Instant analysis: 10 things to know from Week 4 of Oregon high school football

10 takeaways from the fourth weekend of action

René Ferrán | Sep 23, 2023

Here are 10 takeaways (in no particular order) from the fourth weekend of the Oregon high school football season.

Photo by Dan Brood

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How the SBLive Oregon 6A media poll Top 10 fared

1. Central Catholic (4-0) def. Nelson 42-7

2. West Linn (4-0) def. Lake Stevens (WA) 49-30

3. Tualatin (4-0) def. No. 7 Jesuit 42-17

4. Lake Oswego (4-0) def. McMinnville 35-7

5. Sherwood (4-0) def. Westview 36-0

6. Lakeridge (4-0) def. Sunset 31-20

7. Jesuit (0-4) lost to No. 3 Tualatin 42-17

8. Tigard (4-0) def. Liberty 21-14

9. Sheldon (2-2) def. McNary 49-6

10. South Medford (3-1) lost to South Salem 45-21

No. 1 Central Catholic maintains iron grip on Mt. Hood Conference

Top-ranked Central Catholic snuffed out Nelson’s hopes of an upset early and rolled to a 42-7 victory in a Mt. Hood Conference game in Happy Valley.

Senior quarterback Cru Newman threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in the first half, accounting for 288 yards of total offense as the Rams built a 35-7 halftime lead en route to a 21st consecutive MHC victory.

“Our guys are always on the road, even at home,” said Rams coach Steve Pyne, referring to their home field being Hillsboro Stadium, 20 miles from their Southeast Portland campus. “So, it doesn’t seem to faze them. Our defense played great and set the tone.”

Tyson Davis added a 57-yard touchdown run and a 63-yard catch-and-run from Newman as part of the onslaught.

Timmie Mitchell’s 64-yard interception return for a score with 9:56 remaining triggered the running clock for the Rams, who entered the week No. 4 in SBLive Sports’ Northwest regional rankings.

South Salem snags significant road win at No. 10 South Medford

South Salem traveled to Spiegelberg Stadium and knocked off No. 10 South Medford 45-21 to improve to 4-0.

Athan Palmateer tossed three touchdown passes, with two going to Eli Johnson. Their second scoring connection built the Saxons’ lead to 31-14 with 7:50 left in the third.

Bridger Foss drew the Panthers within 31-21 just 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, but South Salem answered quickly, with Tristan Geer’s short touchdown run with 10:27 left restoring the three-touchdown advantage.

“We gave up a couple of big plays, but we were pretty solid most of the game on defense,” Saxons coach Scott Dufault said. “Offensively, I thought our quarterback (Palmateer) played well tonight. He took care of the ball and made some good throws as well as making a lot of plays with his feet. He was a warrior.”

North Medford pulls away in fourth quarter to win at North Salem

AJ Pugliano caught two touchdown passes, including the tiebreaking score early in the second quarter and a backbreaking 23-yarder with 7:31 left as North Medford traveled up I-5 and defeated North Salem 56-21.

The Black Tornado intercepted Oregon commit TC Manumaleuna II three times in the first half, but two long scores by Jamahl Wilson allowed the Vikings to keep it within 35-21 at halftime.

North Medford put the game away with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Oregon City upholds Three Rivers League’s perfect nonleague mark

Oregon City’s defense finally yielded a touchdown, but that’s about the only negative to the Pioneers’ 49-6 victory at Beaverton that improved them to 4-0 for the first time since 2013.

The Pioneers have outscored their opponents 141-12 during their 4-0 start, with the only other score coming on an interception return by Canby in Week 2. Their 4-0 start in 2013 included a forfeit win; the last time they’d won four in a row on the field to open a season was 1996.

Oregon City’s victory clinched a perfect nonleague run for the Three Rivers League. All six teams went 4-0 during nonleague play, with only four games — Tualatin (17-14 at Lincoln of Tacoma, Wash., and 22-13 against 2022 5A finalist Wilsonville) and Tigard (20-14 vs. Sandy and 21-14 at Liberty) twice apiece — within a 10-point margin.

Ben Schneider threw for 180 yards and a touchdown and ran for two scores, and Mitchell Johnson had a long touchdown run in the first quarter for Oregon City.

The Pioneers also got a 70-yard punt return for a score by Thomas Borden and a fumble return for a touchdown by Clay Martineau.

No. 5 Sherwood pitches third consecutive shutout in beating Westview

No. 5 Sherwood held Westview to 205 yards of total offense and posted its third consecutive shutout, defeating the host Wildcats 36-0.

It is the first time since the 2008 season that the Bowmen have shut out three consecutive opponents.

Kasen Covert had three touchdown passes as Sherwood built a 28-0 halftime lead.

Betts, Roosevelt sustain momentum by beating Franklin

Roosevelt dispatched another preseason PIL contender Thursday, holding off Franklin 40-27 to improve to 2-0 in league play.

A week earlier, the Roughriders rallied from a 12-0 deficit in the second half to edge Jefferson 13-12. Now, after erasing a 13-8 halftime deficit against the previously undefeated Lightning, they find themselves tied with Wells and Lincoln atop the standings.

Junior Dontrell Betts had another big night for Roosevelt, running for four touchdowns and finishing with 133 yards on 13 carries. He got help from sophomore Miles Green, who gained 105 yards on 11 carries, and JaMarrion Causey returned a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown after Franklin had scored to draw within 24-19 late in the third quarter.

Will Reid threw for 267 yards and four touchdowns for the Lightning, but the Roughriders sacked him five times and got a critical interception that set up Betts’ fourth touchdown run early in the fourth for a 40-19 lead.

How the SBLive Oregon 5A media poll Top 10 fared

1. Wilsonville (3-1) def. No. 6 Summit 35-20

2. Silverton (4-0) def. South Albany 42-0

3. Mountain View (4-0) def. Southridge 59-0

4. West Albany (4-0) def. No. 9 Dallas 42-15

5. Springfield (4-0) def. South Eugene 35-0

6. Summit (1-3) lost to No. 1 Wilsonville 35-20

7. Thurston (2-2) def. Crater 64-21

8. Canby (2-2) def. Bend 22-0

9. Dallas (2-2) lost to No. 4 West Albany 42-15

10. Redmond (3-1) def. Glencoe 21-18

No. 1 Wilsonville shakes off Week 3 loss to avenge 5A title game defeat

No. 1 Wilsonville exacted its revenge for last year’s loss to Summit in the 5A championship game, downing the Storm 35-20 to finish a grueling nonconference slate 3-1.

“It’s the same as last year,” coach Adam Guenther said. “We wanted to see how we stand early on. At the end of last week (a 22-13 loss to 6A No. 3 Tualatin), I felt we were in the game to the very end, but we proved we could play with anybody.”

Senior Kallen Gutridge shrugged off an interception on the first play from scrimmage to run for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns. He threw for two scores, the second a 12-yarder to Nick Crowley to give the Wildcats a 35-12 lead late in the third quarter.

“The way these guys overcome adversity is amazing,” Guenther said. “The first play, we threw an interception, but there wasn’t a panic. The composure they showed is amazing for their age.”

Gutridge’s 18-yard touchdown run put Wilsonville on top midway through the first quarter. Ari Villano returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to keep Summit close, but the Wildcats answered with a quick drive capped by a 5-yard pass from Gutridge to Mark Wiepert for a 14-6 lead.

Gutridge added scoring runs of 66 and 3 yards as Wilsonville built a 28-6 halftime lead.

No. 3 Mountain View cruises to road win to conclude nonconference play

No. 3 Mountain View remained the only undefeated team in the Intermountain Conference with a 59-0 rout of Southridge in Southwest Portland.

Sophomore sensation Angel Valenzuela continued his hot start by rushing for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, giving him 707 yards in his first four games.

Senior quarterback Connor Crum ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, and the Cougars forced three turnovers while holding Southridge to 10 yards of total offense — including minus-29 yards on the ground.

Parkrose ends 19-game losing streak by routing Putnam

It had been almost 2½ years for the Parkrose football team to taste victory on the field, but the Broncos ended a 19-game losing streak in emphatic fashion, romping to a 47-0 victory at Putnam.

You can hear what this means for the Parkrose crew, and its even louder in the locker room right now #opreps pic.twitter.com/tlsc36bwcO
— Austin White (@ajw_sports) September 23, 2023

Parkrose’s previous win was by forfeit in Week 3 of the 2021 season. The program’s previous win on the field was in the finale of the COVID-shortened 2021 spring season, 31-26 against Madison (now McDaniel) on April 9.

Senior Kenji Johnson got the party started with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Zayne Parks midway through the first quarter. The Broncos scored four times in the second quarter, with Johnson sandwiching a 63-yard touchdown pass to DeVeontae Hillman and a 56-yard touchdown run around a 55-yard punt return for a score by Corinthian Littleton.

Littleton caught a 17-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter to trigger a running clock, and Jelani Scott capped the scoring with a 48-yard touchdown late in the period.

Friday’s win also marked the Broncos’ first shutout since they defeated Wilson (now Wells) 56-0 on Oct. 10, 2019.

How the SBLive Oregon 4A media poll Top 10 fared

1. Scappoose (4-0) def. Baker 54-28

2. Marist Catholic (3-1) def. Stayton 38-0

3. Mazama (3-1) def. No. 10 North Bend 67-21

4. Cascade (3-1) lost to No. 7 Henley 33-21

5. Estacada (1-3) lost to No. 6 Tillamook 48-22

6. Tillamook (3-1) def. No. 5 Estacada 48-22

7. Henley (4-0) def. No. 4 Cascade 33-21

8. Pendleton (3-1) def. Ridgeview 28-15

9. La Grande (1-3) lost to Molalla 20-7

10. North Bend (3-1) lost to No. 3 Mazama 67-21

No. 6 Tillamook scores 34 consecutive points, wins 4A final rematch

Another title game rematch took place in the Cascade foothills, with the losing finalist again gaining a measure of revenge.

No. 6 Tillamook traveled to No. 5 Estacada and avenged its 32-8 defeat in the 4A final, erasing an early 16-7 deficit to defeat the Rangers 48-22.

Quarterback Tanner Hoskins scored on runs of 47 and 93 yards and threw an 83-yard touchdown pass to Griffyn Boomer as the Cheesemakers scored 34 consecutive points to build a 41-16 lead with 11:46 to play.

“We had it rolling pretty good on offense,” said Tillamook coach Kye Johnson. “We had a little early adversity, but we settled in and got good production from a variety of guys, and Tanner had probably his best career game. I was really proud of our guys for fighting hard all night.”

Estacada fell to 1-3, with its only victory coming last week at La Grande.

No. 7 Henley shrugs off early deficit, turnovers to win at No. 4 Cascade

No. 7 Henley trailed 14-0 late in the first quarter at No. 4 Cascade and committed four first-half turnovers.

That usually isn’t a recipe for success on the road, but the Hornets climbed out of the hole they dug for themselves, scored 26 consecutive points and went on to a 33-21 victory.

“I’m proud of how we overcame adversity tonight as a team,” coach Alex Stork said. “Credit to Cascade. They are tough and physical.”

Bryce Kuenzi scored on runs of 5 and 4 yards to give the Cougars the early advantage. The Hornets responded with a 20-yard touchdown run by Joseph Jenney, but they had another scoring opportunity thwarted by an end-zone interception by Karsten Sande.

After Logan Whitlock drew Henley within 14-13 late in the quarter, the Hornets denied Cascade on Julien Rayas’ goal-line interception with 21 seconds before halftime.

Whitlock put Henley ahead with 3:57 left in the third with a 5-yard run, then followed a fumble on Cascade’s ensuing possession with a 20-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 26-14 just 18 seconds later.

Nolan Abrams’ 12-yard touchdown run on the opening play of the fourth quarter drew Cascade close, but another interception with 4:47 left — the Cougars’ fifth turnover of the game — led to Whitlock’s clinching touchdown on a 3-yard run with 1:08 to play.

No. 3 Mazama bounces back in big way to trounce No. 10 North Bend

No. 3 Mazama — Henley’s neighbor down the road in Klamath Falls — rebounded from a heartbreaking loss at Marist Catholic a week ago to open defense of its Big Sky Conference title with a 67-21 rout of No. 10 North Bend.

The Bulldogs entered the rankings this week following a 21-12 rivalry win over Marshfield that pushed them to 3-0 for the first time since 2019.

The Vikings erased a 14-8 deficit after one quarter by scoring 59 consecutive points. Kristopher Baldwin ran for a career-high 214 yards and three touchdowns, and Tyson Van Gastel (177 rushing yards) and Triston Leach (66 yards) each ran for two touchdowns during the barrage.

“We are still not completely healthy, but we are finally playing at a high level,” said Mazama coach Vic Lease, whose team amassed 518 yards on the ground.

Willamina’s Hadley does best Derrick Henry imitation in win over Culver

The folks at Mid-Major Media have given Willamina junior Jacob Hadley the moniker “the Derrick Henry of 2A football,” and with his performance Thursday in the Bulldogs’ 69-50 victory against Culver, he proved worthy of that nickname.

Hadley ran for 417 yards — the most by a running back in the state this season — and nine touchdowns on 46 carries in the nine-man game.

Through four games, Hadley has rushed for 955 yards and 20 touchdowns on 106 carries for the 3-1 Bulldogs. He’s well on pace to shatter his numbers of a year ago, when he gained 1,575 yards and scored 21 times as a sophomore.

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