Last year was a special season for Enterprise football, which went 7-3 and won a playoff game for the first time in 25 years.
But the Outlaws headed into 2024 with some trepidation. Not only did they graduate all but two starters on each side of the ball, but due to their success, they were automatically bumped up to 2A from 1A-8, where they spent the last six seasons.
“The competition is a lot tougher at the 2A level,” third-year coach Josh Harman said.
So far, the team has responded to the nine-man game in a big way. With sophomores holding down seven of 18 starting spots, Enterprise has opened 5-0 overall, 4-0 in Special District 6, and is ranked No. 6 in the OSAAtoday 2A coaches poll.
The Outlaws will find out what they're made of down the stretch. It starts with Friday's nonleague home game against unbeaten and fourth-ranked Culver (6-0) and culminates with a Special District 6 showdown at No. 3 Heppner (6-0) in the regular-season finale.
“We're definitely hitting the hard part of our schedule,” Harman said.
Friday's game will feature two of 2A's best quarterbacks in Enterprise senior Tyler Knapp and Culver senior Houston Wittenberg. Matching up with Culver's size and speed will push Enterprise.
“This is definitely going to be a big challenge,” Harman said. “I think it's going to boil down to if our athletes can match up with theirs. They've got a little bit older team, more experienced. So hopefully our young players can step up.”
The Outlaws like their chances behind the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Knapp. He has passed for 1,271 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions and rushed for 524 yards and seven scores. He has offers from Willamette University and Macalester College (Minn.).
“From an early age, Tyler was identified as a kid who had natural arm talent,” Harman said. “Luckily, his family got him involved in quarterback camps from the fifth grade on. He just has a natural ability to see things. He's not super fast, but he's got quick-twitch reaction skills. And he's a smart kid.”
Knapp is the younger brother of Zac Knapp, the 3A cross country champion for Enterprise in 2021 and now a member of the cross country and track teams at the University of Idaho. Tyler Knapp could have followed in his brother's footsteps – as an eighth-grader, he entered a cross country meet in Idaho on a whim and won it – but Harman wasn't going to let longtime cross country coach Dan Moody get a hold of his quarterback.
“I looked at Moody and I said, 'You've got the older one, this one's mine,'” Harman said of Knapp, who also leads the team in tackles (52) and interceptions (four) at his safety spot.
A 3.95 student, Knapp has a handle on Enterprise's spread offense. If defenses cover his receivers, Knapp can beat them with his legs.
“If he sees green grass, we just tell him to go,” Harman said.
Knapp's top targets are sophomores Quinton Arellano (16 catches, 388 yards, seven touchdowns), Isaac Bedard (33 catches, 435 yards, two touchdowns) and Bryce Yanke (eight catches, 123 yards, three touchdowns).
Knapp and senior linebacker Gunnar McDowell, the team's captains, rally the Outlaws on defense. McDowell suffered a torn ACL last wrestling season but made it back to play in the team's second game.
“We weren't even sure if he was going to be able to play this season,” Harman said. “He guts it out. He's one of the toughest kids I've ever coached.”
Harman, a 1991 Enterprise graduate, played under the most successful coach in the program's history in Chuck Corak, who went 110-27 in two stints, including the school's only state title (1984). With turnout steadily increasing in recent years, and only six seniors on the roster this season, Harman senses excitement building around the program.
“Our crowds just keep getting bigger,” Harman said.
Culver has made a dramatic turnaround since going 3-6 last season, buoyed by the steady hand of Wittenberg. In a 34-28 win at No. 7 Lost River on Sept. 26, Wittenberg passed for 279 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner with 10 seconds left.
Wittenberg has passed for 992 yards and 15 touchdowns, six to senior tight end Jace Silbernagel (17 catches, 335 yards) and five to senior receiver Roger Sotelo (19 catches, 355 yards). Senior Cole Rahl has rushed for 564 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. Wittenberg has six interceptions on defense.
Other top match-ups in Week 7:
Friday
6A No. 3 Lake Oswego (6-0, 2-0 Three Rivers League) at 6A No. 1 West Linn (6-0, 2-0), 7 p.m.: The winner will take the inside track to the title in the tough Three Rivers. West Linn, which recorded its third consecutive shutout last week when it stopped previously unbeaten Lakeridge 13-0, now must face Lakers running back LaMarcus Bell.
6A No. 5 Tualatin (5-1, 1-1 Three Rivers) at 6A No. 4 Lakeridge (5-1, 1-1), 7 p.m.: Lakeridge will try to bounce back from a 13-0 home loss to top-ranked West Linn. It won't be easy against the explosive Timberwolves, who rebounded from losing to Lake Oswego 45-31 to beat Oregon City 38-6 last week.
Mountainside (4-2, 2-0 Metro League) at 6A No. 7 Jesuit (5-1, 2-0), 7 p.m.: Jesuit has won 10 consecutive league titles, clinching it last year with a 31-14 win at Mountainside. No one would like to end that streak more than Mavericks coach Keanon Lowe, a former Jesuit standout.
Lincoln (4-2, 3-1 6A PIL) at Wells (4-2, 4-0), 7 p.m.: Wells' dominant running game, which features senior Wyatt Andler and Cam Hammer, goes up against a stifling defense in the Cardinals, who are coming off back-to-back shutouts of Roosevelt and McDaniel. The Guardians have won 14 consecutive league games.
6A No. 8 Sprague (7-0, 6-0 SD1) at Grants Pass (5-1, 4-1), 7 p.m.: Behind sophomore quarterback Jordan Rossetta, Grants Pass has quietly won five in a row since opening with a 33-28 loss to North Medford. Sprague needs a victory over the Cavemen to set up a showdown with Sheldon in the regular-season finale Nov. 1.
Hood River Valley (5-1, 3-1 5A SD1) at La Salle Prep (5-1, 3-1), 7 p.m.: The teams are in a three-way tie with Hillsboro for second place behind Glencoe. Hood River Valley lost at Hillsboro 28-14 last week. La Salle Prep has won its last two games since losing to Glencoe 27-20. Hood River Valley fell to Hillsboro 28-14 last week.
5A No. 1 Wilsonville (5-1, 2-0 SD2) at 5A No. 2 Silverton (5-1, 2-0), 7 p.m.: A highly anticipated game since the special district was created this year. Wilsonville has won 40 consecutive conference games since falling to Sandy in 2016. The teams last met in the 2022 quarterfinals, when the Wildcats won at home 39-26.
5A No. 5 Churchill (5-1, 5-0 Midwestern League) at Willamette (6-0, 5-0), 7 p.m.: Winless last year, Willamette is one of the great success stories of 2024, doing an about-face in its first season under former Sheldon coach Josh Line. But it will take the Wolverines' best effort of the season to turn back Churchill, which ended Thurston's 42-game conference winning streak.
4A No. 1 Cascade (6-0, 2-0 Oregon West Conference) at 4A No. 2 Philomath (6-0, 2-0), 7 p.m.: The top two defenses in 4A collide in a high-stakes game. Cascade must contend with Philomath's high-octane passing game, led by quarterback Caleb Russell, and the Warriors have to deal with Cougars running back Bryce Kuenzi, who returned to practice this week after missing last week's win over Junction City with an injury.
3A No. 10 Yamhill-Carlton (5-1, 3-0 SD1) at 3A No. 2 Banks (5-0, 3-0), 7 p.m.: First place in Special District 1 is in the balance. Yamhill-Carlton has won four in a row since losing to Santiam Christian 30-6. Banks topped Yamhill-Carlton 26-7 last year on its way to the district title.
Sutherlin (5-1, 1-1 SD4) at 3A No. 3 Siuslaw/Mapleton (5-0, 2-0), 7 p.m.: Siuslaw has shown a knack for winning close games, with all five of their games decided by eight or fewer points. Last week, Siuslaw won 38-30 over previously unbeaten and ninth-ranked Douglas, which beat Sutherlin 39-14 the week before.
1A-6 No. 5 South Wasco County (5-2, 3-0 SD1) at 1A-6 No. 2 Prairie City/Burnt River (7-0, 3-0), 7 p.m.: The teams are tied for first place in their division of Special District 1. Prairie City has five shutouts, but South Wasco County has averaged 46.3 points during a four-game winning streak.
jerryu@osaa.org
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