10 things to know from Week 6 of Oregon high school football

West Linn records another shutout, Sprague reaches 7-0, Westview outlasts Sunset in game of the night

West Linn has three consecutive shutout victories for the first time since 1998. / Photo by Leon Neuschwander

The Oregon high school football season continued with Week 6 action around the state.

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Here are 10 things to know from the Week 6 slate of games.

10 things to know from Week 6

West Linn’s relentless pursuit of Lakeridge results in third consecutive shutout

West Linn’s defenders have a mantra this season.

Relentless pursuit.

As senior linebacker Will Ingle described it, “Get all 11 hats to the ball if we can, and if not, then we’re going to try our best. And I think we showed that well tonight.”

Indeed, the Lions — No. 2 in High School on SI’s Northwest Regional rankings — unleashed their defense at Lakeridge on Friday night in a clash of Three Rivers League unbeatens, posting their third consecutive shutout in a 13-0 victory.

The Lions (6-0, 2-0 TRL) held the Pacers to 234 yards, shutting down University of Washington commit Ansu Sanoe (26 yards on 15 carries) and holding their big-play receiver, Zyon Floyd, to one catch for 41 yards in beating their TRL rivals for the 13th consecutive time.

“It was about knowing who was a dude for them and executing,” said junior Silas Reynolds, whose 11-yard sack of Drew Weiler ended a fourth-quarter drive in the red zone. “Our defensive line was amazing, for sure, just getting around guys and getting off blocks. That was really key for us.”

West Linn hadn’t posted three shutouts in a row since 1998 — also the last year the Lions had four in a season — and the defense had to work hard to keep the zero on the scoreboard.

The Pacers (5-1, 1-1), who hadn’t been shut out since 2017 (also against West Linn), reached the red zone four times. Besides the turnover on downs forced by Reynolds’ sack (one of six for the Lions), Lakeridge missed a field goal in the first half, and sophomores Josiah Molden (seven tackles) and Shane Peters intercepted passes in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

“It was definitely a challenge,” said Ingle, who had seven tackles (2½ for loss) and 1½ sacks. “We knew we had a darn good opponent across from us, and that gets us all fired up.”

The Pacers also had been stingy on defense most of the season and entered the game fresh off shutting out Oregon City in their TRL opener.

For most of the first half, they stymied the Lions offense, but just before halftime, the visitors were able to free senior wideout Danny Wideman for a 42-yard completion from Baird Gilroy to move them to the Pacers 8-yard line. 

Three plays later, Gilroy rolled right and found Wideman on a 6-yard touchdown pass with 29.4 seconds left in the half.

“Their defensive front really did a great job and got us off our regular rhythm,” Lions coach Jon Eagle said. “But you’ve really got to get your playmakers the ball. We knew we’ve got to get Danny the ball somehow, some way, and we went at it.”

Gilroy finished 12 of 23 for 140 yards and two touchdowns — the second a 13-yard strike to tight end Baron Naone late in the third quarter.

Kelsey has two interception-return touchdowns to lift Central Catholic to critical Mt. Hood victory

Central Catholic senior Landon Kelsey is better known for his prowess catching passes from his quarterback, Robbie Long.

But two weeks ago in the Rams’ victory against Clackamas, first-year coach Charlie Landgraf decided he needed to work the Eastern Washington commit more into the rotation at safety.

And in their Mt. Hood Conference showdown with Nelson at Hillsboro Stadium that would likely decide the MHC champion, that decision paid off. Kelsey returned two interceptions for touchdowns of 35 and 95 yards, helping Central Catholic pull away from a 14-12 halftime lead to win 37-12.

Kelsey also had a 47-yard run on a fake punt late in the second quarter that set up a 17-yard scoring pass from Long to D’Marieon Gates to give the Rams the lead going to the locker rooms.

“It just speaks to the football player he is,” Landgraf said. “He’s a great athlete but an even better teammate. He’s got all the traits to impact the game in every phase.”

Westview pulls off furious comeback to defeat Metro League rival Sunset in OT

Anyone who wrote off Westview after all its offseason turmoil should know the Wildcats still have plenty of fight. They rallied from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit against Sunset to beat their rivals just down Sunset Highway 35-28 to even their Metro League record at 1-1 and improve to 2-4 overall.

The Apollos led 28-7 after Marcus Hahm’s 38-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth before the Wildcats rallied behind junior Heath Thompson, who scored on runs of 43, 46 and 1 yard in the final period, then scored on a two-point conversion to complete the comeback.

In overtime, Thompson scored on a 5-yard run, and the Wildcats held on fourth down from the 2-yard line to secure the victory.

Thompson finished with 154 yards on 20 carries, and Charlie Barton was 17 of 26 for 183 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Velasco. Peyton Read caught nine passes for 113 yards.

Sprague reaches 7-0 for first time in past 20 years by rallying to beat South Medford

Sprague kept its dream season going in dramatic fashion Thursday night, rallying from a 24-16 deficit entering the final quarter against South Medford to pull out a 28-24 victory to reach 7-0 for the first time since they went 14-0 and won the 4A state title 20 years ago.

Kenya Johnson scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Olympians on a 13-yard run with 1:34 remaining. Trayton Futi sealed the victory with an interception in the final minute.

Glencoe stays unbeaten in NWOC play with win at Forest Grove

Glencoe is the last team undefeated in the 5A Northwest Oregon Conference after defeating Forest Grove 35-20.

The Crimson Tide, in their first season in the NWOC after dropping from 6A, are 4-0 in NWOC play and alone atop the standings after Hillsboro toppled previously unbeaten Hood River Valley 28-14 on Thursday.

“We have been building for a long time and have never had the numbers, financial support or other things like the 6A championship bracket programs have had,” said coach Ian Reynoso, pointing out that Glencoe joined Hillsboro, Forest Grove and Aloha as 6A schools playing down in 5A.

“There are a lot of similarities between all of us. It’s interesting to see the teams at this level that look like us in school, community, demographics and participation. Playing these games has been great for the future of our program.”

Daniel Heninger led the way for the Crimson Tide, rushing for 290 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries, as Glencoe amassed 325 yards on the ground and held a 3-to-1 edge in time of possession (35:58 to 12:02). 

Camden Roofener caught a touchdown pass and had two sacks of Vikings quarterback Nolan Hudgins, who finished 25 of 36 for 325 yards.

The Crimson Tide have wins over Hillsboro, their crosstown rival, and La Salle Prep. They’ll finish the season at Hood River Valley in a game that could decide the conference title.

Wilsonville sets up SD2 showdown at Silverton by romping past Canby

Wilsonville didn’t get caught looking ahead to next week’s showdown at Silverton, rolling to a 42-6 victory over Canby to improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in 5A Special District 2 play.

Senior Mark Wiepert was 25 of 31 for 340 yards and six touchdowns, including three to Nick Crowley, who had six catches for 82 yards.

Keona Tam caught a touchdown pass and had an interception deep in Wilsonville territory in the first half. Emerson Traub, Ben Wiepert and Riddick Molatore had six tackles apiece.

Philomath offense still revving at high speed in 49-14 win over Stayton

Philomath’s offense kept humming in a 49-14 victory over Stayton that improved the Warriors to 6-0 — maintaining their best start since the 2013 team won its first 11 games before falling in the 4A semifinals.

Senior quarterback Caleb Russell threw for four touchdowns and ran for two. Philomath now prepares for next week’s matchup with fellow unbeaten Cascade, which won 48-6 over Junction City to join the Warriors at 6-0.

“Caleb has worked really hard to understand coverages and his progressions in each coverage,” coach Alex Firth said. “Our receivers have freedom, and they’ve played together for three or four years and have a sense of where they need to be in our concepts. It’s just repetition that has led to the chemistry.”

Scappoose wins rivalry game with St. Helens behind Nowlin’s 5 TD passes

Scappoose won its annual Seven-Mile War scrap with St. Helens 46-0, with senior quarterback Max Nowlin going 11 of 11 for 301 yards and five touchdowns in his second game back from an ankle injury.

Elijah Greenan-Biggs had 143 total yards and caught a touchdown pass, and Jaiden Smith had two catches (both for touchdowns) for 86 yards.

“It’s always good to get the win in a rivalry game,” coach Joe Nowlin said. “It was important that we were able to put a complete game together on both sides of the ball.”

Siuslaw wins Southern Oregon clash of unbeatens with Douglas

In a matchup of Class 3A unbeatens along the South Coast, Siuslaw erased an early 14-0 deficit against Douglas to pull out a 38-30 victory in Florence.

The Vikings improved to 5-0, with every game decided by a one-score margin — including a 40-35 victory two weeks ago against Cascade Christian they secured on the final play.

“We spotted them that 14-0 lead at home, but we just buckled down and got back to playing the way we knew we should be playing,” said coach Sam Johnson, whose team went unbeaten three years ago to win the school’s first state title since 2006.

Will Johnson ran for two touchdowns for Siuslaw, and Micah Blankenship ran for one touchdown and threw for another.

Adrian keeps rolling in 8-man ranks with victory over Crane

Adrian seized control of the title race in the 1A eight-man High Desert League with a 36-14 victory over Crane.

The Antelopes entered averaging 60.7 points per game and beating opponents by an average of 50 points, but the Mustangs — who reached the state semifinals last year — kept the game close, trailing 14-6 at halftime and 22-14 after three quarters.

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