With a loaded roster, expectations soared for Willamette's football team this season in its move back to 6A from 5A.
The No. 7 Wolverines lived up to the hype in their opener Friday night, going on the road for a convincing 34-7 win at South Medford in a 6A Special District 1 game. Coach Josh Line said the Wolverines aren't oblivious to the chatter about them, but it has little effect.
“We have our own expectations that are much higher than anybody else has,” Line said. “I was happy that we answered our questions. I love expectations. They're great, and it's exciting, but we try not to let it be a motivator.”
Willamette dominated South Medford (0-2), which was coming off a 40-3 home loss to No. 1 Lake Oswego in its opener. Sophomore quarterback Zeke Thomas, a transfer from Crescent Valley, completed 15 of 26 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns. And the defense, led by Oregon-bound senior lineman Tony Cumberland, smothered the Panthers.
“I really liked the way our team flew around,” Line said. “They played really physical, both sides of the ball, against a pretty physical team. We tackled really well, especially given it was our first game.”
The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Cumberland set the tone up front.
“He was very dominant. Unblockable,” Line said of Cumberland, who also caught a 21-yard touchdown pass. “Things going away from him, he was chasing the ball. If I was calling plays, I would never go to his side. But that didn't stop him from chasing and really setting a good example for our younger players. I don't know that anyone really matched his effort.”
Senior running back Hunter Vaughn, who had a record-breaking season as a junior at 1A-8 North Douglas a year ago, showed that his ability translates to the big-school level. He returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown, ran for a 13-yard score and had a 59-yard catch.
Line said he thinks Vaughn is a “high-level college football player. I don't know where, but I think he showed that and more. He was one of the better athletes on the field. His punt return was unbelievable. We're real excited about what he can do.”
Brady Barry, a 6-3 junior, led Willamette in receiving with three catches for 93 yards and one touchdown.
It was the first live action for the Wolverines, who canceled their jamboree due a flu bug sweeping through the program. Line said that more than 30 players in the program were affected.
“I wasn't 100 percent sure we were going to perform like a team that had a full camp,” Line said.
Bell back for LO
Any concerns about the health of LaMarcus Bell's hamstring were emphatically put to rest Friday night as he helped lead No. 1 Lake Oswego past No. 8 Sheldon 51-7 in a 6A nonleague game.
The Utah-bound senior running back, held out of the team's season-opening win at South Medford after tweaking his hamstring in practice, was in fine form against the visiting Irish (0-1). He rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries.
“He's even better than he was last year, in my opinion,” Lakers coach Steve Coury said of Bell, named the 6A offensive player of the year last season after rushing for 1,658 yards and 28 touchdowns. “I think he's faster, his vision is better. He's a year of experience better.
“He's just a physical, physical kid. There's so much ahead of him, too. He's young. He just turned 17. Couple years from now, he's going to be even bigger.”
At this stage of his career, how does Bell compare to former Lakers running back Casey Filkins, the 6A offensive player of the year in 2019 who went on to a college career at Stanford?
“They're different styles,” Coury said. “LaMarcus is really physical. Casey had a great burst to him, great vision and very, very quick. LaMarcus has got some of that, for sure, and he's got the power part of it that's probably a little different than Casey.”
Lake Oswego made big plays all over the field against Sheldon. Senior Jalen Bauman returned a punt 39 yards for a touchdown. Senior Sawyer Best had a touchdown catch and an interception. Senior Sam Vyhlidal, a transfer from Mountainside and a Washington commit, sacked Sheldon's quarterback for a safety.
The Lakers led 37-7 at half and made it 44-7 on the first series of the third quarter on Bell's third touchdown run. For the game, they held the Irish to 58 total yards.
It's looking like it could be one of the better Lake Oswego teams under Coury, who led the Lakers to state titles in 2011 and 2018.
“I think so,” Coury said. “We've got some really good skill kids. Our offensive line is a big group physically. It's got a chance. It's got the makings of a really good football team.”
'Surreal' performance for Phillips
North Salem senior Jakai Phillips made a case to be considered among the state's best running backs with a career performance in his team's 49-32 win at South Salem in a 6A Special District 1 game Friday night.
The 5-11, 190-pound Phillips rushed for 362 yards and five touchdowns on 25 carries and returned a kickoff 84 yards for a score as the Vikings defeated the Saxons in the Mayor's Cup rivalry game.
“It’s surreal,” Phillips told the Statesman-Journal. “Putting all this work in over the summer and seeing it come true is a blessing. It’s a surreal feeling to us, and I’m happy to bring back the (Mayor’s Cup) my senior year.”
Phillips' 468 all-purpose yards ranks fifth in state history. It is the most all-purpose yards since Aloha's Thomas Tyner set the record of 643 in 2012.
“He's a special talent,” North Salem coach Caleb Singleton said of Phillips, who scored on runs of 46, 40, 15, 9 and 1 yard. “He's been under the radar a little bit, just in terms of not having as many years at the varsity level to showcase his skills.
“He has a chip on his shoulder. He wants to be able to showcase his full skills and get recognition for the type of player he is. He showed us what he's capable of. I know a lot of teams are going to be scouting and making sure they can stop him first.”
Phillips rushed for 1,007 yards and six touchdowns as a junior. Singleton said that Phillips has transformed his body since last year, and improved his speed by going out for track.
“He's challenging himself to be his best version of a running back,” Singleton said.
Phillips has received modest attention from colleges, according to Singleton. He made a trip to Boise State and has received interest from Brigham Young, Portland State and Nevada.
“I want to make sure he gets conversations with recruiters because I know what kind of potential he has,” Singleton said. “His name is out there, but I think the more he's going to showcase his skills on Friday nights, the better he can make a strong argument that he's a top recruit.”
Dallas reloads
On paper, it appeared as if Dallas could have a rebuilding year after graduating the majority of its starters – including key skill players – from a team that went 9-2 and made the 5A quarterfinals in 2024.
But the No. 8 Dragons made it clear Friday night that they intend to be serious players this season with a 30-6 home rout of No. 7 Churchill, which thumped reigning 4A champion Marist Catholic 34-7 in its opener last week.
“Sometimes we're a team that gets overlooked,” Dallas coach Andy Jackson said. “We're a small school in 5A. Sometimes we have guys coming up in our program that we know are going to be good ball players.”
Junior quarterback Thomas Hess, senior running back Landon Holbrook and senior cornerback Jace Emerson were among those stepping into the spotlight for the first time Friday.
Hess, making his first varsity start, completed 13 of 18 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. He is following in the footsteps of his three older brothers, all of whom played key roles for the Dragons.
“He's a very smart football player, just like all the Hesses we've had,” Jackson said. “They're very smart and even-keeled and composed. He did exactly as we thought he would.”
Holbrook, a backup last season, caught a 24-yard touchdown pass and rushed for a team-high 66 yards and one score on nine carries. Emerson, a JV player a year ago, had two interceptions to thwart Churchill scoring threats.
Churchill cut the Dallas lead to 13-6 in the third quarter and appeared ready to score again when senior running back Lukas Babbitt broke into the clear, but senior defensive back Noah Rautio flagged down Babbitt after a 70-yard gain.
From there, the Dragons held the Lancers on four plays from the three-yard line, then pushed the lead back to 20-6 on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Hess to Holbrook.
The Dallas defense got big games from senior linebacker Hunter Rivers (11 tackles), senior defensive back Chase Eriksen (nine tackles, interception), junior lineman Nathan Cunningham (two sacks) and junior linebacker Aidan Galusha (four tackles for loss).
Small-school showdowns
The top two teams in the OSAAtoday 2A and 1A-8 coaches polls collided in showdowns in Week 1.
On Friday, No. 2 Heppner outlasted No. 1 St. Paul 30-26 in a 2A nonleague game at Dufur High School, avenging an 18-12 loss to the reigning state champion Buckaroos in last year's state semifinals.
The Mustangs (2-0) scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:17 remaining on a one-yard run by senior Caleb George. Junior Caylan Proudfoot passed to George for the two-point conversion to make it 30-26.
St. Paul drove to the Heppner 43-yard line on its last possession but the Mustangs held on fourth-and-6 to clinch the win. The loss ended St. Paul's winning streak at 14.
Heppner first-year coach Rob Wilson doesn't want to put too much stock into knocking off the Buckaroos early in the season.
“A win now against them feels good, but our goals as a team are to make the postseason and make a run,” Wilson said. “Enjoy the moment now while we can, but understand there's a lot of work left to do.”
The teams were evenly matched as they alternated touchdowns throughout. St. Paul had a 356-349 edge in total yards and Heppner had a 22-21 advantage in first downs. The Mustangs' three two-point conversions lifted them to victory.
“I would expect to see them again,” Wilson said. “I told the boys that, too. It's a fun game to play. We had to play our main guys four quarters and battle through it.”
The Mustangs rushed for 296 of their yards, led by junior Alakae Rodriguez, who had 19 carries for 138 yards. St. Paul's offense was led by junior quarterback Noah Hockett (18 for 28, 180 yards, three touchdowns) and junior Bricen Britten (19 carries, 126 yards, one touchdown).
On Saturday night, top-ranked and reigning 1A-8 champion Adrian rolled past No. 2 Crosspoint Christian 44-0 in the Oregon Eight-Man Classic at Dufur High School. The Antelopes (2-0) led 36-0 at half against the Warriors (0-1).
Adrian's first score came on a 28-yard pass from senior Trey Bayes to senior Brooks Martin. Bayes scored on a one-yard keeper to make it 16-0 in the first quarter.
Bayes hit senior Chase Franklin for a 12-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Senior Silvestre Rico Jr. and junior Kash Morford returned interceptions for touchdowns – 56 and 31 yards, respectively – to make it 36-0 at half.
Morford added a 17-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for the final score.
Rico finished with three of Adrian's five interceptions.
Parkrose wins under new coach
In its first game with coach Paris Penn, 5A Parkrose rolled to a 32-12 home win over 6A Cleveland on Friday, the Broncos' first season-opening victory since 2014.
Penn took over a team that has gone 4-33 the last four seasons, including 1-8 in 2024. The Broncos lost their season opener to Cleveland the last two years, falling 28-22 in 2023 and 30-22 in 2024.
“It’s unbelievable,” Penn said. “Kids have put in a lot of work trying to change the culture, trying to change how we move on and off the field, in the classroom. For them to start school this week and then see the results on the field, we’re moving in the right direction.”
Senior quarterback Tranden Stricker, a transfer from Canby, completed 9 of 19 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 87 yards and two scores on nine carries. He also had an interception on defense.
“I feel pretty accepted from this community coming from where I was from,” Stricker said. “The boys are fun to play with, they’re so nice and they just have a great time with each other. All around, it’s fun to play with them.”
Stricker threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to senior Etrelle Degraffe to start the scoring in the first quarter. The Broncos led 19-0 at half and pushed the edge to 32-0 on a 22-yard scoring strike from Stricker to junior Jack Fluker.
Other teams recording their first wins under new coaches Friday included Grants Pass (Matt Kennedy), Beaverton (James Testa), Seaside (Jeff Roberts) and Crescent Valley (Jovan Stevenson).
-- Austin White contributed to this report
jerryu@osaa.org
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