What we learned in Week 8 of Oregon high school football

Here’s what stood out during Week 8 of games on the Oregon high school football schedule

Sherwood senior Wilson Medina rushed for 206 yards and four touchdowns in the Bowmen's 35-6 win over Liberty. / Photo by Dan Brood

The 2024 Oregon high school football season continued last week with Week 8 games around the state. Here's what stood out during the eighth full weekend of action. 

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Medina has Sherwood poised to win another Pacific Conference title

Sherwood had a season for the ages last year, when the Bowmen posted seven consecutive shutouts to match the state's longest streak in the past two decades and reached the 6A semifinals for the first time since 2015, finishing 11-1.

Coach Mark Gribble knew repeating that success would be difficult after graduating nearly two dozen all-Pacific Conference honorees and having two others move.

He also challenged the team with a more difficult nonconference slate this season, adding West Linn and Tualatin back-to-back.

Still, he knew he had senior Wilson Medina to build around, and Medina hasn’t disappointed. He ran for 206 yards and four touchdowns Friday in a 35-6 victory over Liberty that positioned the Bowmen to win another conference title if they can get past Highway 99W rival Newberg this week.

“I just told him last night after he came off after a touchdown run, ‘Man, you are fun to watch!’” Gribble said of the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Medina, who has 22 touchdowns. 

“Wilson is a special back. His emergence this season has been huge for our offense. He’s fast, has power, and has a great set of hands. He has become one of the best backs in the state, if not the best.”

With Medina coming up big yet again, the Bowmen (6-2, 3-0) escaped a potential trap game against the Falcons, who are winless in conference play but still in contention for a playoff spot.

“I think it may have caught us off guard a little with how well they were executing,” Gribble said. “Liberty played a great game. They had a great game plan and seemed really well-prepared.”

Friday’s game marked the third time in the past four weeks Medina went over 200 yards rushing. Combined with another solid performance from first-year starting quarterback Jackson Bell (5 of 7, 109 yards, one touchdown), Gribble said, “We are really coming into a groove offensively. Jackson is making really good decisions throwing for us right now.”

They’ll face a Newberg team coming off a week off and hungry to avenge last year’s 58-0 beatdown and win the program’s first league championship in a full season since 1960. 

“I’m excited that it has some real meaning behind the outcome,” Gribble said. “It will be a high-stakes game for both teams. Our kids will be fired up and ready.”

North Medford hopes to get off bubble with Black and Blue rivalry win

A year ago, North Medford comfortably made the 6A state championship bracket as the No. 13 seed, losing in the first round to Central Catholic.

Entering the final week of the 2024 regular season, the Black Tornado sit No. 12 in the OSAA rankings but are on the outside looking in for a chance to win a state title.

That’s because of changes the OSAA made to the 6A playoff structure, reducing the number of teams in the championship bracket from 16 to 12. Because PIL champion Wells sits outside the top 12 in the rankings but is guaranteed a spot in the shrunken field, the Guardians bump North Medford from the bracket — for now.

Of course, there’s still a week to play — and in Medford, that means it’s Black and Blue Week, with the annual North Medford-South Medford matchup at Spiegelberg Stadium capping the festivities.

“It’s a great week for the city,” Black Tornado coach Nathan Chin said. “We have different events that occur during the week, and we’re excited to be able to go compete this week. This is one of the games that the boys will remember for the rest of their life.”

As for the playoffs, he added, “The rankings have so many factors that we don’t really have any control over those. We just try to focus on the week and the task at hand, the things that we can control.”

The Black Tornado (5-3, 5-2 South Central Football Conference) have won three in a row since losing in Week 5 at Sherwood to claw their way to contention for a spot in the 12-team championship bracket.

The latest win was a 49-15 rout of South Salem in which they pulled away from a 28-15 advantage in the final 12½ minutes.

Junior Traeger Healy, one of the top returning quarterbacks in 6A this season after earning second-team all-SCFC honors as a sophomore, threw for three touchdowns, and emerging senior running back Cameron Nix ran for one touchdown and caught a 78-yard pass to open the scoring, turning a short pass to the right flat into a touchdown.

Nix entered the game leading the Black Tornado in rushing and receiving a year after an injury limited him to playing only on defense, where he is a three-year starting linebacker and returning all-conference selection.

“Cam has been a great spark plug for us offensively, either from the backfield or as a receiver,” Chin said. “He is dynamic with the ball, but we have others that we can get the ball to as well.”

Healy also found seniors Easton Curtis and Tate Snyder for touchdowns, Jacob Owings ran for two scores, and Alex Alvarenga capped the scoring in the final moments with a 5-yard touchdown run. The defense forced four turnovers by the Saxons — the second consecutive week the Black Tornado got four takeaways.

“We began to execute in all three phases of the game much better in the last few games,” Chin said. “Our team just kept working toward what we wanted out of the season, regardless of the wins and losses we had early. They believed in the things that we are doing and continued to work on execution.” 

Second season with Coffin at helm pays off big for Churchill

One of the biggest turnarounds in the state this season has come on Bailey Hill in west Eugene, where Churchill has charged to its first Midwestern League title since going back-to-back in 2017-18 and emerged as a 5A state title contender.

The Lancers went 3-6 last season in the first year of Layne Coffin’s tenure after the longtime coach at Vallivue in Caldwell, Idaho (he won Idaho 4A titles in 2000 and 2001 at Century of Pocatello), became the program’s third coach in a three-year span. 

Coffin expected his team to be more competitive this season, explaining how “being Season 2 was huge. We started a lot of underclassmen (last year), and that second year means a lot in a program’s development. It takes time to build relationships with the players and figure out what makes them tick, along with them getting to know what I expect.”

He also had a standout building block in senior running back/linebacker Ceville Pasi, a two-way all-state honorable mention pick as a junior who has been instrumental in their turnaround season.

Pasi ran for 271 yards and four touchdowns two weeks ago in a 42-21 victory over Willamette that virtually sealed the MWL title for the Lancers. Last week in a 48-0 win over South Eugene, he added 149 yards and three scores, pushing his season totals to 1,477 yards and 25 touchdowns.

“Ceville is an exceptional young man and has worked very hard to get where he is,” Coffin said.

He hasn’t been alone in leading Churchill’s revival, though. Senior linebacker Ben Kluth (70 tackles through seven games) and defensive back Aidan Pangelinan (66 tackles, three forced fumbles) have played key roles, and junior defensive end Charlie Dexter has 5½ sacks to lead a defense that has posted three shutouts and allowed 7.6 points per game in MWL play.

The Lancers’ only loss came in Week 0, when they lost at Marist Catholic 33-30 on a touchdown in the final 15 seconds. They can complete MWL play unbeaten by winning at Eagle Point this week and, if they maintain their No. 3 OSAA ranking, could host at least two playoff games.

“Our focus for the playoffs will be in our prep as coaches and focus as players,” Coffin said. “Details matter. We will need to stay technique-oriented and keep our effort at a high level this week.”

Molalla returns to playoffs, eyes first league championship since 2015

Molalla coach Sean McElhaney and his team set the same goals this season as they have since he took over the program in 2019:

• Make the playoffs
• Win the league title

For the first time since 2015, the program accomplished that first goal, doing so with a 25-14 victory over The Dalles last week. As for the second, Molalla can win its first Tri-Valley Conference title in the past nine years by winning at Estacada on Friday.

Molalla had both goals in sight last year when the team started 4-1, but a three-game losing streak quashed the title hopes, and league tiebreakers denied Molalla a playoff spot.

This season, Molalla started 0-4 but has won four in a row to end the playoff drought.

“Playoffs and titles always feel good,” said McElhaney, who was defensive coordinator for Molalla’s 2006 league champion — one of three the program has won in the past three decades. “Players, parents, coaches, the student body and the community all celebrate the success. Football success always helps start the school year off with excitement and school pride.”

This season’s turnaround has been fueled by the team’s “7-11 Combo” — senior quarterback Mason King and wide receiver Mason Mead.

King, in his third season as the starter behind center, has 1,477 total yards and has accounted for 21 touchdowns despite missing the Week 2 loss to Woodburn because of injury.

Mead has caught more than 60 percent of King’s 46 completions. He has 31 catches for 637 yards and six touchdowns.

“They have been playing together since youth,” McElhaney said. “Last year, we were a dominant run team. Our passing offense has improved this season. Scheme and the connection between the two of them have been the keys to our improvement.”

While the duo took a back seat to a punishing run game against the Riverhawks — King ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns, and sophomore Angel Cortes had a career-high 113 yards and a touchdown — the 7-11 Combo will be looked to again this week against Estacada.

The neighbors in the Mt. Hood foothills have met 56 times since the end of World War II, with the Rangers holding a 37-19 edge. Molalla last season ended an eight-year losing streak in the series with a 36-14 victory.

“The players and coaches are definitely excited to play against one of our traditional rivals in a big game for the league title,” McElhaney said.

Culver keeps on rolling thanks to senior QB, improved defense

Another team that narrowly missed the playoffs last season is Culver, a 2A team in Central Oregon that finished 3-6 but was six points from going 5-4 and likely earning a second consecutive playoff spot after going eight years between postseason berths.

This season, the Bulldogs have eliminated all doubt whether they’ll reach the postseason. They improved to 8-0 and wrapped up Special District 5’s No. 1 seed with a 58-12 rout of Oakridge.

They’ve defeated two 2023 state champions in league play, going on the road to beat eight-man champion Lost River and reigning 2A titlist Lowell in back-to-back weeks, and they need only to win at Glide this week to complete their first undefeated regular season since 1997.

“We were a very young team last year, especially on the offensive and defensive line, where we started a freshman and two sophomores,” said coach Brian Silbernagel, in his third stint leading the program. “Obviously, we are now a year older and playing a lot more physically on both sides of the ball.”

The Bulldogs have been prolific on offense, averaging 44.7 points per game and scoring more than 50 points for the fourth time against the Warriors.

Leading the attack is senior quarterback Houston Wittenberg, whose numbers are down from last season — from 2,700 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior to 1,376 yards and 20 touchdowns this year — but who is still playing at what Silbernagel considers an all-state level after he didn’t make the ballot last year, in part because of the team’s sub-.500 record.

“This year, we have played some of the best 2A teams in the state and I’ve seen other teams on film,” Silbernagel said. “And I still feel Houston’s talent surpasses all other quarterbacks at our level.”

Silbernagel’s son, Jace, is a senior tight end who has a team-high 26 catches for 538 yards and nine touchdowns, and senior wide receiver Roger Sotelo has 20 catches for 391 yards and six scores. Senior running back Cole Rahi has 952 total yards (703 rushing) and 13 touchdowns.

It’s on the other side of the ball where Culver has made the most improvement. After allowing 37.1 points per game last year, the Bulldogs have cut that figure to 14.1 this season.

Senior Carlos Hernandez, a 5-7, 150-pound linebacker, has a team-high 64 tackles, and Coby Holmes has 32 tackles and a team-high 5½ sacks. Wittenberg anchors the secondary with 36 tackles and six interceptions.

“We moved the ball well offensively last year, but we just weren’t making the necessary stops,” Silbernagel said. “We are still humming along offensively, but it’s honestly our defense that’s vastly improved.”

As the winning streak has continued, the crowds at Culver’s games have steadily grown. The Bulldogs will host a playoff game for the first time since 2008, which is the last time they won a league title and advanced in the playoffs, and Silbernagel said having the community support “is nice to see.”

“We can’t look past anyone once the playoffs start, as there are a lot of good football teams out there,” he said, noting Culver is one of five undefeated teams in 2A through eight weeks. “But our senior class has played lots of football, many of them since fourth and fifth grade, so they aren’t surprised at our success at all.”

Santiam Christian catching same vibes as 2019 with league title in sight

The last time Santiam Christian won a league title was 2019, when the Eagles went 13-0 and won the 3A state championship.

Could history repeat itself this year? The Eagles are 7-1 after a 40-12 victory over Scio, winning seven in a row since a Week 1 loss at Banks, and they’ll travel to Lincoln City this week to meet Taft with the PacWest Conference crown on the line.

That 35-9 loss to Banks in early September seems so long ago, but coach Justin Carley said the lessons from that defeat still resonate.

“We talked about being the masters of moving on and getting back to work, learning how to prepare each week,” he said. “And that’s what we did.”

The Eagles run a spread offense but rely heavily on their lead back to carry the load. Last year, that was John Coiner, a second-team all-state selection who ran for more than 1,500 yards.

This year, it’s senior Jeremy Ness, a 5-foot-10, 170-pounder who ran for 115 yards and four touchdowns on seven carries as the Eagles built a 40-0 halftime lead against Scio. He has 1,539 yards and 24 touchdowns.

“Jeremy has had an outstanding season,” Carley said. “In addition to his rushing stats and his play on defense (41 tackles, second on the team to Michael Knox’s 45), he has been an outstanding leader for our team. He’s played a lot of football in our program and played in a lot of meaningful games, and to see him embrace his role as a leader and an impact player on the field has been exciting to watch.”

They’ll lean on that experience this week against the Tigers, who also are 7-1 and undefeated in conference play as they vie for their first league title since 2003.

Taft presents a challenge the Eagles haven’t faced much this season. Senior quarterback Ezra James has passed for 1,945 yards and 24 touchdowns, spreading the ball to three receivers who have 27 or more catches.

After facing Dayton’s wing-T and Scio’s Diesel attacks the past two weeks, Carley acknowledged that “preparing for the different types of offense certainly has been a challenge.”

The Eagles hope to draw upon their game at Banks and subsequent victory over Yamhill-Carlton — two teams with solid passing attacks — as they prepare for the trip to the Oregon Coast.

“Taft is a very athletic football team and presents a lot of challenges,” Carley said. “We hope to have a great week of prep.” 

This and that …

• Mountainside scored in all three phases and showed no signs of a letdown from its historic first win over Jesuit, clinching at least a share of the program’s first Metro League title with a 55-20 win over Westview. Sean Gerigk returned a kickoff for a touchdown, Jacob Pimentel scored on a blocked punt, and Aiden McGuire took an interception to the house to complement Cade Mitchell’s two touchdown passes and Jordan Hicks’ solid night (130 rushing yards and a touchdown).
• University of Oregon commit Rocco Graziano extended his streak of made PATs to 54 by going 9 for 9 in Sheldon’s 63-6 victory over Grants Pass. The streak is the longest in 6A since Stanley Schoppe converted 83 in a row for Jesuit during the 2019-20 seasons.
• Beaverton coach Bob Boyer announced his retirement after 22 seasons following the Beavers’ finale against Mountainside this week. Boyer is 117-106 since taking over for Faustin Riley in 2003, winning two Metro League titles (2003, 2019) and reaching the state semifinals twice (2004, 2008), but the Beavers are 2-6 this season and will miss the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
• The Cowapa League matchup between Milwaukie and Tillamook ended at halftime because of allegations of racist language being used during the first half. Play was stopped twice in the first half to address the allegations, and the Mustangs decided at halftime not to return to the field. The OSAA is investigating the incident. Tillamook was declared the winner, 45-7.
• Falls City senior Chris Sickles ran for a 1A six-man record 563 yards and seven touchdowns on 27 carries in a 53-27 victory over Gilchrist. The Mountaineers and Grizzlies meet again this week in the district playoffs at Creswell, with a state playoff berth on the line.

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