What we learned in Week 4 of Oregon high school football

Here's what stood out during the fourth weekend of action

René Ferrán | Sep 26, 2023

The Oregon high school football season continued last week with Week 4 action around the state. Here's what stood out during the fourth weekend of action.

Photo by Taylor Balkom

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Jesuit in uncharted waters at 0-4 entering Metro League play

In the 66 years that Jesuit has played football, only once had it started a season 0-4 before this fall.

That other time was in 1977, the last of four consecutive losing seasons the program endured. Ken Potter wasn’t the coach that season — he arrived at the Southwest Portland campus a decade later, and in his previous 36 seasons, he’s had only three losing campaigns (1990, 1992, 2011 spring).

“The feeling right now is not very good,” Potter said Friday after the Crusaders fell to 0-4 with a 42-17 loss to Tualatin at Cronin Field. “It’s not fun being 0-4. We’ve played some really good teams, and at times we’ve gotten better, but at times, we haven’t.”

The Crusaders took on an ambitious nonleague schedule this season, testing a young group that became even younger when Potter changed out senior three-year starter Jacob Hutchinson at quarterback for untested junior Trey Cleeland, who had not thrown a pass in a varsity game before Week 1 against Skyview.

The result has been severe growing pains. Cleeland has completed just over 51% of his passes (43 of 84) for 410 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

“He’s a good, young quarterback who keeps getting better each week,” Potter said. “We have to do a better job of protecting him and just making plays behind him.”

Trey Cleeland (Jesuit) photo by Leon Neuschwander

The Crusaders’ vaunted running game has sputtered, averaging just 107 yards per game and 3.7 per carry (117 for 428 yards) — down dramatically from 292 per game and 8.1 per carry a year ago.

As a result, they’ve been outscored 141-37 by a murderer’s row of Skyview, Central Catholic, West Linn and Tualatin (combined record: 16-0).

“The inconsistency is probably the biggest complaint I have right now — about me as a coach and us as a team,” Potter said. “We’re more inconsistent than we need to be.”

The situation is similar to the COVID-shortened 2021 spring season, when the Crusaders also fielded a young team sprinkled with veterans. The difference is this season, there’s still something to play for — Jesuit kicks off Metro League play this week against Aloha, with the prospect of earning a 10th consecutive league title and a spot in the 6A state playoffs in its sights.

“We need to keep our heads up,” Potter said. “The kids practice really hard. They have a lot of energy. They’re upbeat. So, I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about us making the mental and physical mistakes that we continue to make.

“We’ve got to put them in a position where they have opportunities where they can have success. That’s our job as coaches. Hopefully, a week from now, we’ll be playing a little better. And then again the next week, and the following week, and we’ll see what happens.”

Sheldon finding its way under first-year starting QB Parosa

Another young team that took its lumps in the first two weeks was Sheldon, which made the 6A state final last fall with a senior-laden roster led by South Central Football Conference offensive player of the year Brock Thomas.

With Thomas now in the quarterback room at Oregon and backup Cade Welch at Linfield, the Irish turned to senior Colby Parosa — who like Cleeland hadn’t thrown a varsity pass before this season — behind an offensive line replacing three all-SCFC first-team selections.

The results were about what you’d expect. Parosa threw for 66 yards combined in his first two starts against Mililani (Hawaii) and West Linn, and the Irish lost both by a combined score of 78-6.

What impressed Sheldon coach Josh Line the most was Parosa’s reaction.

“I mean, it was ugly those first two weeks from a quarterback perspective. We couldn’t block anybody,” Line said. “But he handled it with a poise and determination you’d expect from a seasoned veteran, which Colby was not. The way he handled those first two weeks is why we have a chance to be a good football team moving forward.”

The Irish showed their potential Friday in a 49-6 rout of McNary, with Parosa breaking through with his best performance to date — 8 of 11 for 207 yards and two touchdowns passing, plus two rushing touchdowns.

“We definitely knew we were in for a bit of a rude awakening in the beginning of the season,” Line said. “It would have been real easy to schedule less competitive teams, but we took the road less traveled and took our lumps. I’m impressed with the kids’ resilience. They didn’t get negative during the games or after. We’ve learned the right things, and I think you’ve seen the results the last two weeks.”

Friday’s win evened Sheldon’s record at 2-2 entering a home game against Roseburg this week before it hits the Medford gauntlet — a trip to Spiegelberg Stadium to face South Medford before playing host to North Medford in Week 7.

To survive this stretch, Line said the team needs to become more consistent with its execution.

“Physically, we’re able to compete with anybody, and we showed that at times with Mililani and West Linn,” he said. “But sometimes, we’ll have these execution lulls, where we’ll have a series or two where we can’t put together a full performance from everyone.

“We have to transition better from one series to the next. We tend to lament what happened and don’t move on to the next thing, and that’s a hallmark of inexperienced teams. We’re close to becoming the team we want to be. That’s the carrot that’s still out there for us.”

Clackamas ready to make a move back up Mt. Hood Conference

Clackamas has undergone a bit of a roller-coaster ride the past few seasons, going from 4-5 in 2019 to 10-2 two years later, then back below .500 again last fall at 5-6.

The Cavaliers appear headed back up the track this season, sitting at 3-1 after an 18-7 victory at Barlow that improved them to 2-0 in Mt. Hood Conference play entering their crosstown rivalry game with Nelson this week.

Sophomore quarterback Dylan Brower, who won the job over Central Catholic transfer Luke Baker in the offseason, had what coach James Holan called “his best game so far” against the Bruins, going 16 of 25 for 133 yards.

“What I appreciate about him is his steadiness and willingness to get coached,” Holan said. “He has had some ups and downs these past few weeks, and I look forward to him continuing to progress.”

Baker ran for more than 100 yards in the Cavaliers’ season opener, but since, seniors Jaxson Decker (season-high 139 yards and a touchdown Friday) and Jaxon Doyle (89 yards and a touchdown) have become the focal points of the running game.

“They’re a little bit of that thunder-lightning type of backfield,” Holan said of the duo. “We call everything with both of them in, but Doyle’s style is a bit more physical. Decker has a bit more of that explosive element.”

Baker found myriad ways to affect the game — running for a touchdown, catching five passes for 40 yards and intercepting a pass at the goal line late in the second quarter as part of a defensive effort that held the Bruins to 194 yards of total offense.

Besides a 37-0 loss to Sherwood in Week 2, the Cavaliers defense has been stout, allowing just 14 points in its other three games. Junior linebacker Max Maehara has a team-high 23 tackles, and sophomore Lincoln Bartness has been a difference-maker (seven tackles for loss, five sacks) since being moved up from JV two weeks ago to join older brother Kaden, a senior two-year starter.

“Lincoln has been a great addition and made a ton of plays in the first two weeks,” Holan said. “And Kaden and Max complement each other really well. Those two guys really make our defense go.”

Defense fuels Oregon City’s first 4-0 start since 2013

When Aaron Skinner took over at Oregon City this year, he changed the systems on both sides of the ball that Shane Hedrick used for two seasons before moving to Cascade over the summer.

But Skinner doesn’t credit his schemes for the Pioneers defense allowing just one touchdown in their first four games — a fourth-quarter score to Beaverton in last week’s 47-6 victory that improved Oregon City to 4-0 for the first time in the past decade.

Instead, he talks about the investment his players made in the mental side of the game.

“That investment is allowing us to start to expand the system at this point of the year,” said Skinner, who was an assistant at West Linn under Chris Miller before spending the past three years as athletic director and defensive coordinator at his alma mater, Bishop Diego in Santa Barbara, Calif.

“Another key reason for the success is the experience that the defense has. Out of the 11 starters, eight are seniors, so they bring in experience that is near impossible to replicate and a maturity that is a luxury to have as a coach.”

Senior Clay Martineau, a three-star linebacker who committed to Boise State in June, is the headliner of the unit, but Skinner called senior middle linebacker Blake Lucas its heartbeat, comparing him favorably with 2015 state defensive player of the year Sam Chitty and all-state linebacker Mitchell Johnson, both of whom he coached at West Linn.

“Blake is the quarterback of the group,” Skinner said. “He makes the calls and gets the guys aligned up front. He’s incredibly smart and has been playing very good football.”

Seniors Ryder Swanson and Brayden Welch have bookended the defensive front, with each recording multiple sacks and an interception.

“Different body types, but both very physical and disciplined players,” Skinner said.

Then there’s senior cornerback Thomas Borden, who has three interceptions and has returned three punts for touchdowns.

“His vision of the field and seeing things develop and his instincts combined with his natural athleticism make him a very gifted corner,” Skinner said. “I believe he is just scratching the surface of how good he can be.”

It all adds up to one of the best Oregon City teams in recent memory. But its 4-0 start simply keeps pace in a loaded Three Rivers League that went 24-0 combined in nonleague play.

Skinner is well-versed in how good the league is from his time at West Linn. It was one of the selling points of the job, even though it means a grueling path to making the postseason — kicking off Friday night at Tigard.

“It’s a testament to the entire league and how they have approached each game,” he said. “To not slip once across the board shows that the teams are preparing at a high level and have a level of focus that is needed to be successful in a league like the TRL.

“The key for us to maintain our momentum is to continue to build day by day. We talk about putting a brick in the wall every day at practice. We must win Monday through Thursday if we want to win on Friday.”

Wells not taking anything for granted with first 3-1 start since 2012

Keith Bennett is in his fourth season as head coach at Wells, and if his first three years taught him anything, it’s that the program can’t take success for granted.

The Guardians haven’t finished above .500 since 2013, matching their best finish since that season last year, when they went 5-5 and qualified for the Columbia Cup.

So, even after knocking off Grant two weeks ago to open PIL play, Bennett knew his team couldn’t overlook Cleveland — another city rival that has struggled in recent years.

“We knew Cleveland was much improved and is a team on the upswing,” Bennett said after the Guardians’ 36-13 victory moved them to 3-1 — their best start since 2012. “With our program growing and building as well, our kids are well aware that every league game is in essence a playoff game. We must show up each week.”

One player who has shown up every week to lead the Guardians is junior running back Wyatt Andler, who had his fourth consecutive 100-yard game against the Warriors, rushing for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

“Wyatt is just continuing to do what he’s always done — show up every day, work hard and do his job to the best of his ability, which is pretty darn good,” Bennett said.

The Guardians are in the midst of four consecutive home games, with McDaniel coming up this week followed by Jefferson before closing with three road games at Lincoln, Roosevelt and Franklin.

It’s not an easy path to a possible first PIL title since 2012, when the league was split between 6A and 5A, but Bennett isn’t looking that far ahead.

“Our goals have not changed,” he said. “We only have two real goals — be better today than we were yesterday and prepare to be better tomorrow than we were today.”

West Salem hopes big win is ‘the start of what’s going to come’

West Salem entered the season with high hopes of a rebound from last year’s 1-8 campaign — a far cry from 9-2 the previous season and its fewest wins since the program’s inaugural season, when it went winless in 2002.

Despite the return of promising junior quarterback Kaden Martirano from a broken wrist, the Titans got off to an 0-3 start against Sherwood, Lake Oswego and North Medford, who have a combined 11-1 record.

They finally got off the schneid with a 49-14 victory over Grants Pass, overcoming some early hiccups to rack up more than 400 yards of total offense.

“The three teams we played are Nos. 4, 6 and 8 in the state rankings, so it still bothers me that we lost, but we also need to realize that those losses will ultimately make us better,” coach Shawn Stanley said. “Our program is not afraid to go compete. Sometimes, that means we play really good teams in our nonleague schedule. Some people shy away from that, but we do not.”

West Salem Titans photo by Leon Neuschwander

Martirano had his best game since his return, going 12 of 16 for 250 yards and four touchdowns with one interception, and expressed optimism the Titans could turn things around — even with a showdown against undefeated crosstown rival South Salem this week.

“We knew the first three games were going to be against top-10 teams, and we battled that,” Martirano said. “We had an ‘X’ on this game, knowing we could win this game, win big, and this is just the start to what’s going to come.”

“All of our goals are attainable,” Stanley added. “We have some really good teams in our league, and South Salem is definitely one of those this week. Hopefully, we can continue to improve and go on a run.”

‘One of the most overlooked kids in state’ leading Wilsonville

A year ago, Wilsonville played a challenging opening four games against Thurston, Westview, Tualatin and Summit, going 2-2 before reaching the 5A state championship game, where it lost to Summit 35-28.

The Wildcats faced the same four opponents this season and went 3-1 this time, losing only to Tualatin (improving from a 44-7 thrashing to a 22-13 defeat) and avenging their two losses to Summit with a 35-20 victory.

A big reason for Wilsonville’s start is the improved play of senior quarterback Kallen Gutridge, who made his first career start in its overtime win at Thurston last year. The two-sport standout made the all-state second team at quarterback, then helped lead the Wildcats to a boys basketball state title, earning first-team all-state honors but suffering a foot injury in the championship game.

He wore a boot to protect the injury for eight weeks, then returned to his AAU club team for the summer, forgoing opportunities to play 7-on-7 and burnish his credentials on the football recruiting scene.

So, while he’s received offers from North Dakota and Western Oregon for basketball, Wildcats football coach Adam Guenther believes he could play at the FBS level in football.

“He’s one of the most overlooked kids in the state,” Guenther said. “I’m not just saying that because he’s my guy. Ask any coach we’ve played. I think if some Mountain West team took a roll of the dice on him, they’d have a gem. But if you don’t do those recruiting circuits, play 7-on-7, you don’t get seen.”

Instead, Gutridge will let his play on the field do the talking. Through four games, he ranks among 5A leaders with 1,139 passing yards and 10 touchdowns, and he’s rushed for a team-high 306 yards and five scores.

Against the Storm, he shrugged off throwing an interception on his first play from scrimmage to have a banner night, going 19 of 34 for 203 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 219 yards and three scores.

“You don’t see high school kids with his maturity and calmness,” Guenther said. “When he saw the iPad after the interception, he was like, ‘I missed it. Let’s come back and do that again.’ And the next time, boom! He threw a touchdown.

“When you account for 422 yards against the defending state champions, you’ve had a good day.”

Kallen Gutridge (Wilsonville) photo by Leon Neuschwander

The Wildcats have one more nonconference game against Hood River Valley this week before they play three NWOC divisional rivals to determine who plays for the conference title in Week 9.

“We’ve got to take the next five weeks to get better,” Guenther said. “We’ve got glaring things on both sides of the ball that we need to work on. We can’t ever get complacent. We need to keep grinding and take each team as they roll up on us.”

Silverton just fine staying under the radar during 4-0 start

Silverton coach Dan Lever would love to get a nonconference game or two under his belt before entering Mid-Willamette Conference play.

Unfortunately, the MWC has 10 teams this year, meaning the Foxes don’t get the chances that Wilsonville, Thurston, Summit and the other 5A contenders have to test themselves and gain attention.

“But I have never minded keeping my squad under the radar,” Lever said after Silverton improved to 4-0 with a 42-0 victory at South Albany. “I want this group to stay hungry.”

The Foxes started last season 6-0 in conference play before dropping their last two regular-season games, entering the postseason as the No. 7 seed and falling to Wilsonville in the quarterfinals.

Lever acknowledged he thought his team was lucky to be 6-0 last season, “but this year, we expected to be where we are right now,” he said. “We knew we had to be better on defense this year. Our overall team strength was not very good last year. This year, we had some guys commit in the offseason, and now we are reaping the rewards.”

The result is a defense that has allowed just 28 points in four games and posted its first shutout against a South Albany team that averaged 32.3 points in its first three games.

Senior Daniel Kuenzi leads the way with 41 tackles, while linebacker Diego Flores has 32 and Cohen Mulick has 14 tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery despite missing a game.

Lever said “the group that deserves a ton of credit for our success so far has been our defensive front,” which includes last year’s MWC defensive lineman of the year, senior Xavier Orozco (12 tackles, forced fumble, sack). “They have been impressive thus far and can get even better.”

Mazama overcoming injuries to stake its claim to another title

For years, Mazama coach Vic Lease has run the veer offense to deadly effect in leading the Vikings to nine consecutive league championships — including the inaugural Big Sky Conference title last fall.

This season, injuries to several key players — including an ankle injury to senior quarterback Tyson Van Gastel, a BSC co-offensive player of the year as a junior, suffered in a season-opening win against Estacada — led to the offense struggling by Mazama standards.

So, against North Bend in the Vikings’ conference opener, Lease tweaked the setup, still running the triple option but lining up in the wishbone. The result was the offense racking up more than 500 yards on the ground and scoring 59 consecutive points in overwhelming the Bulldogs, 67-21.

“That is by far the sharpest our offense has looked this season,” Lease said. “This group loves the power of the wishbone, and they believe in it. North Bend put nine guys in the box most of the night, and our boys blocked it.”

Junior Kris Baldwin took advantage of the opportunity afforded because of injuries to run for a career-high 214 yards and three touchdowns, and Van Gastel added 177 yards and two touchdowns.

Tyson Van Gastel (Mazama) photo by Fletcher Wold

It helped that some of the walking wounded, including senior FB/LB Seth McLane (ankle) and junior RB/DB Devyn Lobdell (sickness), returned Friday, and they should get two-way standout senior Gunner Mahon (sprained knee) back this week against Ashland.

The offensive line welcomed back senior Zack Atmadinata from an ankle injury that still hampered him, joining stalwarts Armando Galindo and Ryan Murdock, who Lease called “the leaders of the group.”

“We go as they go,” Lease added. “They got after it Friday night. We needed a breakout game. We have not practiced real well the past few weeks for a number of reasons, and our confidence was down as a team. I believe we got our confidence back, and my hope is we continue to work and get stronger week by week.”

Improving offense helps La Salle Prep start 3-1

La Salle Prep trudged through a 2-7 season last year in which it averaged just 13.2 points per game. Some of that was residual from a chaotic 2021 campaign marked by low turnout and a COVID outbreak that led to five forfeits.

This season has seen a scoring uptick for the Falcons, who went 3-1 in nonconference play and averaged 22 points per game — although they scored just seven in defeating Milwaukie 7-6 last week to continue their best start to a full season since 2018.

The one newcomer to the offense is junior quarterback Paul Skoro, who took over for graduated signal-caller Nate Dominitz. Skoro hasn’t put up big numbers through four games (376 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions), but he’s done a good job managing the offense.

Otherwise, the main playmakers of a year ago are all back. Junior receiver Mason Mueller has 472 yards of total offense, and junior Manu Tanzambi has rushed for a team-high 227 yards and five touchdowns — including the only touchdown against the Mustangs.

“I think the biggest thing for us on offense is that we are all older and more experienced,” Falcons coach Dustin Janz said. “Our offensive line has a lot of experience and is starting to click. Mason has really come out as a playmaker, and Manu has continued to be solid.

“That being said, we were just held to seven points, and we all believe that to be unacceptable. Milwaukie played extremely hard and gave us a heck of a run for our money. It was a very physical game throughout by both teams. We are going to have to execute much better to compete in our league.”

Speaking of the Tri-Valley Conference, it seems like the title race is as wide open as it’s been for quite some time. Defending 4A state champion Estacada and longtime TVC power Gladstone are both 1-3, while La Salle Prep and Molalla (last title: 2015) are 3-1.

Janz cautioned that looks can be deceiving as his team opens TVC play at Parkrose, which broke a 19-game losing streak last week at Putnam.

“I don’t think for a second that Estacada and Gladstone are down,” he said. “We are still in the early stages of becoming the program that we ultimately believe we can be. We still have a lot to prove, both to ourselves and the rest of the league.

“Overall, we are just learning how to win games as a program, and now that we are in league play, it will be more important to make sure we are preparing every week to the best of our abilities.”

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