Oregon high school football playoffs 2024 state semifinals: Top stars, game by game recap

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Lake Oswego junior running back LaMarcus Bell piled up 262 yards and four touchdowns in the Lakers' 33-24 semifinal win over reigning champion Central Catholic. / Photo by Taylor Balkom

The 2024 Oregon high school football playoffs continued with the state semifinals in every classification.

Here’s a game-by-game look at some of the top stars and memorable performances.

•  OSAA FOOTBALL BRACKETS | PLAYOFFS SCOREBOARD

Our Round 3 predictions: How did we do?

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FRIDAY

CLASS 6A OPEN | Bracket

No. 1 Lake Oswego 33, No. 5 Central Catholic 24 | Full story

There will be a new champion in Class 6A, as the Lakers (11-0) rode a big night from junior running back LaMarcus Bell to their first state final since 2019 while dethroning the Rams (11-1) at Hillsboro Stadium.

Central Catholic was vying to win a fourth title in the past five postseasons but couldn’t overcome 19 penalties for 210 yards, nor could the Rams find a way to stop Bell, who finished with 262 yards and four touchdowns — including a clinching 21-yard score with 1:18 to play.

The Rams held on fourth down from their 3-yard line with four minutes left. After getting a first down, an illegal block in the back in the end zone resulted in a safety that gave the Lakers a 27-24 lead with 3:01 remaining.

Central Catholic took the second-half kickoff and marched 80 yards in 11 plays, with Robbie Long finding Landon Kelsey for a 20-yard touchdown pass, giving the Rams a 24-18 lead with 6:51 left in the third quarter.

The Lakers committed three consecutive penalties on the ensuing drive, backing themselves up to their 4-yard line, but Bell got them out of jail with an 83-yard run to the Rams 13. That set up his 3-yard scoring run with 4:41 left to put Lake Oswego ahead to stay, 25-24.

The Lakers racked up 342 rushing yards and 427 total, with Justin Craigwell adding 64 on nine carries.

Central Catholic amassed 359 yards, with Long going 14 of 24 for 210 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Tyson Davis ran 11 times for 69 yards, and Kelsey caught eight passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.

No. 2 West Linn 28, No. 3 Sheldon 21

At Willamette University in Salem, Baird Gilroy connected with Danny Wideman on a 35-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to break a 21-21 tie, and the Lions (10-1) stopped the Irish (10-1) on fourth down with 2:36 to play to advance to their fourth final since 2015 and second in the past three years.

Sheldon entered averaging a 6A-best 53 points per game but was held scoreless over the final 26:53 after Kelsen Sperry’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Jyce Jones tied the score at 21-21.

“Our defensive coaches made some adjustments, and the players settled in and recognized plays,” Lions coach Jon Eagle said. “Many players made key third-down stops.”

The Lions get a rematch against Three Rivers League rival Lake Oswego in next week’s title game, looking to follow a similar pattern to their last state title in 2022.

The Lakers handed West Linn its only loss, 21-17 in Week 7. Two years ago, it was Sheldon who handed the Lions their only regular-season defeat, only for West Linn to avenge that loss in the title game.

“LO is a great program,” Eagle said. “But our players committed to a rigorous offseason program to get back to the title game.

“We’re excited to get another week of practice with our players and coaches. It’s a special group.”

CLASS 6A | Bracket

No. 13 South Medford 17, No. 16 Newberg 0

The Panthers (8-4) will play in an OSAA final for the second consecutive season after they posted their second shutout of this postseason in defeating the Tigers (6-6) at Roseburg High School.

Senior Mike Duclos had three interceptions as South Medford set up a Black and Blue Bowl rematch with crosstown rival North Medford in next week’s championship game.

“We gave up yards between the 20s, but our red zone defense was terrific,” Panthers coach Bill Singler said. “Their quarterback (Parker Sellner) really hurt us with his legs, but when we got ahead, it forced them to throw the ball more, which took the ball out of his hands.”

In the first meeting between the Medford schools this season, the Panthers eked out a 33-30 victory to snap a two-game skid in the series, which began in 1986, when Medford High split. North Medford holds a 20-19 lead in the series.

Newberg was seeking its first appearance in an OSAA final.

No. 14 North Medford 42, No. 15 Jesuit 32

At Willamette High School in Eugene, Cameron Nix ran for 137 yards and four touchdowns, including a 2-yarder late in the third quarter that gave the Black Tornado (8-4) the lead for good at 21-17 as they advanced to their first OSAA final since 2003.

On the ensuing possession, Tate Snyder intercepted a pass at the goal line and returned it 55 yards, setting up a 22-yard scoring pass from Traeger Healy to Easton Curtis with 10:26 left. The teams exchanged touchdowns the rest of the way until North Medford held on fourth down at its 26-yard line with 1 minute left.

Black Tornado coach Nathan Chin pointed to two defensive plays as turning points — Nolan Kelly’s 15-yard interception return for a touchdown 14 seconds before halftime and a third-down stop in the red zone that forced Jesuit (9-3) to settle for a 24-yard field goal from Parker Heydet to open the second half.

“This is huge for our kids and also our program to have additional opportunities to play football for the extra four weeks,” Chin said.

Crusaders quarterback Trey Cleeland was 18 of 29 for 276 yards with two interceptions, and he ran for three touchdowns. Grant Valley caught nine passes for 144 yards and made a team-high seven tackles, and Roman Mallard and Quinn Wicklow each had 2½ tackles for loss.

CLASS 5A | Bracket

No. 5 Wilsonville 32, No. 1 Silverton 29 | Full story

Senior quarterback Mark Wiepert had a hand in all five Wildcats touchdowns and amassed 450 total yards, and Blake Dougherty forced a fumble on fourth down in the final minute that Emmitt Fee recovered to seal Wilsonville’s victory at McMinnville High School.

Wiepert threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns, ran for 170 yards and a score and caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from halfback Roman Kealoha as the defending champion Wildcats (10-2) avenged a defeat to the Foxes (10-2) during Special District 2 play.

“People want to talk about dual-threat quarterbacks, and we’ve got a very special quarterback,” said Wilsonville coach Adam Guenther. “We’ve just kept him throwing the ball all year so we could keep him ready to go for games like this. Talk about a warrior — he didn’t come off the field much on defense either.”

Wiepert’s 48-yard touchdown pass to Keona Tam with 1:47 left in the third quarter gave Wilsonville a 32-21 lead. After forcing a punt, the Wildcats were driving for another score when Eli Willis punched the ball free and recovered the fumble with 8:26 to play.

Nine plays later, Lincoln Teeney scored on a 1-yard run to draw the Foxes within a field goal. They got the ball back with 2:50 left after a punt and drove from their 14 to the Wildcats 32 before Dougherty’s helmet knocked the ball out of quarterback Sawyer Teeney’s hand as he rolled out — the last of five sacks for the Wildcats.

Sawyer Teeney was 19 of 31 for 322 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and he ran for one touchdown. He was stopped inches short of a go-ahead score on fourth down midway through the third quarter — one of three fourth-down stops Wilsonville had in the second half.

No. 2 Mountain View 40, No. 6 West Albany 17

At McNary High School in Keizer, junior Angel Valenzuela rushed for a season-high 237 yards and three touchdowns, and the Cougars (12-0) overcame the second-quarter disqualification of Washington State-bound receiver Jack Foley to earn a rematch with Wilsonville from last year’s state final.

Valenzuela scored on runs of 61, 96 and 4 yards, and his goal-line fumble was recovered by teammate Dominick Valdez in the end zone with 10:31 to play, giving Mountain View a 33-17 lead.

“Angel was simply a man tonight,” Cougars coach Brian Crum said. “He played possessed on both sides of the ball and was not going to be denied.”

Mountain View returned only four of 22 starters from last year’s finalist, which was the second time the program played for a state title. The Cougars won it all in 2011.

“That says a lot about our depth and the heart that these kids had,” Crum said. “Their motto from the beginning was reload, not rebuild, and that’s what they’ve done.”

The Bulldogs (9-3), seeking their first championship game appearance since winning the 2013 title, trailed 20-17 at halftime and were stymied on fourth down at the Cougars 6 on their first drive of the second half.

After an exchange of punts pinned Mountain View at its 4, Valenzuela found a crease on the left side of the line and raced 96 yards for a score.

Tyler Hart-McNally rushed for 151 yards and caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Kaden Martirano, who also ran for a score for West Albany.

SATURDAY

CLASS 4A | Bracket

No. 5 Scappoose (10-1) vs. No. 1 Marist Catholic (10-1)

1 p.m., McMinnville High School

No. 3 Henley (10-1) vs. No. 2 Cascade (10-1)

4:30 p.m., Grants Pass High School

CLASS 3A | Bracket

No. 9 North Valley (9-2) vs. No. 4 Vale (11-0)

1 p.m., Summit High School, Bend

No. 11 Burns (9-2) vs. No. 2 Banks (10-0)

4:30 p.m., Summit High School, Bend

CLASS 2A | Bracket

No. 5 St. Paul (11-0) vs. No. 1 Heppner (11-0)

2 p.m., Caldera High School, Bend

No. 6 Gervais (9-1) vs. No. 2 Oakland (11-0)

4:30 p.m., Cottage Grove High School

CLASS 1A 8-MAN | Bracket

No. 4 Crane (8-2) vs. No. 1 Adrian (10-0)

4:30 p.m., Eastern Oregon University, La Grande

No. 3 North Douglas (10-0) vs. No. 2 Crosspoint Christian (9-1)

1 p.m., Grants Pass High School

CLASS 1A 6-MAN | Bracket

No. 5 South Wasco County (8-3) vs. No. 1 Powers (10-0)

1 p.m., Cottage Grove High School

No. 6 Prairie City/Burnt River (9-2) vs. No. 2 Harper Charter (9-0)

1 p.m., Eastern Oregon University, La Grande

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