Oregon high school football playoffs Round 1 recap: Top stars, best games, biggest wins

The Oregon high school football playoffs kicked off Friday with first-round action across the state

Sam Vyhlidal had four touchdowns in Mountainside's 44-39 win over Tualatin. / Photo by Dan Brood

The Oregon high school football playoffs kicked off Friday with first-round action across the state. 

Here’s a look at some of the best games, top stars and memorable performances.

Note: Entries are based on information provided by coaches, statisticians and high school football fans. Don’t see any details for your team’s game? Email some notes and/or stats to rferran.scorebooklive@gmail.com. We will be updating this post throughout the weekend. 

FOOTBALL BRACKETS

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CLASS 6A OPEN | Bracket

No. 5 Central Catholic 38, No. 12 Wells 14

The defending state champion Rams knew they were in for a unique test Friday night at Hillsboro Stadium when they played host to the two-time reigning PIL champion Guardians. 

“That’s something we haven’t seen before, three running backs and two tight ends,” senior linebacker Ty Newbury said. “They were a very disciplined team and ran that offense very well.”

Wells tried to play keepaway to keep itself in the game, holding the ball for the entire third quarter before scoring its first touchdown. 

The Guardians (7-3) also turned the ball over three times and were denied at the goal line by Evan Brenner as time expired in the first half trailing 17-0.

The Rams (10-0) stopped Wells on fourth down with 4:48 to play with the game still in the balance at 24-14. Two plays later, Newbury scored from 11 yards to give them some breathing room.

“That stop right there before halftime, and then to get that stop at the end to seal the deal, our defense just stepped up all night,” first-year Rams coach Charlie Landgraf said. “We knew we were going to have our hands full. Wells runs that wing-T better than anyone I’ve seen in a while. But I thought we did a great job of bend, don’t break.”

Central Catholic made enough plays when it did manage to gain possession to stave off the Guardians and advance to play Lakeridge in next week’s quarterfinals.

Junior Robbie Long threw for 214 yards and three touchdowns — two to Eastern Washington commit Landon Kelsey, who caught six passes for 103 yards — and Newbury ran for two touchdowns in the absence of leading rusher Tyson Davis (shoulder).

“We grew a lot in this game,” Newbury said. “We’ve been a lower-ranked seed before, and we thrive off that. We like being under the radar, you know, just kicking butt, taking names all through the rankings.”

No. 8 Mountainside 44, No. 9 Tualatin 39 | Full story

Sam Vyhlidal caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Cade Mitchell on fourth-and-1 with 8:15 to play, and the Metro League champion Mavericks (8-2) survived a wild finish that saw a last-gasp score by the Timberwolves (6-4) nullified by an illegal forward pass penalty.

Vyhlidal had 181 total yards and four touchdowns, and Mitchell returned from a second-half injury to finish 15 of 21 for 282 yards and two touchdowns. Mountainside will face No. 1 seed Lake Oswego next week.

Tualatin quarterback and BYU commit Nolan Keeney was 5 of 17 for 75 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for 131 yards and a score. Cole Hachmeister added 116 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, and Calvin Evans kicked field goals of 48 and 43 yards, ran for a 12-yard touchdown and had a sack.

No. 6 Sprague 41, No. 11 Clackamas 12

The host Olympians (9-1) bounced back from their first defeat, racing to a 21-0 lead early against the Cavaliers (6-4) in south Salem.

Kenya Johnson ran for three touchdowns, and Dukatti Witherspoon threw for two scores and ran for another as Sprague earned a rematch with Sheldon, which defeated the Olympians last week to win the South Central Football Conference title.

Trayton Futi led the Sprague defense with two interceptions, with a third coming on a two-point conversion attempt.

No. 7 Sherwood 42, No. 10 Nelson 21

Wison Medina ran for four touchdowns, including a 31-yarder early in the third quarter that broke a 14-14 tie, as the Pacific Conference champion Bowmen (8-2) earned a rematch against West Linn in next week’s quarterfinals. 

Medina finished with 181 yards on the ground, and the Bowmen were 8 for 11 on third-down conversions.

Jackson Bell had touchdown passes of 11 yards to Levi Klostreich and 69 yards to Michael Brandt, the latter giving Sherwood a 35-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter. 

“Nelson is a good football team, but we feel like our kids just kept getting stronger as the game went on,” Bowmen coach Mark Gribble said. “Jackson played his best game for us this year. He may have had better stats somewhere along the road, but tonight he had some huge plays for us.”

CLASS 6A | Bracket

No. 13 South Medford 41, No. 28 Jefferson 0

The Panthers (6-4) jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter in the home win at Spiegelberg Stadium.

“We ran the ball well, and the defense kept them in check,” coach Bill Singler said.

No. 20 Sandy 39, No. 21 McMinnville 16

The host Pioneers scored 25 consecutive points to take control after trailing 14-7 early in the third quarter.

Mataio Olomua’s 49-yard touchdown run tied the score at 14-14, and Marco Torres booted a 39-yard field goal to put Sandy ahead to stay. Olomua returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown a minute later.

Caden McMahon and Olomua scored on touchdown runs three minutes apart in the fourth quarter. Olomua finished with 220 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, and McMahon ran for 75 yards and a touchdown as Sandy amassed 365 total yards.

No. 17 Grants Pass 49, No. 24 Sunset 27

Sophomore quarterback Jordan Rossetta was 16 of 30 for 332 yards and six touchdowns, with Brevik Hill his top target — seven catches for 189 yards and three scores —  to help lead the Cavemen (6-4) to the home win.

Tim Hart caught two touchdowns, and Isaac Johnson had three catches for 79 yards and a score. Treyton Powers ran for 106 yards and a touchdown, Parker Howe made a team-high 10 tackles, and Ashton Park and Connor Johnston had two sacks apiece.

No. 16 Newberg 41, No. 25 Oregon City 40

Parker Sellner connected with Colton Seifert on a 10-yard touchdown pass, and Ethan Johnson converted the PAT with the Tigers (5-5) down to their backup long snapper as the hosts escaped with the victory against the Pioneers (1-9). 

Sellner threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns, the other to Colin Wujcik, and he scored twice on the ground. 

Newberg converted two fake punts and scored after recovering the second-half kickoff to take a 20-13 lead in a back-and-forth game. Johnson was perfect on his seven kicks, including two field goals, and Chace Macken ran for a touchdown as the Tigers had 157 rushing yards.

No. 15 Jesuit 41, No. 26 Liberty 12

UC Davis commit Trey Cleeland accounted for five touchdowns, including three through the air while going 12 of 20 for 256 yards, to lead the Crusaders (8-2) to victory at Cronin Field.

Cleeland also ran for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass from Joe Stimpson on a fleaflicker.

Dallas Ochoa found Ben James for a 22-yard touchdown to draw the Falcons (4-6) within 21-12 late in the second quarter. Jesuit answered late in the half to lead 28-12 at halftime.

No. 18 West Salem 42, No. 23 Westview 23

Junior Jerret Peil, in his second start, threw for two touchdowns and ran for two, and the Titans (6-4) built a 42-7 lead en route to the first-round home win. 

Koen Campos ran for more than 100 yards and scored twice for West Salem. 

No. 19 Tigard 31, No. 22 Lincoln 12

Jackson Morris returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, and Ivan Morales returned a fumble 39 yards for a score less than 30 seconds later as the Tigers (3-7) built a 31-0 lead en route to the first-round win.

No. 14 North Medford 28, No. 27 Roosevelt 14

Cameron Nix ran for 206 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries and caught one of Traeger Healy’s two touchdown passes, and the Black Tornado (6-4) forced three turnovers en route to victory at Southern Oregon University.

Healy also had a touchdown pass to Teagan Neron and finished 12 of 18 for 193 yards.

CLASS 5A | Bracket

No. 1 Silverton 52, No. 16 La Salle Prep 0

The Special District 2 champion Foxes (9-1) built a 42-0 halftime lead and cruised to the quarterfinals.

Senior quarterback Sawyer Teeney threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns, with two going to Hudson Waples, who had 109 receiving yards, before both sat the second half for Silverton, which will face Summit next week in a rematch of their Week 0 game. 

Logan Uitto scored three first-half touchdowns on a 3-yard pass from Teeney, a 15-yard run and a 59-yard punt return. 

The Foxes held the Falcons (6-4) to 109 yards and forced three turnovers.

No. 8 Summit 55, No. 9 Willamette 20

Ari Villano returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and Andrew Guthrie had four touchdown passes — two to Connor Conneely — for the Storm (6-4). Guthrie finished 11 of 16 for 228 yards, and Taylan Kinsella ran for two touchdowns.

The Wolverines end the season 8-2 after going 0-9 last year. 

Alex Nevarov had five sacks for Summit, including one where he stripped Willamette quarterback Tre People and Colson Skuse returned the fumble for a touchdown. 

No. 5 Wilsonville 63, No. 12 Bend 34

Mark Wiepert threw for 302 yards and six touchdowns, with five going to Nick Crowley, and Roman Keahloa ran for two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass as the defending state champion Wildcats (8-2) rolled to the win.

Keona Tam set up two scores with long kick returns, including a 79-yarder. Aidan Jenkins also ran for a touchdown for Wilsonville, which travels to Midwestern League champion Churchill in next week’s quarterfinals.

No. 4 Churchill 28, No. 13 Central 0

Lukas Babbitt ran for 260 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries, and the Lancers (9-1) won despite missing 1,600-yard rusher Ceville Pasi because of injury.

Churchill coach Layne Coffin described Pasi’s injury as “day-to-day” as the Lancers prepare to face defending state champion Wilsonville in next week’s quarterfinals.

The shutout is Churchill’s first in the playoffs since 1987. Nick Miller and Alonzo Reyes had two interceptions each, Brady Bousquet had another, and Mikey Johnson and TJ Wright recovered fumbles.

No. 3 Dallas 28, No. 14 Hood River Valley 13

The Dragons (9-1) built a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, taking advantage of several turnovers, then responded after the Eagles cut the lead to 15 with four minutes left to hold the ball the rest of the way and earn a rematch against West Albany, which defeated Dallas 34-20 in Week 8.

Eli Hess was 13 of 24 for 196 yards and a touchdown. Chase Eriksen caught five passes for 136 yards and a touchdown and made seven tackles with an interception. 

Sean Ward ran for 113 yards and two scores, Justin Hofenbredl had a game-high 15 tackles and two sacks, Tyler Basey added 14 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble, and Jordan Braziel had four tackles for loss among his 11 total tackles.

No. 6 West Albany 41, No. 11 Hillsboro 6

Tyler Hart-McNally ran for 171 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries, and the Mid-Willamette champion Bulldogs (8-2) rolled to victory.

Hart-McNally scored on runs of 68, 48 and 14 yards, and he caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Kaden Martirano, who finished 13 of 19 for 215 yards and three touchdowns. RJ Fallows (six catches for 87 yards) and Austin Simmons also had touchdown receptions.

Wyatt Morse and Kane Damon led the defensive effort with nine tackles each, and Justice Edmiston added eight.

No. 10 Lebanon 29, No. 7 Glencoe 27

Brison Edwards connected with Logan Large on a 12-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 27-27 with 16 seconds remaining, and Edwards converted the two-point conversion to lift the Warriors (7-3) past the Northwest Oregon Conference champion Crimson Tide (7-3) at Hare Field.

Daniel Heninger’s third touchdown with 3:15 left gave Glencoe a 27-21 lead. The Crimson Tide led 14-0 and 21-7 in the first half, but Large’s 65-yard kickoff return answered Zane Bradley’s 2-yard touchdown run to draw Lebanon within 21-14 by halftime. 

No. 2 Mountain View 42, No. 15 Thurston 18

The Intermountain Conference champion Cougars (10-0) rode the hot hand of senior quarterback Mason Chambers, who overcame three interceptions to throw for 405 yards and five touchdowns in the first-round victory in Bend.

Jordan Best caught five passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns, and Jack Foley had three catches for 155 yards and two scores for Mountain View, which will face Lebanon in next week’s quarterfinals. 

CLASS 4A | Bracket

No. 1 Marist Catholic 47, No. 16 Gladstone 0

Connor Harvey ran for three touchdowns, and Christian Guerrero caught two touchdown passes as the Spartans (9-1) built a 47-0 first-half lead and coasted to the first-round win in Eugene.

Ryan Lemley returned a punt 50 yards for a score, and Aaron Bidwell had a touchdown catch.

No. 9 Stayton 14, No. 8 Estacada 12

The Rangers (5-5) eschewed an 18-yard field goal try on the final play, and the Eagles (7-3) stuffed them at the goal line to escape Estacada with the victory.

Hudson Hughes was 14 of 22 for 135 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score for Stayton, which travels to Marist Catholic next week for a rematch of their Week 7 loss to the Spartans. 

No. 5 Scappoose 42, No. 12 Hidden Valley 0

Max Nowlin was 20 of 26 for 249 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for a fourth score, and sophomore Elijah Greenan-Biggs ran for 114 yards and a touchdown as Cowapa League champion Scappoose (9-1) cruised to the home win.

Jaiden Smith caught seven passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and Cayden Baker ran for a touchdown. Scappoose had four interceptions and recovered two fumbles in posting its third shutout.

“We talked all week about how important it is to win the turnover battle in the playoffs,” Scappoose co-coach Joe Nowlin said. “Our guys are buying into what we are doing and playing really good team ball right now.” 

No. 13 Tillamook 20, No. 4 Crook County 17

Diego Lara kicked a 43-yard field goal just before halftime to give the Cheesemakers (6-4) a 10-3 lead, and he added a 32-yarder in the fourth quarter that proved critical in their win over the previously undefeated Cowboys in Prineville. 

Lara’s second field goal gave Tillamook a 20-10 lead, but Crook County (9-1) answered with a quick score to draw within 20-17 with 3:09 to play. After getting the ball back, the Cowboys moved to field-goal range before getting driven back with eight seconds left.

Kevin Hurliman connected with Carsen Rieger for two touchdowns for the Cheesemakers, and Tristan Smith Evans and Ryan Wilks had interceptions in the end zone in the second half to thwart the Cowboys. 

No. 3 Henley 43, No. 14 Seaside 35

Junior quarterback Joe Janney ran for five touchdowns and threw a scoring pass to Mark Carpenter, and the defending state champion Hornets (9-1) held off the Seagulls (5-5) in Klamath Falls. 

Seaside drew within one score with a touchdown with 25 seconds left, but Henley recovered the onside kick to secure the victory.

No. 6 Philomath 39, No. 11 La Grande 27

Rocco De La Rosa caught three touchdown passes from Caleb Russell and scored on a 5-yard run as the Warriors (8-2) built a 33-7 halftime lead en route to the first-round win at Corvallis High School.

De La Rosa (nine catches for 179 yards) played receiver most of the season, but Philomath coach Alex Firth moved him to running back (which he played as a freshman and sophomore) for this game to create matchup problems with a linebacker often covering him out of the backfield.

“It was nice to have Rocco back after missing the last two games,” Firth said. “He adds a different dynamic to our offense.”

Russell had a 28-yard touchdown pass to CD Nuno (nine catches for 132 yards) late in the first half. Russell finished 25 of 36 for 369 yards.

No. 7 Pendleton 41, No. 10 Mazama 0

Tugg McQuinn returned from an injury that sidelined him in the second half of the Buckaroos’ regular-season finale to rush for 171 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries as Pendleton (7-3) pulled away from a 14-0 halftime lead.

Colson Primus was 12 of 18 for 152 yards and touchdown passes to Mason Strong (three catches for 91 yards) and Keegan Kline (five catches for 49 yards).

Vance Nelson made a game-high 10 tackles for the Buckaroos, and Aidan Perkins and Dakota Malin had eight apiece. 

Mazama (5-5) played the final two games without its top rusher, Kris Baldwin (knee injury), and first-year coach Orlyn Culp, who stepped away from his duties for health reasons.

No. 2 Cascade 46, No. 15 Molalla 14

Carter Condon had a second consecutive solid performance since taking over for 1,200-yard rusher Bryce Kuenzi (knee), rushing for 263 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries to lift the Cougars (9-1) to the home win.

Cade Coreson was nearly perfect passing the ball, finishing 7 of 8 for 66 yards and a touchdown pass to fullback Matt Hinkle, who ran for 95 yards and three touchdowns on four carries for Cascade, which led 28-0 at halftime. 

CLASS 3A | Bracket

No. 1 Siuslaw/Mapleton 30, No. 16 Dayton 24

No. 9 North Valley 35, No. 8 Sutherlin 0

No. 5 Taft 34, No. 12 Sisters 27

Trenton Battle ran for two touchdowns — including a go-ahead 43-yarder with less than three minutes remaining — and returned an interception for a score, and Ezra James had touchdown passes to Zack Hankins and Kol Tolan to lift the Tigers (8-2) to victory in Lincoln City for their first playoff win since 1999. 

No. 4 Vale 56, No. 13 South Umpqua 14

Kase Schaffeld ran for 167 yards and four first-half touchdowns on 24 carries, and the Vikings (10-0) amassed 311 yards on the ground and 384 total as they rolled to the quarterfinals.

Vale led just 28-14 at halftime but scored three touchdowns in the third quarter, with Thomas Rodriguez’s 10-yard score with 2:47 left in the period triggering the running clock.

The Vikings held South Umpqua (6-4) to 13 yards in the second half.

No. 3 Santiam Christian 42, No. 14 Kennedy 21

Jeremy Ness’ third touchdown run late in the third quarter broke a 21-21 tie, and the senior added two more touchdowns in the final period to cap a 341-yard performance that lifted the Eagles (9-1) to the first-round win.

Brendan Fitzpatrick opened the scoring with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Connor Rahn-n, but the Trojans returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown — one of two kickoffs the visitors returned for scores.

No. 11 Burns 46, No. 6 Cottage Grove 7

No. 7 Cascade Christian 57, No. 10 Yamhill-Carlton 7

The two-time defending champion Challengers (7-3) continued their title defense with a blistering display, scoring 48 points in the first quarter as Bryson Walker and Caleb Parker each scored three touchdowns, with Parker catching two of Deryk Farmer’s three touchdown passes in the period.

Walker finished with 182 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries, and Farmer was 14 of 19 for 184 yards.

No. 2 Banks 42, No. 15 Coquille 6

CLASS 2A | Bracket

No. 1 Heppner 58, No. 16 Waldport 0

The Mustangs (10-0) rolled up 334 yards on the ground, with Zach Brown running for 80 yards and two of Heppner’s seven rushing touchdowns as the top seed led 44-0 at halftime.

Keaton Coiner had eight tackles (three for loss) to lead a defense that allowed 63 yards and four first downs and forced two turnovers.

No. 9 Lost River 42, No. 8 Gaston 6 

Kayden Hartman ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns, and Noah O’Neill also had two rushing touchdowns to help lead the Raiders (8-2) past the Northwest League champion Greyhounds (7-3).

Kyle Diaz was 3 of 4 for 75 yards and a touchdown, Hartman had a team-high seven tackles, and Lost River held Gaston to 99 yards, losing the shutout on a late 11-yard run by Tony Fern.

No. 5 St. Paul 43, No. 12 Salem Academy 0

Branson Cook ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns, and Wyatt Smith had six tackles and two interceptions as the Buckaroos (10-0) held the Crusaders to 118 yards.

Clay Smith rushed for 112 yards and caught a 90-yard touchdown pass from Grady Wolf.

No. 4 Culver 44, No. 13 Weston-McEwen/Griswold 0

Carlos Fernandez ran for 62 yards and two touchdowns, and Houston Wittenberg accounted for four touchdowns as the Bulldogs (10-0) reached double-digit wins for the first time since 2008.

Wittenberg threw for 98 yards and two touchdowns — one each to Jace Silbernagel and Cole Roff — returned a punt 13 yards for a touchdown and took an interception 51 yards for a score.

No. 14 Stanfield 20, No. 3 Colton 12

No. 6 Gervais 50, No. 11 Lowell 14

The Cougars (8-1) bounced back in a big way from their loss to Colton last week that decided the Special District 2 title.

Johnny Mariano rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns and returned an interception for a score as they ousted the defending state champion Red Devils (6-4).

“Playing the defending champions was going to be a struggle, but we were up to the challenge,” Gervais coach JJ Navarette said. “We started slow, but we started to get into a rhythm. Overall, it was a great game for our kids.”

Frank Ojeda ran for a score and threw a touchdown pass to Alex Kuznetsov.

No. 7 Myrtle Point/Pacific 49, No. 10 Enterprise 0

No. 2 Oakland 44, No. 15 Nestucca 0

CLASS 1A 8-MAN | Bracket

No. 8 Cove 75, No. 9 Camas Valley 24

Sophomore Brody Fite ran for three first-half touchdowns and returned one of his two interceptions for a score as the Leopards (6-4) led 75-0 at halftime and cruised to a matchup with top seed Adrian.

Caleb Carson scored on a blocked punt return and a fumble return, and freshman Matthew Blake also returned a blocked punt for a score.

No. 5 Union 74, No. 12 Lyle/Wishram/Klickitat/Glenwood 20

No. 6 Dufur 62, No. 11 Powder Valley 14

No. 10 Sherman/Condon 20, No. 7 Mohawk 18

CLASS 1A 6-MAN | Bracket

No. 8 Joseph 74, No. 9 Triangle Lake 53

No. 5 South Wasco County 51, No. 12 Days Creek 13

No. 6 Prairie City/Burnt River 89, No. 11 Falls City 22

Maison Teel amassed 495 all-purpose yards, including 371 rushing with five touchdowns, and the Panthers (8-2) scored 70 points in the first half in breezing past the Mountaineers to the quarterfinals.

Teel also had an 80-yard passing touchdown and a 44-yard touchdown catch. Sawyer Quinton ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns and caught an 80-yard touchdown pass, Carter Watterson had 191 total yards and three touchdowns, and Brogan Rookstool had eight tackles (three for loss), a fumble recovery and two onside kick recoveries.

No. 7 Echo 44, No. 10 Alsea 7

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