What we learned in Week 0 of Oregon high school football

Here’s what stood out during the opening week of games on the Oregon high school football schedule

Silverton built a 35-0 lead en route to an emphatic win over Summit in an early 5A showdown. / Photo by Rene Ferran

The 2024 Oregon high school football season kicked off last week with Week 0 games around the state. Here's what stood out during the opening weekend of action. 

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Silverton looks in midseason form in dominant victory over Summit

The Silverton football team wanted to send a message to its Class 5A competition Friday night.

“We’re ready to go to war again,” said senior quarterback Sawyer Teeney.

Consider that message delivered after the Foxes took a 35-0 lead late in the third quarter and defeated Summit 35-12 in a battle of two of the past three 5A state champions at McGinnis Field.

Teeney connected with seven receivers in throwing for 289 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a game-high 78 yards and two scores, and the Foxes — ranked No. 1 in the SBLive High School for SI Preseason 5A Top 15 with six all-state returnees — held No. 5 Summit to 156 yards.

“We knew they had some young guys coming in,” Teeney said. “We knew that was where we had the advantage, and we capitalized on that. We made some plays and just settled into a rhythm. It was really a clean game for everybody.”

That was the main takeaway for Silverton coach Dan Lever about his veteran team’s performance.

“You’re always really worried about execution, especially early — you know, the procedural stuff, not getting lined up right, jumping offside, not having people out there on special teams and having to burn a timeout,” Lever said.

“But I was really proud of our kids and their focus for Week 0. There’s still plenty to work on, but we liked our start.”

As Teeney pointed out, the Storm were breaking in plenty of fresh faces with little varsity experience, starting with sophomore quarterback Andrew Guthrie.

Summit coach Corben Hyatt acknowledged a few of his players were a bit wide-eyed at the opening kickoff, but he was pleased with how they grew into the game despite the lopsided outcome.

Guthrie’s best throw was a 65-yard bomb to senior Kai Scally for the Storm’s first touchdown, and he ran for a score in the waning moments.

“The first half, we looked like a team that hadn’t seen much varsity action against a very good, experienced opponent,” Hyatt said. “Andrew started to use his feet more the second half when he didn’t like his reads and scrambled, which will force teams to account for that piece of his game.

“I’m excited to see the growth of this team and where they might be at the end of the season. If we can get through this four-game stretch against some of the best teams in our state and Idaho, we should be set up with confidence going into league play.”

New Central Catholic QB ‘just playing football’ in debut victory

Like Summit, Central Catholic — No. 2 in our preseason 6A top 15 — was breaking in a new quarterback Friday as junior Robbie Long debuted behind center in place of departed 6A offensive player of the year Cru Newman.

Wearing No. 15 like his quarterback role model, Patrick Mahomes, Long showed off his improvisational skills at times and poise in the pocket at others — two of the reasons he beat senior Beau Rolak and junior Sam Ribner for the job during August camp — during the Rams’ 35-15 victory over Leilehua of Wahiawa, Hawaii.

“He did a lot of good things today,” said first-year Central Catholic coach Charlie Landgraf. “He’s a great athlete, and I think you saw that a little bit with him being able to make plays off-script.”

Long acknowledged feeling nervous exiting the locker room to take the field at Hillsboro Stadium, “but after the first snap, I was back to normal,” he said. “I was just playing  football.”

He finished with solid numbers — 17 of 24 for 213 yards and three touchdowns along with a 4-yard scramble for a score.

His touchdown run came one snap after he nearly pulled off a Mahomes-like play, scrambling right, then flipping the ball sideways to Landon Kelsey in the front corner of the end zone. As the two celebrated, the officials came together and ruled that Long stepped out of bounds just before throwing the ball.

“I didn’t mean to do them,” Long said, smiling. “But I just saw Landon in the back of the end zone, and I saw the guy didn’t really want to get tackled, so kind of slipped it to him.”

Lake Oswego rings Bell three times in opening win over South Medford

The marquee 6A matchup of Week 0 featured South Medford, a Columbia Cup finalist last year, traveling north to face Lake Oswego.

The No. 7 Lakers took control early against the Panthers, getting another stellar performance from junior LaMarcus Bell in a 33-7 victory at Cobb Field.

Bell ran for 175 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, and the Lakers held South Medford out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter.

“We didn’t have too many mistakes,” Bell said Saturday afternoon. “It went really well for a Week 0 game with guys getting used to playing again.”

The Lakers debuted junior Hudson Kurland at quarterback. The transfer from Sunset showed off his arm on a 50-yard touchdown pass to senior Liam Davis — the player Kurland displaced behind center who moved to receiver and safety this year.

“We’re moving guys around to where they work best, and it paid off,” Bell said.

Offensive coordinator Nick Hallberg also was pleased with Kurland’s performance but added, “We had a lot of contributors on offense. And the defense was solid. We have a chance to be a good team.”

Scappoose overcomes challenge to nab road win over Pendleton

Scappoose coaches Joe Nowlin and Sean McNabb knew what they wanted from their lengthy Week 0 trip to Pendleton.

“A big challenge early in the season against a really good opponent,” Nowlin said. “These are the games you want for your team.”

Scappoose, No. 2 in our 4A preseason top 15, definitely was challenged by No. 5 Pendleton. The score was tied 21-21 after three quarters, and Scappoose didn’t take the lead for good until the final two minutes of a 49-35 victory.

“Pendleton is tough, and they have some impressive kids,” Nowlin said. “We felt our guys showed a lot of toughness and perseverance tonight.”

Nowlin’s son, senior quarterback Max Nowlin, was 17 of 32 for 292 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, and Jaiden Smith caught seven passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns. 

Cayden Baker ran for 100 yards and two scores, and Brayden Miller and Brandon Neilson each had a fourth-quarter interception to help Scappoose escape with the road win.

“We need to get back home and fix some things on both sides of the ball,” Joe Nowlin said. “But the potential is there for us to be a really good football team.”

Estacada off to better start than a year ago with big win at Tilllamook

No. 9 Estacada and No. 11 Tillamook opened their season with a rematch of their 2022 4A state championship game, and the Rangers rolled to a 30-6 victory that showed this season will start much differently from last.

A year ago, the teams met in Week 4, with the Cheesemakers romping 48-22 as part of Estacada’s 1-5 start to its title defense.

This time, the Rangers defense overpowered a Tillamook attack looking to replace all-state quarterback Tanner Hoskins, and Estacada’s new starter behind center — senior Carson Randall — got off to a strong start by rushing for 93 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries.

“For his first start, I thought he played with confidence and ran the offense really well,” Estacada coach Andy Mott said. “And our defense was awesome tonight. We flew around and played really physically. Our guys attacked the ball and tackled well.”

Vale ends 2-time reigning 3A champion Cascade Christian’s win streak at 26

Two of the top teams in Class 3A squared off Saturday afternoon at Summit High School in Bend, and No. 3 Vale handed two-time defending state champion Cascade Christian its first loss since the 2021 state quarterfinals.

Senior Kase Schaffeld ran for 252 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries, and the Vikings held the No. 2 Challengers to 22 rushing yards and 212 total yards as they pulled away from an 8-6 halftime lead to win 29-6.

“Our defense was outstanding, especially considering some of the short fields we gave Cascade Christian,” said Vale coach Jeff Allred, whose team recorded six sacks, forced three turnovers and held the Challengers to minus-19 rushing yards in the second half to snap Cascade Christian’s win streak at 26 games. 

Allred praised the play of his front line led by senior Jake Devos, a returning first-team all-state selection, and praised Schaffeld and Damick Eddy at linebacker — “They were all over the field,” he said.

Schaffeld’s second touchdown midway through the third quarter on an 11-yard run gave Vale a little breathing room with a 16-6 lead. Senior Landon Haberman tacked on a 9-yard touchdown run on the opening play of the fourth quarter, and Schaffeld closed the scoring with a 23-yard touchdown with 2:45 to play.

This and that …

• Sprague coach AJ Robinson senses an opening in the South Central Football Conference as usual powers Sheldon and South Salem break in new coaches. The Olympians opened with a 42-27 win over Newberg as senior quarterback Dukatti Witherspoon had four touchdown passes and ran for another score.
• Marist Catholic, which reached the 4A final last season, won a wild 33-30 matchup with Churchill in the head coaching debut for Zach Loboy. Nick Hudson found Aaron Bidwell for the winning score with 15.8 seconds left (their fifth touchdown connection of the game) as the Spartans overcame a five-touchdown night from Lancers running back Ceville Pasi.
• Senior quarterback Kaden Martirano impressed in his first game for West Albany after transferring in the offseason from West Salem. Martirano threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 56 yards and three scores in a 49-26 victory over Canby.
• With North Bend bottling up Seaside’s wing-T ground game (106 yards on 25 carries), the Seagulls turned to Zayden Anderson’s arm to lift them to a 35-24 victory. Anderson threw for a career-best 248 yards and three touchdowns, with Ryder Jackson catching three passes for 138 yards and two scores.
• Adrian put up the most impressive score of the weekend, tallying 80 points in an 80-20 rout of Camas Valley to close the season-opening Dufur Classic. The Antelopes scored on all of their possessions, with Kash Morford and Rance Jordan each rushing for two scores.

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