.
This contest could come down to the last series of the game, even the last play. Overtime is also a distinct possibility between the cross-town rivals.
Grants Pass (5-3) at Roseburg (0-7): The Cavemen are still a surprising 12th in the state power rankings. After being embarrassed in a Saturday contest early in the season, Grants Pass has just kept winning—last week’s 56-6 loss to unbeaten Sheldon being the one, glaring exception.
If previous games involving Roseburg are any indicator, the Cavemen should be in control by half time.
GP quarterback Jace Blanchard has a steady hand on the controls of his team’s offense, running and throwing the ball as needed to the steady-as-a rock Jackson Tunick.
For Roseburg, the going doesn’t get any better. They still struggle to move the football offensively, and struggle with bad snaps and other unforced errors. Losing your starting quarterback early, and key linemen later can do that to a young team.
Roseburg doesn’t go winless very often, but it appears this will be one of those times in 2022.
A note about power rankings: the numbers this week will be the final ones for the year. Once all games are completed, the OSAA website should fill-in matchups for both the state championship games (seeds 1 through 16) and for the Columbia Cup (seeds 17 through 32). More on those match-ups next week.
Oh oh, fewer likes?? Is that due to your wife being absent? Her takng advantage of inservice days?
Loved “barn burner”… how many times did we hear your Dad say that over the years…?!