10 things to know from Week 7 of Oregon high school football: Mountainside takes down Jesuit

Lakeridge rallies past Tualatin, Sprague stays unbeaten, Silverton beats Wilsonville

In Week 7's biggest game, LaMarcus Bell and Lake Oswego stormed back in the fourth quarter to stun West Linn. / Photo by Leon Neuschwander

The biggest night of the Oregon high school football season took place Friday, with Week 7 boasting countless matchups that had league championship implications.

Our predictions: How did we do?

None, though, was bigger than the clash in West Linn between the Lions, ranked No. 1 in the most recent Class 6A coaches poll, and No. 3 Lake Oswego. 

The Lakers erased a 17-7 deficit in the fourth quarter to knock off the Lions 21-17, with junior LaMarcus Bell coming up big on the winning drive, rushing for 66 yards — including a 10-yard touchdown with 5:41 to play.

5 takeaways from Lake Oswego's win over West Linn

Here’s what else caught our eye on this jam-packed Friday night.

10 things to know from Week 7

Mountainside rumbles to first win over Metro League power Jesuit

In Mountainside’s short history, the Mavericks had won some big games, including taking down No. 1 seed Tigard in the second round of the 2019 6A state playoffs.

But one thing they’d never accomplished was beating Metro League powerhouse Jesuit — that is, until Friday night, when they went to Cronin Field and beat the Crusaders at their game.

The Mavericks scored seven of their eight touchdowns on the ground in a 58-35 victory that has Mountainside in the driver’s seat to end No. 7 Jesuit’s decade-long streak of league titles and secure the program’s first Metro championship.

“This means a lot for our program,” junior quarterback Cade Mitchell said. “We all had that mindset to go make history tonight and shock the rest of the state.”

The Mavericks jumped out to a 20-0 lead late in the first quarter, taking advantage of a strip sack and recovery by Sam Vhylidal and an onside kick recovery to take control.

The lead grew to 34-7 late in the second quarter, but Jesuit was within striking distance at 51-35 late in the third and had a chance to draw closer before the Mavericks held on fourth down at their 6-yard line.

Jordan Hicks then scored on a 30-yard run — his second touchdown of the game — to seal the win. Vhylidal and Reece Ballew also ran for two touchdowns apiece.

Lakeridge rebounds from first loss to rally past Tualatin

No. 4 Lakeridge bounced back from its first loss of the season last week against West Linn to rally past No. 5 Tualatin 33-22 and keep alive its hopes of earning a share of the Three Rivers League title.

The Pacers overcame a first-quarter injury to junior University of Washington commit Ansu Sanoe to stay one game back of crosstown rival Lake Oswego in the league standings. They’ll meet in the annual Battle of the Lake in Week 9.

Lakeridge coach Spencer Phillips credited the defense for playing “lights out,” with Jake Zowadski making five sacks. Shanko Kornachuk and Noah Tishendorf scored two touchdowns apiece.

“Just a total team win,” Phillips said. “It was great to see our kids respond in the second half. We had too many missed opportunities in the first half, and the ball was bouncing their way. It was great to see our team not give up.”

The Timberwolves took a 22-19 lead with 2:44 left in the third quarter on Cole Hachmeister’s 47-yard interception return for a touchdown. Another interception by Trenton Hertzog gave Tualatin the ball again, but the Pacers held firm, and then they turned to Tishendorf, a 6-foot-3 tight end, to direct the offense out of the Wildcat.

Tishendorf scored on a 3-yard run to put Lakeridge back on top 26-22 with five minutes left. He added a late 31-yard touchdown to ice the victory.

Sprague needs big comeback at Grants Pass to stay undefeated

The cardiac kids from south Salem were at it again on the road, as No. 8 Sprague rallied from a 28-7 deficit late in the first half to win at Grants Pass 41-40 and improve to 8-0.

Dukatti Witherspoon threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, and Kenya Johnson ran for one score and caught a touchdown pass for the Olympians, who have next week off before taking on No. 6 Sheldon (a 45-10 winner at South Medford) in two weeks to decide the South Central Football Conference title.

“We have such a great group of kids and coaches,” Sprague coach AJ Robinson said. “We were resilient and had so many opportunities to give up. Credit to our kids — they are believing and playing inspired football.”

Newberg stays on course for Pacific Conference title with big road win

One more down, one to go for Newberg in its quest to win its first outright league championship in a full season since 1960 after the Tigers won at Liberty 37-6 on Friday night.

The Tigers led 23-0 after three quarters as they kept pace with defending Pacific Conference champion Sherwood, a 62-34 winner over McMinnville, with the Highway 99W rivals set to battle in the final week of the regular season. 

Newberg has next week off. The No. 10 Bowmen play host to Liberty next week before traveling to Newberg in the finale.

Wells romps past Southwest Portland neighbor Lincoln

Wells just keeps rolling along in the PIL, disposing of Southwest Portland rival Lincoln 46-16 to remain unbeaten in league play and secure at least a share of its second consecutive league championship.

Wyatt Andler ran for 125 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, helping the Guardians build a 40-0 halftime lead.

Wells plays Cleveland next week — the Warriors are playing an independent schedule this season — before closing the regular season at home against Jefferson. The Democrats take on Lincoln next week and must win to have a chance at earning a share of the league title and a spot in the 12-team 6A state championship bracket.

Silverton wins high-powered showdown with 5A No. 1 Wilsonville

Silverton, ranked No. 2 in 5A, dominated the second half of its league showdown with No. 1 and defending state champion Wilsonville to defeat the Wildcats 45-27 at McGinnis Field.

The Foxes trailed 20-14 at halftime before scoring touchdowns on their first five drives of the second half. 

Sutton Kuenzi turned a short pass from Sawyer Teeney into a 68-yard touchdown to tie the score at 20-20 with 7:17 left in the third quarter, and the duo connected on a long pass to set up Teeney’s go-ahead 12-yard touchdown keeper with three minutes left in the period.

“We had a bunch of plays in the first half that were close to going big, but they didn’t. In the second half, they did,” said Foxes coach Dan Lever, crediting “great second-half adjustments” from defensive coordinator Matt Craig and offensive line coach Eric Anderson.

Teeney finished with five touchdown passes to go with his scoring run to outshine Wildcats quarterback Mark Wiepert, who threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns but was held in check in the second half by the Foxes.

Churchill seizes control of Midwestern League title race

No. 5 Churchill passed perhaps its biggest test remaining in Midwestern League play, pulling away after halftime for a 42-21 victory over previously undefeated Willamette.

The Lancers led just 16-14 at halftime, but touchdown passes of 34 yards from Lucas Gansen to Kingsli Roberts and 35 yards from Gansen to Donovan Jackson in a 2½-minute span of the third quarter pushed the lead to 30-14 with 5:18 left in the period.

Ceville Pasi added a 39-yard touchdown run — his third touchdown of the game — early in the fourth to extend the lead to 36-14. Pasi finished with 37 carries for 271 yards and four touchdowns.

“It was a battle tonight, and the score is not indicative of how tough a game it was,” Churchill coach Layne Coffin said. “I just think it was a combined effort in all three phases. We got a great outing from our defense.”

Cascade topples Philomath from ranks of 4A unbeatens

The top two teams in the Oregon West Conference remained on a collision course as 4A No. 1 Cascade handed No. 2 Philomath its first loss of the season with a 60-19 thrashing, and No. 3 Marist Catholic blanked No. 7 Stayton 35-0.

The Cougars welcomed back junior Bryce Kuenzi from a leg injury that sidelined him last week, and he scored their first touchdown on a 1-yard run after a blocked punt.

“Having Bryce back was huge as he is a threat any time he gets the ball,” coach Shane Hedrick said.

Still, it was the play of Cascade’s secondary that shone Friday. The Cougars corralled Philomath’s high-powered passing game, with Hunter Anundi and Josiah Hawkins getting interceptions to help them build a 40-12 halftime lead, allowing Hedrick to rest Kuenzi in the second half in anticipation of next week’s matchup at Marist Catholic.

“The secondary played well, and our front three kept pressure on the quarterback,” Hedrick said. “The offense rolled tonight, and that changed their normal game plan.”

Crook County has sights set on first league title in past 40 years

No. 6 Crook County joined Cascade as the only remaining undefeated teams in 4A by beating Pendleton 38-19.

The Cowboys take on La Grande next week with a chance to secure the Greater Oregon League title, which would be the program’s first league championship since the 1984 team went 14-0 and won the Class AAA state title.

Quarterback Gavin Sandoval threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and GW Neathery returned an interception 92 yards for a touchdown late in the first half to push the lead to 28-7 entering the locker room.

“The boys executed the game plan,” coach Pard Smith said. “We tackled well and played well in the secondary.”

The best of the rest in a loaded Week 7 schedule

There were so many big games that we’ll try to note just a few more of them here:

• 5A No. 9 West Albany set up a showdown with unbeaten No. 4 Dallas next week for the Mid-Willamette Conference title by handing Lebanon its first MWC loss, 48-18. Senior quarterback Kaden Martirano threw for four touchdowns — three to Austin Simmons — and ran for another for the Bulldogs.
• Banks, last year’s 3A runner-up, is the lone unbeaten team in Special District 1 play after defeating Yamhill-Carlton 49-18 at home. Lane Gilbert had three touchdown passes.
• Santiam Christian and Taft picked up big road wins in 3A PacWest Conference play to remain on a collision course for a title-deciding showdown in two weeks on the Central Oregon coast.
• Oakland erased an early 14-12 deficit to cruise past Myrtle Point 38-14 as the 2A state champion of two years ago won a matchup of Special District 4 unbeatens.
• Gaston rallied for a 22-14 home win over Nestucca in a key 2A Northwest League matchup that derailed the Bobcats’ chances of winning an outright league title. Both teams are 4-1 in league play with two weeks left.

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