By René Ferrán | For The Oregonian/OregonLive
Photos by Chase Allgood, Taylor Balkom, Tim Dority, Serena Morones, Leon Neuschwander, Larry Stauth Jr. and Ken Waz
A team loses a star player -- and remains a title contender. A team gets crushed in Week 1 -- and now looks like a juggernaut. A team loses a big rivalry game -- and the coach promises it won't lose again.
Here are 15 things that stood out in Week 6 of the Oregon high school football season ...
More links:
Week 6 recap: Top stars, best games, biggest wins
6A, 5A statistical leaders through Week 5
League-by-league statistical leaders through Week 5
Our Week 6 predictions: How'd we do?
Meet the state's best quarterbacks
Meet the state's best running backs
Meet the state's best wide receivers and tight ends
Meet the state's best offensive linemen
Meet the football coaches of Oregon, SW Washington
Breaking down every 6A, 5A team in Oregon
Beaverton has adjusted to loss of star recruit to remain Metro contender
Before the season, we pointed to the Week 6 Mountainside at Beaverton game as one that would show how close the Mavericks are to becoming a Metro League contender.
Little did we realize how much the Beavers’ 21-14 victory would say about the hosts as well. Beaverton showed an ability to match Mountainside’s physicality that was a revelation to coach Bob Boyer.
“I really think for us, it was about seeing who we are and how we handle things,” Boyer said. “They were a tough team. They do things right and are very aggressive and fast. We needed to step up, and I felt we answered the call.”
The Beavers improved to 5-1 despite not having senior linebacker Sandrey Mitberg, one of the state’s top recruits who will undergo surgery soon for a knee injury. Mitberg instead has become the team’s biggest cheerleader on the sideline, urging on teammates such as junior Gavin Fitzhugh, who played JV last year but has moved into Mitberg’s spot in the lineup.
“I told him, ‘I don’t need you to be Sandrey, but I need you to be the very best Gavin you can be,’ and he really has worked that way,” Boyer said. “He has really stepped up and done everything we have asked of him.”
Friday’s victory leaves the Beavers atop the Metro standings as they prepare to face Sunset in a key Week 7 showdown.
“We still have not played our best game, but we know it’s in there,” Boyer said. “It’s exciting watching our younger or more role-type players stepping up and elevating our overall game.”
Sunset moved onto radar and in control of destiny in Metro race
While the Beavers were snapping Mountainside's four-game win streak, across town, the Apollos showed they still are a force to be reckoned with in the Metro by handing red-hot Aloha its first loss in a surprising 37-14 rout.
Sunset cooled a Warriors team that scored 270 points through five games and two weeks earlier ended Jesuit’s 43-game league win streak.
The Apollos had been flying under the radar a bit with a 3-2 record, but according to coach Damien Merrick, the team didn’t take slight with the lack of attention.
“We focused a lot more attention on playing for 48 minutes, on executing our game plan and on being the more physical team,” Merrick said. “I think that showed on Friday night in the way our front kids, both offensively and defensively, played.”
The Apollos’ two losses are to No. 1 Tigard and No. 2 Tualatin, and Merrick said the lessons gained from those games helped them against Aloha.
“What our kids took away from those games was that we have good enough athletes to compete with teams like that,” Merrick said. “We proved that we are capable of making plays; we just didn’t make enough of them. And, number two, we have to be much more consistent with our effort and execution to beat a quality team.”
Beaverton and Sunset are the last unbeatens in Metro play, and Friday’s game starts a round-robin that includes six-time defending champion Jesuit. If the Beavers or Apollos sweep, they win the title outright – but there’s also a possibility of a three-way tie involving two of those three teams and Aloha, which has league matchups with Mountainside and Southridge left.
The changes Lake Oswego made after Tigard defeat benefit Woodin, run game
Lake Oswego junior JJ Woodin heard some of the criticism coming his way following his offseason transfer from Westview and the at-times rough transition to playing quarterback for the defending Class 6A state champions.
But in the final three minutes of Friday's 20-17 victory at West Linn, Woodin showcased the skills that make him one of the most coveted junior quarterback prospects in the Northwest. Over 19 plays and 80 yards, Woodin managed the clock and hit on several big passes, including a fourth-down connection with Joe Hutson with 45 seconds left, to set up Casey Filkins' 2-yard winning touchdown run.
Woodin was 7 of 12 on the final drive and 17 of 25 overall for 188 yards and a touchdown in perhaps his best game since taking over for the graduated Jackson Laurent.
“Absolutely a confidence booster for me,” Woodin said. “We’ve gotten better and better with each other each week.”
Woodin's comfort level also got a boost from adjustments made following the Lakers' 31-7 loss to Tigard in which he was sacked eight times and the Tigers dared Lake Oswego to throw by putting eight and nine players in the box to corral Filkins.
With deep threat Thomas Dukart sidelined with a hand injury, the Lakers’ passing game now features Hutson, who is proficient running intermediate routes and bubble screens – he caught 12 passes for 135 yards Friday, with no pass play longer than 20 yards.
They also are running more plays out of the Wildcat to get the ball directly into the hands of Filkins, the Cal commit and reigning Class 6A offensive player of the year who ran for 180 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries against the Lions.
“We took that loss (to Tigard) personally,” Filkins said. “We had a lot to learn from that game. The short passes build JJ’s confidence, and we’ve always had a good line. I know I’m biased, but I think it’s the best in the state. We went to our strengths and are taking it from there.”
Grant quarterback has no interest in changing his number – or his game
Logan Going knows the No. 22 is not a traditional quarterback number.
The Grant junior, though, has a very good reason to not bow to conventional numbering norms.
"I got the number 22 from my dad, Mark, and he got it from Marcus Dupree," Going said after leading the Generals to a 21-7 victory over archrival Jefferson on Thursday. "Last year, a senior had that number, but now that I have seniority, I took it back. I'm glad I could keep the tradition alive."
As long as Going can deliver performances such as what he did Thursday, when he was 13 of 20 for 206 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score, he’ll probably be able to continue bucking his coaches.
“They all tell me I’ve got to switch that number, but I tell them, ‘Nope. No way,’ ” Going said. “I do what I do with number 22.”
Jefferson plans to win out even with home playoff game likely out of reach
Jefferson coach Don Johnson knew entering Thursday’s game that for his team to have any chance to host a Class 6A playoff game, it would have to run the table in the PIL.
"Probably not now," he said when asked if even a 7-2 record, which would mean wins in the Democrats' final three games, could get them a top-16 seed. "You know the computers are biased against the PIL before they're even turned on. We definitely had to win out, but we picked the wrong night to play our worst game."
That doesn’t mean the Democrats won’t take their best shot. They play host to Lincoln this week and travel to North Portland rival Roosevelt in Week 8 before finishing the regular season at Franklin.
"We're here to win out," Johnson said. "We're going to win out."
While Jesuit run game hums along, Heyden settles into quarterback job
The focus recently has been on Jesuit's vaunted run game, with Kade Wisher rushing for 736 yards and eight touchdowns in the past three games and Ted Atkinson adding 326 yards and four touchdowns in back-to-back wins over Central Catholic and Sheldon.
But, quietly, senior Jack Heyden has taken over the quarterback job for the Crusaders and been a steady hand under center. He shared time with junior Cooper Wrenn for most of the first two games, but since the fourth quarter against Lake Oswego in Week 2, Heyden has taken the majority of snaps.
“Jack is doing a good job of running our team,” coach Ken Potter said. “His understanding of our offense has helped us immensely.”
Wrenn hasn’t been completely forgotten in the Crusaders attack. With Heyden solidifying his hold on the quarterback job, Wrenn has seen more time at safety while providing a security blanket should he be needed under center again.
“Cooper has tremendous athletic skills,” Potter said. “He is still competing and doing a fine job at quarterback, and I have the utmost confidence in him.”
Denney has Bend ready to end long conference title drought
It’s been 10 years since Bend won a conference title and 13 years since the Lava Bears made it past the second round of the state playoffs.
With a 26-9 victory over crosstown rival Summit on Friday, however, Bend rides a three-game win streak into a showdown with defending Mountain Valley champion McNary in Keizer.
The Lava Bears sit atop the MVC standings in large part because of the emergence of junior running back Nate Denney, who ran for 196 yards and three touchdowns last week and has 1,290 yards and 12 touchdowns as the feature back in the wing-T.
The Lava Bears gave McNary a good battle last season in Bend before losing 37-26 as the Celtics rebounded from an 0-5 start to go unbeaten in MVC play.
McNary romped past Sprague 51-18 on Friday as it hopes to repeat history following another 0-5 start.
Changing culture has Glencoe on right track after big win over Liberty
Want to call Glencoe’s 14-8 victory over crosstown rival Liberty on Friday the program’s biggest win since 2013, when the Crimson Tide made their last playoff appearance and beat West Salem in the first round?
Coach Ian Reynoso isn’t about to disagree with you. But considering the program’s recent history – back-to-back winless seasons followed by two years as an independent program and a 3-6 record last fall – “every win is a big win,” he said.
“We have been talking all season about a few different things that we have needed to buy into as a team, that once we do that, we will be able to see the outcomes of our games change,” Reynoso said. “Well, we hit about three of those things consistently this last game, so now we have the evidence for the process.”
Reynoso said one of the biggest challenges the past two seasons has been not only to learn from the losses, but also to unlearn some things that had creeped into the program’s ethos.
“This win just builds confidence in each other and in the culture we are trying to rebuild here,” he said.
The Falcons entered the game having won three in a row and with starting quarterback Hiro Diamond back from an injury that sidelined him for two games. But after building an 8-0 lead on a safety and Diamond’s 12-yard touchdown run, the turnover bug hit – Liberty lost three fumbles and was intercepted on its final last-gasp drive, finishing with 258 yards of total offense.
“Liberty is one of the best around in getting the ball in the hands of multiple people, and each one has the athleticism to be able to break for a touchdown at any chance,” Reynoso said. “Like in any game, the cliché of ‘do your own job’ rings true, and being able to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves was big also.”
The Crimson Tide now find themselves in position to win their first league title since 2007, when Glencoe was a Class 5A school. Having knocked off defending Pacific champion Liberty and missing No. 8 Sherwood on their schedule, if the Crimson Tide can survive games at McMinnville and home against Century, they would travel to Newberg in Week 9 with a shot at the title.
South Medford can take control of Southwest race by beating Sheldon
South Medford drew inspiration from an injured teammate in improving to 5-1 entering a big Southwest Conference showdown.
Senior running back Mason DeVries, playing this season with a torn ACL that eventually will require surgery, took the majority of snaps in the second half of the Panthers’ 34-6 victory at Roseburg in their conference opener.
The Panthers, state finalists two years ago, head to Eugene this week to take on defending Southwest champion Sheldon. A win would give South Medford sole possession of first place in the conference standings.
The Panthers pulled away from an early 6-6 tie to earn their eighth consecutive victory over Roseburg.
Patience is a virtue that has Wilsonville reaping its rewards
Wilsonville coach Adam Guenther preached patience when it came to his young team and the 35 seniors the Wildcats had to replace from last year’s Class 5A state runner-up.
Even after a 40-0 loss to Crater in Week 1, and then a week later following a 41-7 victory over Churchill, Guenther's message was just wait until these players have a few weeks under the Friday night lights.
That patience bore fruit Thursday in a 50-14 victory over Scappoose that wrapped up at least a share of the Special District 1 West title for the No. 7 Wildcats, now 5-1.
“Even with the short week, we had the best week of practice last week, and the guys came out and played like it,” Guenther said. “We were so young and inexperienced – we just keep getting better each week. That patience paid off.”
Of the 35 seniors who departed, none was more valuable than record-setting quarterback Nathan Overholt. Junior Jayce Knapp, who attempted 20 passes in mop-up duty behind Overholt last season, wasn’t asked to replace Overholt’s state-record 59 touchdown passes and 3,832 yards but to help keep the offense humming.
Over the past five games, Knapp has thrown for 1,242 yards and 18 touchdowns against three interceptions, and the defense – led by junior linebackers Chad Overholt (50 tackles) and Jack Kimball (seven sacks) – has allowed 12 points per game since the opening-night defeat.
“Jayce sees the field really, really well,” Guenther said. “As he gets more game-time experience under his belt, the more plays he sees in live action, he’ll continue to get better.”
Willamette quietly is having a solid season
Another team having a pretty good month is Willamette, which has one winning season in the past decade.
The Wolverines started 0-2, but a four-game win streak – their longest since 2015 – matches their total victories for the previous two years combined and has them riding high entering a Week 7 home game against defending Class 5A champion Thurston.
“With this win streak we have going, I think our kids have learned how to bounce back from bad situations and come out on top,” said fifth-year coach Josh Wolfram. “We have talked a lot this past offseason and preseason about being mentally tough and what that means and looks like.”
What Wolfram has emphasized – and what has shone through in wins over Churchill (their first in 12 years), North Eugene, Springfield and Ridgeview – is having the ability to perform at a high level in adverse situations and not looking past the game at hand.
“We can only win or lose one game each week,” he said. “We can’t look back and worry about what already happened. The season is one week at a time.”
The Wolverines also have a Week 9 matchup with No. 8 North Bend. Even if they lose to Thurston and North Bend, they still have a shot at the Midwestern League’s No. 5 playoff spot if they can win at Redmond in Week 8.
Crater, Ashland ready for prime-time matchup after cruising through tune-ups
No. 4 Crater and No. 8 Ashland tuned up for their Midwestern League South showdown this week with easy victories Friday.
The Comets traveled up I-5 to defeat South Eugene 57-26, and the Grizzlies blanked Eagle Point 46-0, handing the visitors their fourth consecutive defeat.
Crater last won a league title in 2015, when the Comets reached the Class 5A semifinals before losing to Summit – which beat Ashland 45-28 in the final. The Grizzlies last won a league championship in 2013.
We now have two teams left standing in battle for Mid-Willamette title
With No. 3 Silverton’s 40-23 victory over No. 6 Dallas, it becomes a near-certainty that the Mid-Willamette title will come down to the Foxes’ Week 9 matchup with No. 2 West Albany for the second year in a row.
The Bulldogs blanked North Salem 63-0 for their third shutout this season, matching Silverton at 6-0.
The teams shared the conference championship last year, with the Foxes earning their share and the league’s No. 1 playoff seed with a 17-14 win in Albany. Two weeks later, the Bulldogs got their revenge, beating Silverton 20-16 en route to a Class 5A semifinal berth.
Youth continues to be served in Banks’ 4A title defense
Banks had one of the most magical school years in state history in 2018-19, thanks to a superlative senior class that lifted the school to championships in football, boys basketball and baseball – only the second time an Oregon school swept the three titles.
It might have appeared the cupboard had been somewhat emptied when the likes of Hayden Vandehey, Blake Markham, and Hayden and Blake Gobel received their diplomas, but the coaching staff knew there were capable replacements waiting in the wings.
“Guys that might not have started last year for us, we knew they were just waiting their turn,” said assistant coach Steve Lyda.
Banks also had the luxury of returning four starters along the offensive line, including all-state center Andrew Nichols.
“That was a huge stress we didn’t have to deal with,” Lyda said.
The veterans up front allowed newcomers such as quarterback Tanner Shook and tailbacks Martial Stegemeier and Jamar Flippen to develop confidence. They showed their nerves in a testy Week 1 victory over Gladstone, but as they ran a gauntlet of title contenders – Sweet Home, Marist Catholic, and then-unbeaten Cowapa rival Tillamook – they showed they could handle the pressure of defending a title.
Banks is 6-0 after a 62-6 victory over Valley Catholic. A 2018 state final rematch against Seaside is this week, and a win clinches at least a share of the league title.
Shook has completed nearly two-thirds of his passes (69 of 104, 1,168 yards, 11 touchdowns), Stegemeier and Flippen have combined for 577 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, and seniors Jarred Evans (33 catches, 559 yards, six touchdowns) and Jacob Slifka (28-566-7) have added starting receiver duties to returning as starters in the secondary.
“We definitely have had a few skill guys step in this year and make the most of opportunities,” Lyda said. “But those guys up front, nothing happens without them. So, great job to all our skills guys stepping in and stepping up, but huge shoutout to the big guys up front paving the way.”
Marist Catholic still has the look of a team that could challenge Banks
Marist Catholic hasn't looked too shabby since that 19-14 loss to Banks in Week 3. The fourth-ranked Spartans won their third in a row in convincing fashion, crushing No. 3 Mazama 55-21.
The Vikings posted three shutouts and allowed 27 points in winning their first five games, but Marist Catholic scored 27 points in the first quarter and led 41-14 at halftime.
Max Campbell was 21 of 26 for 313 yards and four touchdowns, and Lucas Tuski ran for 120 yards and three scores and caught a touchdown pass.
Three big 3A tilts this week will have title implications
A couple weeks ago, we talked about how the start of conference play in Class 3A would begin winnowing the field of state title contenders.
We’ve already seen Clatskanie knock off defending champion Rainier and Hidden Valley end Cascade Christian’s 41-game league win streak that dated to Oct. 11, 2008.
Now, we have three more matchups in Week 7 that will winnow the field further.
Yamhill-Carlton, which is 6-0 for the first time since 1963, takes on Corbett with first place in Special District 1 East on the line.
The other half of the district sees Rainier travel to Amity in a rematch of a wild Week 7 battle of a year ago, when the Columbians prevailed 60-54 in overtime. They’re looking to avoid a second division loss that, while not knocking them out of the playoff race, would affect their playoff seeding.
Finally, two Special District 2 North powers square off when Santiam Christian heads south to face Sutherlin.
More links:
Week 6 recap: Top stars, best games, biggest wins
6A, 5A statistical leaders through Week 5
League-by-league statistical leaders through Week 5
Our Week 6 predictions: How'd we do?
Meet the state's best quarterbacks
Meet the state's best running backs
Meet the state's best wide receivers and tight ends
Meet the state's best offensive linemen
Meet the football coaches of Oregon, SW Washington
Breaking down every 6A, 5A team in Oregon
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