Oregon high school football Week 1 instant analysis: 10 things to know

Defending champions Central Catholic (6A), Wilsonville (5A) pull out victories; Lake Oswego looks impressive despite head coach being suspended

Nelson and Wilsonville went down to the wire in a great Week 1 showdown in Wilsonville. The Wildcats prevailed, 27-26. / Photo by Leon Neuschwander

The Oregon high school football season kicked off in full Friday night with Week 1 action around the state.

Our preseason 6A No. 1 team, Tualatin, looked the part in an impressive 54-19 rout of Jesuit. Read more about that matchup here:

Tualatin looks the part of Oregon’s No. 1 team in season-opening rout of Jesuit: 5 takeaways

Here are 10 other highlights and things to know from the first full Friday night of action in the 2024 Oregon high school football season:

10 things to know from Week 1

Defense comes up big for reigning 5A champion Wilsonville

Wilsonville was known as an offensive juggernaut last season with 5A offensive player of the year Kallen Gutridge running the show.

Gutridge is now at Oregon State, and Friday night as the Wildcats opened defense of their state championship on their home field against Nelson, it was the defense that saved the day.

Senior cornerback Nick Crowley batted away a two-point conversion pass with 1:40 remaining to preserve a 27-26 victory. That came after the Wildcats held the Hawks out of the end zone after Nelson drove to the 1-yard line on its previous possession.

The Hawks forced a punt, and Avirey Durdahl connected on a 5-yard pass to Noah Boria to draw within one. A holding penalty negated the Wildcats’ first stop of the two-point try, setting up Crowley’s heroics.

Crowley caught the go-ahead touchdown pass from 36 yards to break a 20-20 tie late in the third quarter.

Mark Wiepert had a solid debut as Wilsonville's starting quarterback. / Photo by Leon Neuschwander

Senior Mark Wiepert, an all-state receiver last year, won the competition to replace Gutridge behind center and had a solid opener, throwing for two touchdowns and running for 49 yards and two scores.

Wiepert made 10 tackles (three for loss), and junior Riddick Molitor had a team-high 11 tackles and two sacks. Wiepert’s younger brother, Ben, had eight tackles in his varsity debut as a sophomore.

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Defending 6A champion Rams win Central Catholic showdown, improve to 2-0

On the same day junior running back KK Sombe underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL, his Central Catholic team improved to 2-0 with a 45-29 victory over Central Catholic of Modesto, Calif.

The defending 6A champions got four touchdown passes from junior Robbie Long in his second start after replacing three-year starter Cru Newman, with three going to Eastern Washington commit Landon Kelsey and another to sophomore tight end Seager Milholen.

Junior Tyson Davis, who will get the bulk of the carries after Sombe’s season-ending injury, ran for a touchdown for the Rams.

“I thought we were in control offensively all night,” Rams coach Charlie Landgraf said. “We ran  the ball well and created a lot more explosive plays through the air.”

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5A Silverton holds off 6A Mountainside in thriller

Silverton followed its impressive Week 0 victory over Summit by holding off Mountainside 24-21 in Beaverton.

Senior quarterback Sawyer Teeney was 15 of 20 for 136 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score, and the Foxes forced a turnover on downs with 1:44 to play to secure the win.

The Mavericks overcame 14 first-half penalties to stay close in their season opener. Junior quarterback Cade Mitchell’s second touchdown pass — a 2-yarder in the flat to Jordan Hicks — closed the deficit to 24-21 with 8:05 to play, and they got the ball back with 2:38 remaining.

They converted one first down before the Silverton defense stiffened, forcing an incompletion on fourth down. Silverton then ran out all but the final two seconds on the clock.

Mitchell finished 19 of 33 for 247 yards. Kellen Hicks had three catches for 131 yards and a touchdown.

“I think we’re a very powerful team,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think we’re a team to be slept on. Once we clean up these penalties, it’s going to be very scary to beat us.”

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With longtime coach Steve Coury suspended, Lake Oswego routs Sunset

Lake Oswego jumped out to a 42-0 halftime lead and romped to a 48-12 win at Sunset, which won last year’s Columbia Cup.

LaMarcus Bell opened the scoring with a 58-yard run, quarterback Hudson Kurland ran for one score and threw for another, and Lusiano Lopez had four tackles for loss in the first quarter as the Lakers forced three turnovers.

Lake Oswego was without coach Steve Coury, serving a one-game suspension after his disqualification last week for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties resulting from equipment rule violations.

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PIL champion Wells makes Clackamas work hard for victory

Clackamas opened its season with a hard-fought 27-16 victory at reigning PIL champion Wells.

Dylan Brower had two touchdown passes, one to Jacob Larsen and another to Luke Baker, who had a solid overall game, rushing for two scores (including a 90-yarder) and intercepting a pass.

“It’s always great to go 1-0, especially on the road,” Cavaliers coach James Holan said. “We did some good stuff, but there’s lots to get better on this week.”

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Sheldon overcomes lightning, Tigard to deliver Martell his first coaching win

Sheldon won in the coaching debut for Tyler Martell, overcoming a lightning delay late in the first half to pull out a 43-13 victory over Tigard.

Rocco Graziano caught two touchdown passes and kicked a 44-yard field goal, and Cameron Gilhuber returned the second-half kickoff for a score for the Irish.

“It felt good for our guys to see their hard work pay off,” Martell said. “They battled adversity with a long lightning delay, and then the lights went out, but they responded really well.”

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New coach, star transfers help Willamette end long losing streak

The coach Martell replaced, Josh Line, also was a winner in his debut at Willamette, which defeated North Eugene 28-0 as two standout transfers had solid debuts for the Wolverines.

Former Sheldon coach Josh Line is 1-0 at Willamette. / Photo by Michele Bunch

Senior quarterback Tre People, a 3-star recruit with offers from Michigan State, Maryland and Louisville who three weeks ago was prepping for his final season at Norco (Calif.) after starting at Adelanto as a junior, had two touchdown passes.

On the other side of the ball, junior Tony Cumberland — one of the top defensive line recruits in the nation — had several sacks to help Willamette post its first shutout in the past two years and snap its losing streak at 12 games.

That wasn’t the only long losing streak to end Friday night. Aloha won for the first time since the COVID-shortened 2021 spring season, knocking off Century 27-20 to end its skid at 27 games.

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4A powers Cascade, Scappoose notch big road wins before Week 2 showdown

Two westside 4A powers that met in last year’s quarterfinals traveled across the Cascades and picked up big road wins as they tuned up for a rematch next week.

Scappoose made the long bus ride along Interstate 84 for the second week in a row, following a last-minute victory at Pendleton in Week 0 by rolling to a 55-28 victory over defending Greater Oregon League champion Baker.

Senior quarterback Max Nowlin threw for three touchdowns and ran for another for Scappoose.

“Our offense was really clicking tonight,” Scappoose co-coach Joe Nowlin said. “It’s always good to go on the road and get a win, especially with such a long trip out east. We still need to clean some things up on defense, but our kids have a lot of confidence moving forward.”

Cascade — the team Scappoose beat in that quarterfinal matchup a year ago — trekked across the Santiam Pass and romped past Redmond 47-13, spoiling the debut for first-year Panthers coach Kyle Lavender.

Cade Coreson had four touchdown passes — three to sophomore Josiah Hawkins — in his first game as the Cougars starter, and Bryce Kuenzi ran for two touchdowns and had one of Cascade’s two interceptions.

“Definitely difficult to travel that distance and play in the heat and smoke,” said Cascade assistant coach Grant Hedrick. “But our players responded well to the challenge.”

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After long delay, Seaside outlasts Junction City in shootout

Seaside pulled away in the second half for a 35-28 victory at Junction City, enduring an hour-long lightning delay to win a matchup of two 4A playoff teams from a year ago.

Jake White ran for two touchdowns for the Seagulls, and Ryder Jackson had more than 100 total yards and returned an interception for a touchdown.

“Junction City was a physical team, so this was a good test for us,” Seaside coach Aaron Tanabe said.

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Game of the night in 2A: Oakland 42, Lowell 35

The game of the night in the smaller classifications featured the past two 2A champions squaring off in a rematch of their semifinal from last November.

Last year, Lowell defeated Oakland 32-18 on its way to its first state championship.

This time, the Oakers got their revenge, downing the Red Devils 42-35 as Gabe Williamson broke a tie with a long touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter of a back-and-forth affair.

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