What we learned in Week 7 of Oregon high school football

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

The Oregon high school football season continued last week with Week 7 action around the state. Here's what stood out during the seventh weekend of action.

Photo by Taylor Balkom 

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Second place would ‘mean a lot’ to Sandy in Mt. Hood Conference

It wasn’t that long ago when finishing second in the Mt. Hood Conference had significance regarding playoff positioning.

Nowadays, the OSAA determines homefield advantage strictly by a team’s ranking, so Friday’s Sandy-Nelson game to decide who finishes runner-up to Central Catholic won’t secure the winner a first-round home playoff game.

That doesn’t mean finishing second doesn’t mean something to the Pioneers (4-3, 4-1 MHC), who haven’t finished that high in the MHC standings since 1999 (they were in the 5A NWOC from 2010-17).

“It would mean a lot to us,” Sandy coach Josh Dill said. “The previous two years, we split our matchups with Clackamas, Nelson and Barlow. This year, we get to see what program is ready to take the reins of second place in the conference.

“These last two games prior to the playoffs will tell the story. Both games to us (Sandy finishes the regular season with Barlow) are like playoff games. We want to win in the playoffs this year, and these two games will be a great test for us in that regard.”

The Pioneers started the season 0-3, including narrow losses to Sunset and Tigard before opening MHC play with a 68-7 loss to Central Catholic. Those games showed the players “how close we were to being a good team,” Dill said. “We learned that our identity was being the most physical team on the field, and that in order to beat good teams, we had to eliminate mistakes.”

The Pioneers don’t have a player with eye-popping numbers — leading rusher Mataio Olomua had just 306 yards through six games, while quarterback Billy Lucas had thrown for 532 yards and five touchdowns — yet they’ve still racked up more than 290 yards per game with a balanced attack.

The defense has buckled down during their four-game win streak, allowing just 28 points during that stretch. Senior linebackers Alex Hager (44 tackles, 11 tackles for loss) and Gabe Tammad (34 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles) have led the way.

They’ll get tested this week by Nelson, which won at Sandy last season and is also 4-1 in MHC play (5-2 overall).

“Nelson is more physical than they’ve been the last few years,” Dill said. “We pride ourselves on being the most physical team. We have to win that battle this week.”

Churchill can punch 5A playoff berth by spoiling Crater’s Homecoming

Class 5A has no at-large berths to the playoffs this season. For Midwestern League teams, it means they must finish in the top half of the league standings to earn a spot in the 16-team bracket.

Thurston, Springfield and Eagle Point have wrapped up spots based on potential tiebreakers, which leaves one berth remaining.

Churchill (3-4, 3-2 MWL) can wrap up that final spot Friday night when it travels down I-5 to Central Point to take on Crater (2-5, 2-3) on Homecoming night. The Comets need wins in their final two games to make the postseason.

The Lancers reached the 5A final in 2017 but have two playoff appearances and one playoff win since.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to make the playoffs,” said first-year Churchill coach Layne Coffin. “We will have to travel well and keep our focus, limit our turnovers and maximize our possessions.”

Coffin made the move this year from Idaho, where he went 124-95 at three high schools and won two state titles at Century in Pocatello (2000, 2001), to the Eugene area, where his three children had relocated.

The Lancers struggled to an 0-3 start that included narrow losses to Marist Catholic and Eagle Point but have found their groove with junior Ceville Pasi leading the way — he had 868 rushing yards and nine touchdowns through six games, and his 5½ sacks led the league.

Coffin characterized the transition to his new program as “good. The kids are working hard, but I’m still getting to know what they excel at.”

As he’s learned his personnel, he’s been able to have fewer players starting both ways. He now has only two two-way players, “and that is being limited right now,” he said. “I feel good about where we’re at. We have had a lot of kids continuing to stand out.”

Rally has Junction City on collision course with Marist Catholic for league title

When Max Wall took over at Junction City four years ago, the Tigers had just gone through a 7-24 four-year stretch that prompted school administrators to petition the OSAA to drop from 4A to 3A.

As he explained at the time, “As quick as I can get us back in the 4A, that’s where we need to be.”

It took two seasons, but the Tigers returned last year and made the 4A playoffs, losing to eventual champion Estacada in the first round.

Now, the Tigers control their destiny as they seek their first league title since 2014. Their last-second 20-16 victory at Cascade kept them undefeated in Oregon West play, with home games remaining against Cottage Grove this week before a Week 9 showdown with fellow conference unbeaten Marist Catholic.

“The boys are for sure excited. This is what we planned to do since the first day of practice,” Wall said. “We’re a little beat up and need to get some guys back to full speed.”

The Tigers trailed 16-14 after Bryce Kuenzi’s short touchdown run and ensuing two-point conversion for the Cougars with 4:12 left. That’s where the attitude adjustment that Wall has preached since his arrival paid off.

“When I arrived at JC, I felt the players didn’t believe in themselves,” Wall said. “But this senior group has had three full seasons with me. They believe in what the coaches are preaching. We are not hoping to win anymore.

“After Cascade took the lead, the coaches and players didn’t panic. It was no different when they took the lead earlier in the game. I said, ‘Let’s get a good return, and we will go win this thing.’”

Grant Barnes’ 20-yard kickoff return set up the Tigers at their 37-yard line, and they methodically marched downfield. They ran the ball on nine of 10 plays, converting once on third down and another time on fourth down, capitalizing after Cascade was penalized for a face mask to keep the drive alive on Levi Walker’s ensuing 9-yard run on fourth-and-2.

Finally, facing third-and-11 from the Cougars 14, senior quarterback Cooper Rothenberger found Tylen Franks open at the goal line on a crossing route for the winning score with 9.5 seconds left.

“Composure and three timeouts,” Wall said. “This is where hope isn’t a strategy. The kids believed we would win. I’m proud of how this team is growing.”

Junction City faces the prototypical trap game this week against the Lions, who have won one game this season. Then, Marist Catholic comes to town — the Tigers have lost eight in a row in the series, with their last win coming in 2004.

“We’re preaching one game, one play at a time,” Wall said. “We need to focus on Cottage Grove, and then on to Marist. It’s about reminding the boys to believe in themselves. Believe in our game plan.”

Tillamook faces must-win against Scappoose to keep Cowapa title hopes alive

A year ago, Tillamook won an overtime thriller at home against Scappoose to win the program’s first league title since 1999.

This week, the teams meet again in Scappoose with the Cowapa League crown again on the line after the Cheesemakers disposed of North Coast rival Astoria 54-13 to set up the title clash.

A Scappoose win clinches a share of the championship and the No. 1 seed in the state playoffs while eliminating the Cheesemakers from title contention. A Tillamook win sets up the likelihood of a three-way tie including Seaside.

“This team has flashed a lot of potential,” said Cheesemakers coach Kye Johnson. “We can really score some points when we get into a good rhythm, but we have to keep getting better at our faults. We know how big of a game this is going to be. We’re all excited to go and battle with them this week.”

Their explosiveness came to the forefront against the Fishermen, with sophomore wideout Griffyn Boomer scoring in four ways — receiving, rushing, punt return and interception return.

“All four of his scores were great plays, and they all offered some really great blocking from his teammates,” Johnson said. “When we are all willing blockers like that, we have some guys that can go get us a lot of yards.”

Senior quarterback Tanner Hoskins also had a solid two-way game, running for 212 yards and two touchdowns and throwing for 119 yards and two scores.

Sisters returns home to face Siuslaw with Mountain Valley title at stake

The past two weeks have seen de facto championship games in three of the five Class 3A leagues, with Banks, Dayton and Cascade Christian emerging as the big winners.

This week, it’s the Mountain Valley Conference’s turn, with Sisters playing host to Siuslaw for Homecoming, with the Outlaws (6-1, 4-0 MVC) needing a win over the Vikings (4-3, 3-1) to clinch their first title since 2015.

“Our kids have worked very hard to put themselves in this position,” said Sisters coach Gary Thorson, who is in his third stint with the program. “Siuslaw is a proud program with some great tradition, and it will be a big challenge for us.”

The Outlaws completed a run of four consecutive road games last week with a 48-8 victory at Pleasant Hill to position themselves for this title shot. Their only loss came at 2022 state runner-up Kennedy.

Thorson said the road games allowed his youthful team (eight seniors out of 43 players on the roster) to grow up in preparation for Friday’s game.

“The No. 1 thing our team learned was that when we cut out the mistakes, we can compete with some of the better teams out there,” Thorson said. “We continue to have growing pains, but we have gotten some great senior leadership. This team plays very hard for each other, and because of that, we have had some good success so far.”

One of those seniors is two-way standout Justin DeSmet, a 5-foot-9, 165-pounder whom Thorson called “the heart of this team.” DeSmet was a second-team all-state free safety last season and had 50 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles in the Outlaws’ first five games.

The Outlaws allowed just 9.8 points per game during their four-game road stretch, but Thorson knows their defense will be tested by a Siuslaw option game that averages 260 rushing yards.

“They have done a great job running that triple option over the years,” Thorson said. “No question, the key will be how well we handle their pressure up front from an offensive standpoint and, of course, stopping their option on defense.”

Toledo puts 5-game win streak on line with Lowell clash to decide crown

Bruce Marthaller’s second stint as Toledo coach has gone much better than his first.

Marthaller coached the Boomers for two seasons (2012-13), going 5-14 in that time.

He returned last year to a different world — Toledo, a Class 2A school, now played nine-man football because of an OSAA rule change that went into play in 2022. The Boomers won in Week 9 against Taft to clinch a fourth consecutive playoff berth, where they lost to Colton in Round 1.

This season started inauspiciously. Toledo’s Week 1 game was canceled three minutes before halftime after Knappa junior Jude Miller had to be life-flighted to a Corvallis hospital with a possible head injury. Then, the Boomers lost 15-0 to Bandon — their first shutout loss in two years.

Since then, they’ve run off five consecutive victories — the latest a 50-7 win over Lincoln County rival Waldport that sets up a winner-take-all game Thursday at Jack Dahl Stadium against Lowell to decide the Special District 2 (Valley Coast North) title.

“We talked about that a little bit after the Waldport game,” Marthaller said. “The kids are excited about it. It’s a good opportunity for us, but Lowell is a pretty good team. We’re going to have to have our best game to compete with them.”

The Bandon loss forced Marthaller to reassess his offensive personnel, prompting him to move senior Christian Retherford behind center and insert junior Nic Kaufman as the Boomers’ feature back.

The results? The Boomers are averaging 45.2 points and 406.7 rushing yards per game. Retherford has attempted just 21 passes in his five starts, but it hasn’t mattered as he’s rushed for a team-leading 923 yards on 102 carries with seven touchdowns.

Kaufman missed the Central Linn game two weeks ago but returned last week against the Irish, posting his second 200-yard game of the season (11 carries for 204 yards and two touchdowns). Junior Robert Wagner added four rushing touchdowns while gaining 152 yards on eight carries.

Marthaller also tweaked his defensive scheme and moved players around to correct a weakness on the perimeter that he said Bandon exploited.

“We went to an odd front, and that’s allowed us to better secure the edges,” he said.

With ‘the band back together,’ Hawley has Crane thinking first state title

Matt Hawley stepped away from coaching at Vale nine years ago after leading the Vikings to a 3A state title to focus on getting his life back in order after a battle with alcohol addiction.

He still had the itch to get back on the field, but after becoming Crane School District superintendent in June 2015, he kept his distance as the Mustangs made annual playoff runs, only to fall short of winning a first state title under longtime coach Stub Travis.

When Travis retired after going 8-2 and reaching the 1A quarterfinals last fall, Hawley decided it was time to get back on the sideline.

He took over the Mustangs in July and, as he put it, “got the band back together,” hiring his former offensive coordinator, Jeff Jacobs, for the same position with the eight-man program.

While there was the expected adjustment of his schemes to accommodate having three fewer players on the field, that hasn’t changed the results. Crane improved to 6-0 with a 30-0 victory at Cove and is in the driver’s seat for its first league title since 2017.

“The kids have been amazing, supporting each other,” Hawley said. “It’s what you hope you’re able to accomplish with a group of young men.”

The Mustangs feature 6-1, 235-pound junior Cody Siegner, who recently received an offer from Oregon State as a tight end, and senior Carter Nichols, who has scored 20 touchdowns (11 rushing, five receiving, two punt returns and two kickoff returns).

Where they have made their mark, however, is on defense. The Mustangs allow just 12.7 points per game, second-best among 1A eight-man teams, featuring a defense that stars a couple of undersized junior linebackers — Tommy Jack Rose (6-1, 165) and Brady Otley (5-10, 145).

“They’re tougher than dirt, and there’s no quit in them,” said Hawley, who serves as defensive coordinator as he did with Vale’s state championship team. “When I was at Vale, we were always the most physical team when we stepped on the field. That basic philosophy hasn’t changed.

“It was tough for the kids to buy in at first. But I’ve always thought the first five plays can set the tone of a game. So, we’re going to mix things up, bring pressure from all different directions, get upfield and take some chances. They’ve got a little ornery in them now, which I love.”

The Mustangs finish with games against Elgin and Powder Valley looking for their first undefeated regular season since 2016. But after securing a 10th consecutive playoff berth and getting over what Hawley called “the mental hurdle” of beating Adrian for the first time in the past five years, they have their sights set much higher.

Hawley’s team leans on a core group of eight juniors among 18 players on the roster, so he said the key to a long playoff run is to remain healthy, as their backups consist largely of six freshmen.

However long the ride lasts, though, Hawley is glad he got back into the grind.

“This has rejuvenated me,” he said. “Maybe that’s being selfish, but it has. It’s reminded me why I got into education. Watching kids grow and come together as a team, it’s been awesome.”

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