What we learned in Week 1 of Oregon high school football

Here’s what stood out during Week 1 of games on the Oregon high school football schedule

Wilsonville held on for a wild 27-26 victory over Nelson. / Photo by Leon Neuschwander

The 2024 Oregon high school football season kicked off in full last week with Week 1 games around the state. Here's what stood out during the first full weekend of action. 

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West Linn wins Showdown against Idaho power to open season

When Lions coach Jon Eagle received a call from Northwest Showdown organizer Joel Schneider this year about participating in the inaugural event in Meridian, Idaho, he didn’t hesitate to accept.

The Lions made the 428-mile trek across Interstate 84 to open their season Saturday afternoon and came away with a 51-14 victory over Eagle, taking control in the second half against one of the top teams in the Idaho Class 5A ranks.

“Once our defense settled in, they just got better and better as the game wore on,” Eagle said. “I was proud of our pursuit to the ball and our assignments. We have some things to clean up, like all teams, but for game one, well done.”

Graduation hit the Lions hard on defense, and Eagle praised the play of several first-time starters, including junior inside linebacker Zach Vandenbrink and senior linemen Brett Ronson and Gunner Huffman, whom Eagle singled out for “causing pressure and had a tackle for loss.”

Still, the Mustangs were within 20-14 late in the second quarter after Landon Bult caught a touchdown pass, but they played the second half without all-state running back Noah Burnham, who suffered a knee injury punting the ball and spent the rest of the game on crutches after gaining 103 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

The Lions took full advantage. Senior tight end Baron Naone, a University of Washington commit, caught a 24-yard touchdown pass just before halftime, and they converted two Eagle fumbles into third-quarter touchdowns to pull away.

The Lions amassed 521 yards, with senior quarterback Baird Gilroy finishing 21 of 30 for 322 yards and two touchdowns, and junior Viggo Anderson ran for 151 yards and three touchdowns. Anderson and Danny Wideman caught touchdown passes.

West Linn quarterback Baird Gilroy passed for 322 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1. / Photo by Leon Neuschwander

Anderson got the bulk of the carries as senior Hudson Hardy, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL, eases back into the lineup, although Hardy made several plays on defense.

“Hudson’s role will be important this week versus Sherwood,” Eagle said. “As he gets more comfortable with his knee brace, we expect him to get more reps on offense. But Viggo had a big game, for sure. As always, we like to rotate lots of backs on offense. We want to keep healthy for a long season.”

New year, same Sherwood dominance on defense in opener

The Bowmen tuned up for their visit to West Linn with a 42-7 opening victory over PIL co-favorite Roosevelt.

Sherwood posted eight shutouts last year, including seven in a row, and despite heavy graduation losses, its defense was solid again in Week 1. The Bowmen gave up 186 yards (69 passing), forced two turnovers and made two sacks, with senior free safety Andrew Waletich leading the team with five tackles.

“We had a very balanced night on defense,” Sherwood coach Mark Gribble said. “For a Week 1 contest, I was really happy with our performance in all three aspects of the game. We have a great group of kids who have worked hard and prepared themselves to be in a great position coming into the season.”

The Bowmen also broke in a new starting quarterback in senior Jackson Bell, who went 9 of 12 for 169 yards and a touchdown. Waletich ran for 107 yards (including an 82-yard scoring run), and senior Wilson Medina had 87 total yards and scored three touchdowns.

Medina was a two-way all-Pacific Conference performer last year and has taken on a more significant leadership role this season.

“We’re excited to watch it come together for him,” Gribble said. “He was voted one of our captains. I think that tells you what kind of leader his teammates think he is.”

Last year, when Sherwood made its run to the 6A semifinals, the one knock was it didn’t face serious competition until the playoffs. That won’t be the case this season — the Bowmen will follow their game at West Linn with playoff rematches with Tualatin, which eliminated them 42-23, and Tigard along with a visit from North Medford.

“We are approaching it just as we would any other game,” Gribble said. “As for the long term, it’s a great opportunity to go compete against a really good program. And it gives you the ability to go back and grade out the game film so you can identify the good things and those that might need some work. We’re going to present, compete and put ourselves in the best spot we can.”

Aloha finally has breaks go its way to end losing streak at 27 

It had been 41 months and 27 games since Aloha celebrated victory at a postgame huddle when the Warriors played host to Century in both teams’ season opener.

The score was tied 20-20 with eight minutes left. Century had the ball at its 25-yard line, looking to drive for a go-ahead touchdown, when fate finally shined upon the Warriors.

Sophomore Xander Bran jarred the ball free from the Jaguars runner, with classmate Jorge Perez burrowing into the pile to secure the fumble. A few plays later, another sophomore, Alexis Hernandez, found the end zone from 7 yards to put Aloha ahead to stay.

The Jaguars marched down the field and appeared to score on the final play, only to have the touchdown negated by a penalty. The Warriors had held on for a 27-20 victory that prompted a wild celebration.

“That was a great team win for us,” Aloha coach James Mitcham said. “The postgame huddle was exciting, emotional and fun.”

Get in Line: Willamette ready to make noise after opening victory

Willamette’s losing streak was 12 games entering its opener against North Eugene, but changes over the past few months have brought an air of hope to the Northwest Eugene campus.

The first came in January, when the Wolverines coaxed former Sheldon coach Josh Line to take over the program.

A steady stream of newcomers began arriving on campus, drawn in part by Willamette’s robust CTE (career and technical education) program but also the prospect of playing for a coach who had gone 83-40 in his stops at Marshfield and Sheldon.

Junior RB/LB Maveryck Akers and WR/DB Brody Robinson, both all-leaguers at Roseburg, moved north, followed by junior Tony Cumberland, who moved to Eugene with his family from Scottsdale, Ariz., as one of the nation’s top defensive line recruits.

“We’ve had quite a few kids come here for a variety of circumstances,” Line said. “Our staff, the direction that our program is going, is appealing to kids.”

Two weeks ago, senior QB Tre People, who played at Adelanto (Calif.) last year and transferred to Norco (Calif.) in the winter, found himself on the move again after his father found a job in Eugene.

People, a 3-star recruit with offers from Michigan State, Maryland and Louisville, sat out the Wolverines jamboree during Week 0, but with four days of practice under his belt while learning a new offense, Line started him behind center against the Highlanders.

It all came together in a 28-0 victory that led to a raucous postgame celebration.

“We’ve had a lot of hard years here, but there’s a level of excitement surrounding our program right now,” Line said of a program that hasn’t posted a winning record (outside of the COVID spring season) since 2011. 

“Although we have to get a lot better, and we had a lot of first-game mistakes, overall, I’m happy for the kids to get an opening win at home.”

That sentiment applies to Line’s assessment of People’s performance — he had two touchdown passes (including one to fellow transfer Robinson) but also missed on several throws that could have led to even bigger numbers.

“If you ask Tre, he’d say he wanted to play better,” Line said. “But what I told him is that for only four days of preparation, I’m really happy with how he did.”

He also was happy with the play of several holdovers from last year’s 0-9 campaign, such as WR/DB Brody Butler, who caught People’s first touchdown pass and returned an interception for a touchdown. 

Line wasn’t sure Butler would play after the junior dealt with a diabetic episode just before the game.

“We have a nice blend that comes with some challenges,” Line said. “Kids are finding their roles, and we’re off to a great start. I’m just looking forward to having some fun.”

Wiepert does it all in starting QB debut for defending 5A champions 

While Line was breaking in a new quarterback who arrived a couple of weeks ago, Wilsonville coach Adam Guenther had to replace Kallen Gutridge, who received 5A offensive player of the year honors and became the program’s second-leading passer.

He turned to his record-setting receiver, senior Mark Wiepert, to show off the arm that gunned down would-be base stealers as an all-state catcher who will play for Oregon State in the spring of 2026.

Wiepert held off a challenge from Emerson Traub, a transfer from The Dalles who arrived over the summer, to win the job for the defending 5A champions against 6A quarterfinalist Nelson.

Wiepert did his usual yeoman work in the 27-26 victory, accounting for all four Wildcats touchdowns — two through the air on 13-of-24 passing for 169 yards and two rushing (12 carries for 53 yards) — and making nine tackles at safety and totaling 89 yards on two punt returns.

“He’s such a special athlete,” Guenther said. “The first drive of the second half, where we mixed in some short routes and deep balls, was a pretty drive. He controlled it. But there’s still a lot of work to do.”

As usual, Mark Wiepert did a little of everything for Wilsonville in Week 1 — including show off his arm as the Wildcats' new starting quarterback. / Photo by Leon Neuschwander

Wiepert hadn’t played quarterback since his freshman year, and Guenther said Wiepert still has to learn the nuances of the position, such as taking what defenses are willing to give rather than forcing things with his strong arm.

“At quarterback, it’s a learning curve,” Guenther added. “What he needs to do is get comfortable over the next few weeks.”

While he maneuvers that learning curve, the Wildcats will lean on a defense that stiffened in the second half against the Hawks, denying them on first-and-goal from the 1-yard line and staving off a potential go-ahead two-point conversion in the final two minutes.

Junior LB Riddick Molatore had 16 tackles, and Wiepert’s younger brother Ben, a sophomore making his first career start, added 10.

“We gave them some short fields in the first half on a fumble and a big kickoff return, but we tightened up when we needed to,” Guenther said. “The way the kids took the game plan to heart was incredible.”

Henley bounces back from slow start to win debut for head coach

Matt Green didn’t feel any butterflies heading onto the field for his head coaching debut for defending 4A champion Henley.

After all, Green was an assistant for Alex Stork last year, helping the Hornets win their first state championship in more than four decades. 

“Not butterflies, but just some jitters,” he said. “I was ready to get the game going.”

The opener against Lakeview didn’t start auspiciously, with junior QB Joe Janney tossing an interception on the Hornets’ opening drive, followed by the Honkers driving 86 yards in 20 plays to take a 6-0 lead.

It took the hosts one play to shrug off their sluggish beginning. Jeremiah Brunick, a junior making his first varsity start, took a handoff from Janney and ran 65 yards for the tying score.

Janney was nearly flawless the rest of the way, finishing 13 of 20 for 179 yards and four touchdowns and making a team-high seven tackles at safety, leading the Hornets to a 35-6 victory.

“To score on the first play after the kickoff, the guys were finally like, ‘OK, we’re back in business,’” Green said.

Brunick, who finished with 130 yards on nine carries, wasn’t the only newcomer filling a hole created by graduation losses. 

Junior Connor Shively caught three passes for 71 yards and a touchdown starting alongside returning all-league receiver Mark Carpenter (two touchdown catches), junior LB Trapper Cundall had five tackles, and DL Luis Vengas had four tackles and a sack.

“It felt pretty good to get that first win out of the way,” Green said. “Now, we can concentrate on the rest of the season.”

The rest of the season starts this week with a championship-game rematch with Marist Catholic, which improved to 2-0 by defeating Tillamook 42-13, followed by games against Summit and defending 3A champion Cascade Christian.

“We knew we needed to have some tough games to get our guys battle-tested and see where we are for this season,” Green said. “I’m really excited for the rematch. It’s everything we wanted. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see each other again, too.”

Phoenix rises from ashes of four consecutive 0-fer seasons

As Phoenix trudged through a fourth consecutive winless season last fall, then-first-year coach Charlie Hall had a consistent postgame message for his players.

“We kept it brief, provided perspective, and moved on,” he recalled.

He had a somewhat longer message Friday after the Pirates ended their losing streak at 33 games with an emphatic 42-0 rout of Brookings-Harbor — the program’s first shutout in the past five years.

He first had to wait for the throng that stormed the field to settle down — not that he minded too much.

“The entire student body in attendance and fans joined us,” he said. “Our players were very humble and grateful for the support and expressed great appreciation for each other. They spoke from the heart.”

Hall spoke of some schematic changes he implemented during the offseason and several position changes, “but overall, we played fundamentally sound football,” he explained. “No mental bust that caused a big play or touchdown for the offense. Our tackling was much improved, and it was really fun to see the energy and intensity of the defense.”

Senior linebacker Kaden Dunn led the Pirates with eight tackles, and senior Parker Devey — who moved from linebacker to defensive end — was a force on the edge, helping the Pirates force two turnovers and hold the Bruins to 131 yards. 

Hall also praised sophomore DB Erik Calhoun and LB Eli Islas for their exceptional play in their first varsity starts. 

Offensively, junior Cody Martin ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, and senior Payton Turner was 9 of 19 for 146 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a score.

It all added up to a very satisfying victory for a program that had lost 46 of its past 48 games (including five winless seasons) since posting its last winning record in 2017.

“Validation is very critical when changing the culture,” Hall said. “The win, and the dominant nature of the win, validate the sacrifice and commitment our players have made since last season.”

Oakland wins rematch with 2A state champion Lowell

Speaking of satisfying victories, Oakland notched one Friday while avenging the loss that ended its defense of the 2A state championship it won in 2022.

That the Oakers could win their taut rematch with reigning state titlist Lowell, 42-35, with several key players dealing with an illness made it even more gratifying to coach Ben Lane.

“The semifinal game from last season was definitely on the kids’ minds as we went through the offseason,” Lane said, recalling the Red Devils’ 32-18 victory that propelled them to their first state championship.

“Then, to be able to open up the season at their place was a great motivator as a coach. I was proud of the kids. It was a total team effort.”

Senior RB/LB Gabe Williamson led the way for the Oakers, rushing for 142 yards and two scores and making a team-high eight tackles with an interception, nearly matching the production of Lowell senior RB JaMar Thurman, last year’s 2A offensive player of the year who ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 24-yard scoring pass.

Sophomore QB Ryan Fullerton, returning for his second season as a starter, threw for 157 yards and three touchdowns, two going to senior WR Kellan Sabo (three catches for 134 yards). 

“The game had a playoff-type atmosphere even though it was the season opener for both teams,” Lane said. “Lowell is a great team, and to get the win on the road is a good first step.”

The Oakers have an even longer trip ahead in Week 2 — a trek to northeast Oregon to face Weston-McEwen, the team they defeated in the 2022 state final.

“Weston-McEwen brings on a whole different set of challenges,” Lane said. “It is a long trip against a talented team. We are no strangers to each other, so it will be another battle. We look forward to the challenge.”

This and that … 

• Thunderstorms wreaked havoc on games throughout the Willamette Valley and Southern Oregon in Week 1, but perhaps none more than South Medford’s 28-0 victory over McNary. Lightning halted play four times before officials called it around 10 p.m.
• Ridgeview exceeded its win total from all of last season, improving to 2-0 with a 42-28 victory over Crescent Valley. Senior Ishon Ortiz rushed for 440 yards (No. 10 on the state’s all-time single-game list) and five touchdowns on 29 carries for the Ravens, who went 1-8 last year and have one winning season since earning the 2013 4A state title.
• Mazama coach Orlyn Culp won in his debut with the Vikings, getting inaugurated into their Canal Bowl rivalry with Klamath Union with a 55-24 victory. Senior Kris Baldwin ran for 371 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries to help Mazama overcome a huge night from Pelicans QB Reese Johnson (16 of 23 for 225 yards and four touchdowns).
• Another lengthy losing streak that ended in Week 1 was in Sheridan, which is playing a 2A independent schedule after going 3-27 the past four seasons, including 20 consecutive losses. Jayden O’Reilly and Travis Logo combined to rush for 378 yards and three touchdowns, with O’Reilly’s 83-yard scoring run in the final two minutes clinching a 28-18 victory over Jefferson. 
• Echo won its rematch of the 1A six-man state final with Joseph, defeating the Eagles 58-39 as junior QB Kohlvin Wyse had six touchdown passes — three apiece to senior WR Kayden Smith and junior TE Mack Murdock.

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