The Oregon high school football playoffs continued this weekend with quarterfinals action around the state.
Here’s a look at some of the best games, top stars and memorable performances.
Note: Entries are based on information provided by coaches, statisticians and high school football fans. Don’t see any details for your team’s game? Email some notes and/or stats to [email protected] We will be updating this post throughout the weekend.
Photo by Dan Brood
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Our Round 2 predictions:
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CLASS 6A CHAMPIONSHIP | Bracket
No. 1 West Linn 56, No. 8 Sherwood 7
Sam Leavitt threw for more than 300 yards and connected for three touchdown passes with Jackson Shelstad, and the Lions (10-1) put on another impressive offensive showing in defeating the visiting Bowmen (8-3).
The Lions, who got three rushing touchdowns from Koffi Kouame and another from Earl Ingle, have scored at least 42 points in eight consecutive games. They reached that threshold by halftime.
The Lions, under first-year coach Jon Eagle, are in the Class 6A semifinals for the second season in a row.
“West Linn is very talented and played a great game,” Bowmen coach Mark Gribble — himself in his first season leading the program — said in a text. “West Linn was very well-coached. Coach Eagle and his staff did a great job in preparation. Hats off to them.”
No. 5 Central Catholic 23, No. 4 Jesuit 20
The Rams repelled a Crusaders drive that reached the Central Catholic 17-yard line in the final minute to preserve the win at Jesuit High School in Southwest Portland.
Central Catholic (10-1) of Southeast Portland took a 23-20 lead on Zhaiel Smith’s touchdown catch with 7:55 left in the fourth quarter, which created the fourth lead change of the game.
The Crusaders (9-2) mounted a 17-play drive that started from their 20 and chewed up seven minutes of clock. The Rams held on fourth down at their 17 with 43 seconds left to wrap up the win between the Portland-area’s Class 6A private schools.
Cade Gehlen caught a touchdown pass from Cru Newman for a 7-0 Rams lead in the first quarter. The Crusaders made it 7-7 later in the first quarter on a 15-yard touchdown run by Payton Roth (31 carries, 161 yards), and they went up 14-7 when Jacob Hutchinson connected with Jace Burton on a 26-yard touchdown pass.
Twelve seconds later, Gehlen broke off a 68-yard touchdown run, leading to a 14-14 score. A field goal on the final play of the first half gave the Rams a 17-14 lead.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Crusaders reclaimed the lead, 20-17, on a 12-yard touchdown run by Garrett Speer with 10:30 left — enough time for one more lead change and a decisive defensive stand.
Gehlen also contributed on defense, with nine tackles (five solo), including one for a loss. Solomon McDaniel also had nine tackles. Smith made an interception and Zach Davis had a sack that forced a fumble as the Rams got two takeaways.
The game marked the second year in a row the Rams have eliminated the Crusaders. Last fall, Central Catholic defeated Jesuit 35-28 in the semifinals en route to their second consecutive OSAA championship.
No. 3 Tualatin 53, No. 6 Mountainside 21
AJ Noland returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and Naasei Lynn scored on a 37-yard interception return — both in the first quarter — as part of the Timberwolves’ win over the Mavericks at Tualatin.
Luke Ash ran for one touchdown and caught one of Jack Wagner’s three scoring passes for the Timberwolves (9-2). Wagner completed 12 of 17 passes for 172 yards, connecting with Richie Anderson (four catches, 94 yards) for the other two scores.
Aaron rey Simpson and Elym Young ran for touchdowns for the Mavericks, who got a touchdown pass from Alex Ingalls to Jared Lang.
The Timberwolves’ special teams and defensive touchdowns were the first non-offensive touchdowns the Mavericks (9-2) of Beaverton allowed this season.
In addition to Lynn, Noland, Liam Pickering and Kevin Interian made interceptions for the Timberwolves’ defense.
No. 2 Sheldon 42, No. 7 Lake Oswego 7
Brock Thomas ran for four touchdowns and passed to Grafton Robinson for a 40-yard score, Teitum Tuioti returned one of Sheldon’s five interceptions for a touchdown, and the Irish defeated the visiting Lakers (7-4) in Eugene.
Cade Welch, Mana Tuioti and Zach McEwen also had interceptions for the Irish’s defense. Sheldon (11-0) has held 10 of its 11 opponents to seven points or fewer and has surrendered 63 points this season; every other Class 6A team has allowed more than twice that many.
Josh Merriman, Teitum Tuioti and Luke Leighton were the Irish’s top tacklers.
Max Brauner passed to Owen West for a touchdown for the Lakers, who got an interception by Calvin Macy.
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CLASS 6A COLUMBIA CUP | Bracket
No. 17 Liberty 28, No. 25 Clackamas 18
A 98-yard touchdown drive that featured a fake punt from their 8-yard line and two takeaways that led to first-quarter touchdowns launched the Falcons to the victory over the visiting Cavaliers in Hillsboro.
The Cavaliers (5-6) took a 6-0 lead on quarterback Hudson Normand’s one-yard touchdown run. On the Falcons’ second drive, they started at their 2 and got a first down on fourth-and-four from their 8 to sustain a drive that ended with Tanner Steinbach’s touchdown.
The Falcons then forced a fumble — resulting in a touchdown run by Houstyn Lee-Perry — and got an interception by Elijah Streeter on the Cavaliers’ next possession — leading to Tytan Rekow’s 11-yard scoring run — as they built a 21-6 lead.
Rekow passed to Streeter for another score and a 28-6 halftime lead
Kayle Pisano caught a touchdown pass for the Cavaliers.
Steinbach led the Falcons with 90 yards rushing, part of a team total of 288. Streeter finished with two interceptions, and Ryan Berger had six tackles and a sack to end the game.
No. 28 North Salem 42, No. 20 Jefferson 8
Josiah Davis rushed for 180 yards and matched his season high with three touchdown runs, helping the Vikings (7-4) defeat the host Democrats (7-4) at Jefferson High School in North Portland.
The Vikings are in the semifinals of an OSAA football postseason for the first time since 1963.
Jerrik Wangler rushed for 60 yards and two scores, and DeMari Thompson ran for the other touchdown for the Vikings. Junior quarterback TC Manumaleuna II completed both of his passes for 60 yards.
No. 22 Lakeridge 35, No. 19 Oregon City 14
Ryan Oliver rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another to help the Pacers keep the Pioneers (5-6) at arm’s length in the victory at Pioneer Memorial Stadium in Oregon City.
After the first quarter ended with the Pacers (5-6) of Lake Oswego leading 14-0, the Pioneers closed to 14-7 on Marcus Jordan’s touchdown run. Oliver’s second scoring run made it a two-touchdown game at halftime, but the Pioneers answered with a touchdown pass from Ben Schneider to Ethan Hopwood that made it 21-14 midway through the third quarter.
The Pacers scored twice late in the third quarter to build their 21-point lead. Oliver finished with 145 passing yards, and Baylor Corbin, who made five receptions, also threw for a touchdown. Ansu Sanoe rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown.
The Pioneers, who ended a 19-game Three Rivers League losing streak with a dramatic win over the Pacers in Week 7, got 101 yards rushing from Jordan and 151 yards passing from Schneider. Jake Lopez had 11 total tackles for the Pioneers.
No. 18 Westview 41, No. 23 Sprague 0
Jordan Fisher piled up 324 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, and the Wildcats posted their second consecutive postseason shutout in the victory over the visiting Olympians (6-5) of Salem.
Jacob Munly led the Wildcats’ defense with seven total tackles and a fumble recovery. Jason Cephus and Jonny Collyer each had a sack.
Fisher carried 34 times and scored on runs of eight, 60, five, nine and 29 yards. He exceeded 300 yards for the second time this season and ran his season total to 2,354 yards and 32 touchdowns.
“That tailback is special,” Olympians coach Jay Minyard said in a text.
The Wildcats (6-5) of Northwest Portland, who have four shutouts in their past five games, are in the semifinals of an OSAA football postseason for the first time.
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No. 1 Summit 35, No. 8 Central 7
Charlie Ozolin scored two touchdowns and made two interceptions to help the Storm defeat the visiting Panthers of Independence at Summit High School in Northwest Bend.
The Panthers (7-3) went up 7-0 on a touchdown catch by Dominic Castanon but trailed 21-7 at halftime after the Storm got a touchdown run by Sam Stephens, Ozolin’s first touchdown (on a pass from Hogan Carmichael) and a quarterback sneak for a score by Carmichael.
Braden Bailey also made an interception for the Storm.
The Panthers got forced fumbles and recoveries from Ethan Dunigan and Josh Peters.
No. 4 Thurston 27, No. 12 Dallas 14
Noah Blair passed for three touchdowns — two to Luke Newell — and the Colts (9-2) of Springfield built a 20-0 lead en route to defeating the visiting Dragons (6-4) at Cottage Grove High School.
Blair completed 15 of 16 passes for 214 yards. His touchdowns went for 70 yards to Walker Bonar and 43 and 30 yards to Newell. After Bonar’s scoring catch, Ethan Burkhead ran 61 yards for a touchdown that gave the Colts a lead.
Dallas’ Emilio Miranda (11 rushes, 95 yards) ran for one score and Kaden Moore passed for another Dragons touchdown.
The Dragons’ defense got 14 tackles (including six sacks) from Steven Ward and 11 tackles (one for loss) from Brock Dunkin.
Romynn Schaefer and Vaun Halstead made six tackles apiece for the Colts, who got five tackles and an interception from Will Dau.
No. 3 Bend 40. No. 6 South Albany 0
The Lava Bears (10-1) posted their seventh shutout of the season in eliminating the RedHawks (7-3) in Northeast Bend.
Logan Malinowski passed for a season-high 167 yards and three touchdowns, which matched his season high. Blake Groshong caught two scoring passes, Malakai Nutter caught a touchdown pass and ran for a score, and Jack Sorenson had a touchdown run for the Lava Bears.
The RedHawks’ Anthony Vestal rushed for 37 yards and Kaiden Younger passed for 76 yards, including a 34-yard connection with junior JR Vasquez in the fourth quarter.
Maxwell Louber (11 tackles) and Jack George (6.5 tackles) led the RedHawks’ defense.
No. 2 Wilsonville 39, No. 7 Silverton 26
The Wildcats advanced to the semifinals for the sixth time in the past seven OSAA postseason championships, getting a 14-0 lead and finally pulling away from the Foxes in Wilsonville.
Kallen Gutridge passed to Ryder McElroy and Mark Wiepert for touchdowns and ran for two scores as the Wildcats (9-2) scored at least 35 points for the fifth game in a row.
The Foxes (7-4), the reigning OSAA Class 5A champions, got four touchdown runs from Jackson Pfeifer, who finished the season with 33 touchdowns (23 rushing, four receiving, six on defense/special teams). Pfeifer carried 24 times for 171 yards Friday.
Leading 14-7 after halftime, the Wildcats got two huge plays to help keep the Foxes at bay. Jacob Ogden broke off a 60-plus yard run and then scored from the 1, and after Pfeifer scored to pull the Foxes within 21-13, Gutridge connected with Wiepert on a 63-yard touchdown for a 28-13 lead.
Pfeifer and the Foxes again responded, closing to 28-20 before Greg Kreswick kicked a field goal and Gutridge scored on an 18-yard run for a 39-20 lead.
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No. 8 Scappoose (8-2) at No. 1 Mazama (10-0) (1 p.m. Saturday)
No. 5 Estacada 17, No. 4 Henley 16
The Rangers blocked a point-after kick with four minutes left to preserve a one-point lead and then ran out the clock on offense in the win over the host Hornets (9-2) of Klamath Falls at Mazama High School.
The Hornets took a 7-0 lead 1:42 in when Logan Whitlock ran for a 31-yard touchdown after the Rangers lost a fumble. The Rangers took a 9-7 halftime lead after Andrew Riedel made an interception that led to Ben Haefs’ 39-yard field goal.
Trailing 10-9 late in the third quarter after Owen Cheyne’s 26-yard field goal for Henley, the Rangers (10-1) put together a 13-play, 88-yard drive finished by Tucker Jackson’s touchdown that produced a 17-10 lead.
The Hornets’ losses this season were to No. 1 Mazama and No. 5 Estacada and came by a combined nine points.
No. 6 Tillamook 28, No. 14 Gladstone 6
Tyler Moncrief made an interception in the end zone at the end of the first half to deny a Gladstone threat and scored the Cheesemakers’ final touchdown late in the win over the visiting Gladiators.
Judah Werner rushed for two scores and Tanner Hoskins also had a touchdown run for the Cheesemakers, who led 14-0 at halftime on the way to their first OSAA semifinal appearance since 1989.
Hayden Smith made an impact on both sides of the ball for the Gladiators (6-4). Brayde Owen ran for a one-yard touchdown for the Gladiators, who got contributions in the running and passing games from Ethan Finnigan and Tristan Nonne.
No. 2 La Grande 28, No. 7 Pendleton 13
Myer Whitmore recovered a fumble for a touchdown on the first snap, and the Tigers (9-2) rode their dominance up front to the win over the visiting Buckaroos (8-3) at Eastern Oregon University.
Tigers quarterback Logan Williams benefited from the blocking of his linemen and rushed for three touchdowns.
The game was a rematch of the teams’ Week 8 Greater Oregon League matchup, won by the Tigers, 33-20.
The Tigers built a 28-0 lead in the third quarter before quarterback Jace Otteson’s 10-yard touchdown run got the Buckaroos on the scoreboard. Otteson and Luke Bensching connected on a 62-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Bensching caught five passes for 83 yards and the touchdown and was in on seven tackles.
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