Before the football season, Nelson senior Braylon Gaines primarily was known as a basketball player. The state's top-rated prospect in his class, the 6-foot point guard has committed to Montana.
Now, Gaines is getting a chance to show what he can do as a quarterback, and he's making everyone take notice.
In Friday's 38-0 nonleague home win over Jesuit, Gaines completed 15 of 21 passes for 265 yards and five touchdowns. Through two games for No. 6 Nelson (1-1), he is 33 of 50 for 572 yards and eight touchdowns with one interception.
“He's the best leader I've ever coached,” Nelson coach Aaron Hazel said. “When he's on the field, the confidence that everybody has is through the roof.”
In 2024, Nelson had a fourth-year starter at quarterback in Avirey Durdahl. Last season, the Hawks went with Danny Leary, now on the roster at Oregon State.
“Braylon kind of waited his turn,” Hazel said.
Hazel said that like Leary and Gaines see the field as well as any quarterback he has coached.
“Danny saw it as a mathematician and Braylon sees the field like a point guard,” he said. “He sees the space, but also, 'Where can I get that alley-oop that's going to change the game?' He kind of plays like Patrick Mahomes. He can throw it off of different angles. He doesn't always have to be squared up.”
In Friday's game, Gaines threw touchdown passes of 24 and 10 yards to senior Malachi Garlington, 9 and 22 yards to junior Jalen Crichton and 42 yards to sophomore Amir Burton. By halftime, he had passed for 207 yards and four touchdowns as the Hawks led 28-0.
Nelson held No. 9 Jesuit to 105 total yards. The Hawks limited Crusaders senior Luke Ortner, who rushed for 2,054 yards last year, to 54 yards on 16 carries.
“We got a lot of speed on the field,” Hazel said of his defense.
The Hawks spoiled the head coaching debut of Jesuit's Phil Rombach, who succeeded Ken Potter, the state's all-time wins leader. They also bounced back from a 49-48 overtime loss at No. 7 Grants Pass in which they led by 21 points late in the fourth quarter.
The loss forced the Hawks to take a long look in the mirror.
“When you lose a game like that, you really examine every little thing,” Hazel said. “Our kids did an unbelievable job of responding. … We fixed a lot of those cracks.”
Up to the challenge
Cascade Christian, last year's 3A champion, didn't wait long to announce its arrival in 4A.
The second-ranked Challengers opened their season by cruising to a 35-7 win over No. 3 Scappoose at Crater High School on Friday night. They led 35-0 in the third quarter against the Indians, 4A semifinalists the last four seasons.
“It was a good start against a really good team,” Cascade Christian coach Jon Gettman said. “They're going to be there at the end. It'll be good for us.”
Sophomore quarterback Jacoby Gettman, the coach's son, was solid in his first varsity start. He completed 17 of 26 passes for 254 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
“The biggest thing you're looking for is if he knows where to do with it, and I felt like he did,” Jon Gettman said. “He made good reads, he understood it. He didn't look overwhelmed at all. He looked pretty comfortable out there.”
Junior Mikey Covey had seven catches for 110 yards and one touchdown and sophomore Hutton Walker had six catches for 105 yards. Senior Bryson Walker had 16 carries for 35 yards and four touchdowns for the Challengers, who finished with 301 total yards.
Scappoose, which opened with 41-6 win at Pendleton/Nixyaawii, managed only 214 yards against the Challengers. Indians senior quarterback Will Kessi, who passed for 319 yards in the first game, could not find a rhythm and finished 16 of 39 for 172 yards and one touchdown.
“It was creating pressure and making him uncomfortable,” Jon Gettman said.
Heppner dominates
No. 1 Heppner turned what was supposed to be a 2A showdown into a 60-6 home rout of No. 3 St. Paul on Friday night. It was a rematch of last year's semifinal, won by Heppner 18-12.
The Mustangs (2-0) rushed for 445 of their 605 yards, led by senior Alakae Rodriguez, who had six carries for 137 yards and one touchdown. He was one of several players to flourish behind the team's brand new offensive line.
“We've got so many skill guys, it's crazy,” Heppner coach Robert Wilson said. “It's good to see what guys can do. I was pleased with our line. We probably have a little more depth on our line this year, like equal ability.”
The Mustangs also got touchdown runs from seniors Brody Parrish and Keaton Coiner and sophomore Jayden Rowlette. They threw only eight passes, but four went for touchdowns, three thrown by senior Caylan Proudfoot and one by sophomore Kord Dickenson. Coiner had two of the scoring catches.
Heppner is off to an impressive start despite graduating five starters on each side of the ball from last year's state runner-up team.
“We lost a lot of experience from last year,” Wilson said. “They're learning a lot every week.”
The defense lost its leader in linebacker Caleb George, but Rodriguez is stepping up to fill that role. Proudfoot, who played only quarterback last year, is contributing on defense this season, helping Rodriguez lead the unit.
The Mustangs held St. Paul to 102 yards. The Buckaroos (1-1) were without their starting quarterback, senior Noah Hockett, who wore a sling on the sidelines.
“You never want to play a team that's not full strength, but I still think we would've been in a good situation,” Wilson said.
Heppner visits Clatskanie on Sept. 11 before visiting No. 2 Lost River on Sept. 18 in a rematch of last year's state final.
Pelicans 'reset rivalry'
Behind senior quarterback Reese Johnson, 3A No. 10 Klamath Union is shooting for its first league title since 2013 and first state playoff berth since 2018.
Friday, though, the Pelicans (2-0) accomplished their first goal for the season by beating 4A Mazama 35-24 to end a 12-game losing streak in the Canal Bowl rivalry.
“A goal for them was to go out and reset the rivalry,” third-year coach Josh Overstreet said. “It was really cool to see them meet the expectations, set a new standard for our program. This senior group has really turned the tables.”
The 6-4 Johnson – who passed for 2,062 yards and 22 touchdowns last year, when the team finished 3-6 – has been the catalyst. In Friday's win over the Vikings (0-1), he completed 21 of 28 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns. In two games, he has passed for 461 yards and six scores.
“He's just really cool and collected all the time,” Overstreet said. “He can lead the huddle. His preparation is off the charts. … He's like a coach on the field.”
Johnson has taken on more responsibility this season to change plays at the line of scrimmage. On several occasions Friday, his adjustments resulted in first downs or touchdowns.
“It's something you don't see very often from a high school quarterback,” Overstreet said of Johnson, who has a college offer from Pacific. “This year his goal was to take that extra step, because his goal is to play college football.”
After finishing 1-8 in 2023, Klamath Union met OSAA criteria to drop down to 3A. In 2024, when many of the team's current seniors were forced into varsity action because of low turnout, the Pelicans finished 2-7. They improved to three wins last season, their most since 2018.
Interstate clashes
Three of Oregon's highly ranked teams were put to the test with games against reigning champions from other states in Week 1.
No. 1 Lake Oswego, the reigning 6A champion, played host Friday to Casteel, Arizona's 6A champion last year. The Lakers fell behind 17-7 in the third quarter but rallied to win 27-20 to improve to 2-0.
Lake Oswego senior quarterback Ryder Lemm led the second-half surge by throwing touchdown passes to seniors Jasiah Agnimel and Summit Cvitash. Senior Cole Callahan finished with 24 carries for 150 yards and one score.
Summit, ranked No. 1 in 5A, pushed reigning Idaho 5A champion Bishop Kelly to the limit before falling 28-26 in Boise on Friday.
The Storm (0-1) trailed 21-7 in the first half but rallied to draw within 28-26 with 1:38 left on a five-yard touchdown pass from senior Andrew Guthrie to senior Cade Nitzschke. But on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, senior Casey Westerhoff's run was stopped short of the goal line.
Dufur, ranked No. 2 in 1A-8, opened its season Saturday night with a 46-20 home loss to DeSales, Washington's reigning 1B champion.
A cut above?
No. 1 Vale is making a strong case to be the overwhelming favorite in 3A.
The Vikings (2-0) made quick work of No. 2 Siuslaw/Mapleton on Saturday afternoon at Caldera High School, blowing out to a 43-0 halftime lead and winning 57-8.
Junior quarterback Cal Johnson passed for 106 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 60 yards and one score on four carries to lead the way. Johnson threw two scoring passes to senior Kellen Hartley and one each to senior Maddox Hartley and sophomore Jace Aldred.
In two games, Johnson has passed for nine touchdowns, seven to Kellen Hartley.
Vale amassed 272 rushing yards, led by junior Bannock Lamb, who had 86 yards and one touchdown on four carries. Senior Tate Cook also rushed for a score.
Maddox Hartley returned an interception 17 yards for a touchdown.
“It was an overall great team performance,” coach Jeff Aldred said. “We spread the ball around a lot offensively and our defense played lights out.”
Four-OT thriller
It took four overtimes, but Neah-Kah-Nie finally subdued host Oakridge 70-68 to win a wild 2A nonleague game in the season opener for both teams Friday night.
The Pirates, who dressed 11 players for the nine-man game, fell behind 20-0 in the second quarter before rallying past the Warriors. Neah-Kah-Nie scored touchdowns to end the second quarter and start the third quarter, pulling within 20-16, and the teams traded shots the rest of the way.
“From that point on, we felt the game was ours,” first-year Pirates coach John Malcom said. “It was a great team effort.”
The game was tied 40-40 after regulation. The teams scored touchdowns in each of the four overtimes, with Neah-Kah-Nie prevailing on a two-point conversion.
Pirates sophomore quarterback Levi Sargent had a big night. He rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries, passed for two scores and had an interception on defense.
Senior Daniel Sargent rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries and caught a scoring pass. He also recorded a team-high 17 solo tackles and 11 assists.
After the 3 1/2-hour game, the Pirates did not get home until 4 a.m.
jerryu@osaa.org
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