In desperate need of a touchdown in the fourth quarter Friday night, No. 2 Summit decided to keep it simple in a 5A Intermountain Conference football showdown at No. 3 Ridgeview.
Summit abandoned its inconsistent passing attack in favor of a power running game, and as a result, the Storm (3-2, 3-0) stands alone in first place after a 14-13 victory over the Ravens (4-1, 1-1).
Junior running back Clay Johnson scored on a four-yard run to put Summit ahead with 5:50 left, and after a defensive stop, the Storm ground out the final four minutes to deal Ridgeview its first loss.
“The biggest thing was we decided to lean on our run game and put it in the hands of our line,” Summit coach Corben Hyatt said. “We dropped some balls, missed a few throws. Our run game was where we thought we could dominate them a little bit.
“Their defensive line was better than we expected, but in the end, our guys finished the game by going down and getting that score.”
It was a signature game for the 6-foot, 195-pound Johnson, who is making an impact after missing his sophomore season with a foot injury. Johnson rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries, raising his season total to 540 yards.
“Clay's really figuring out how to set up blocks,” Hyatt said. “But he's just gifted athletically. It's shown in some really big games. We give him the ball a lot, and he runs hard, breaks tackles, takes care of the ball. We're super excited for him. He's getting better each week. Watching him develop has been amazing.”
Johnson ran behind a line that features junior center Rocco Caranna, senior guards Ben Goalen and Stefan Dokic and junior tackles Peter Stanley and Fletcher Allen.
“I like the feeling of the coaches putting the trust in us to put the game on our backs,” Goalen told the Bend Bulletin. “The passing game is fun and all, but I think running the ball is the way to go because it’s very consistent for us. If we can’t get it done in the passing game, we can always trust our alignment to get the job done.”
Hyatt said that Goalen (6-4, 285), a 5A first-team pick last season, and Stanley (6-4, 295), who has Division I offers, are “absolute beasts” on the left side. Allen, who missed last season with a high ankle sprain, has helped solidify the unit in front of senior quarterback Andrew Guthrie.
“They play well together,” Hyatt said. “Big and physical. Having Andrew is amazing, but we love to run the ball and help Andrew, and be able to throw it off of play-action.”
Roseburg keeps rolling
No. 9 Roseburg continued building on its momentum by rallying in the fourth quarter Friday for a 24-17 home win over visiting Eagle Point in a 5A Special District 5 game.
The Indians not only improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the district, but extended their winning streak to eight games going back to last season, when they finished 4-5.
“We started to change our offense toward the end of last season, and shape it more to what the kids could do,” coach Matt Watson said. “We were running a lot of triple-option, now we're trying to run some power, play-action, and we get into our spread stuff, as well. We're getting some confidence with those guys.”
Roseburg moved from 6A to 5A after going a combined 2-15 in 2022 and 2023. The Indians are 5-0 for the first time since 2021, when they opened 7-0 and made the second round of the 6A playoffs.
“Guys are playing with a chip on their shoulder,” Watson said. “Roseburg is a gritty community. Our boys battling the way they have is a reflection of not just the work they put in, but on our community as a whole.”
Eagle Point (2-3, 0-3) led 17-12 in the fourth quarter before Roseburg came back. Junior Leto White ran for a 42-yard touchdown to put the Indians ahead 18-17. Sophomore RJ Elliott threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to junior Danner Wertz on fourth-and-12 to make it 24-17 with 2:12 remaining.
The Eagles drove inside the red zone on their last possession, but junior defensive lineman Eli Bell tackled sophomore quarterback Laiden Johnson on the final play.
“We came out really flat,” Watson said. “We talked about it at halftime. We said, 'We have to control out environment,' and they did. They found each other. The sideline was more electric. For the sake of my health, I'd like them to not wait so long.”
Roseburg rushed for 287 of its 397 total yards. White ran for 169 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, giving him 685 yards this season.
Rams end skid
Perennial state power Central Catholic, which opened the season 0-4 for the first time since 1997, picked up its first win Friday by rolling 42-6 over visiting Clackamas (1-4) in the 6A Mt. Hood Conference opener for both teams.
Senior Armani Tonga and junior Summit Grant each ran for two touchdowns and junior Kody Grant threw two scoring passes to senior Kaden Bozovich, including a long strike on the team's first offensive play.
“We were real efficient,” Rams coach Charlie Landgraf said. “It was probably our cleanest game in all three phases. The goal is to build off that.”
Central Catholic, which lost starters at 13 positions from last year's 6A runner-up team, knew that it would go through growing pains this season. It didn't help that the Rams had a brutal nonleague schedule with No. 4 West Linn, No. 1 Lake Oswego, Washington power Graham-Kapowsin and Jesuit.
“It was definitely tough,” Landgraf said. “You're at a place like Central Catholic, and it's a group that's used to winning. More than anything, it's a little humbling. But I do think we got better every week during that stretch.
“We've got a lot of young guys playing in a lot of different spots. For us, that was kind of keeping us motivated and moving forward is we were seeing some improvement each week.”
In Friday's game, Central Catholic's starting offensive line featured three sophomores in Nathan Lombard, Jai Dawan and Conor Schmitz and one freshman in Kaleo Tovo. Lombard and Dawan made their first varsity starts due to ankle injuries to juniors Kai Peau and Reef Donahue.
“We've been banged up on the offensive line, which has been a little bit challenging,” Landgraf said.
Landgraf said that despite the losses, the Rams have stayed positive.
“I told the kids after each of those first four games that everything we want is still out in front of us,” he said. “Going and competing for a league title, and making a deep run in the playoffs, that's all still there.”
Irish come through late
Tied 20-20 at No. 5 Grants Pass in the final minute Friday, No. 8 Sheldon needed someone to step up and make a big play in the pivotal 6A Special District 2 game.
That's when senior receiver Cam Thomas, a holdover starter from Sheldon's 2024 state semifinal team, had a message for offensive coordinator Jordan Johnson during a timeout.
“He just looked at Jordan and said, 'I'm going to get open, just give me the ball,'” Irish coach Tyler Martell said. “It was like, 'All right, go get 'em, buddy.' It's really neat to see a kid who's played a bunch just have that confidence to say, 'I'm going to find a way to get the job done.'”
Thomas streaked toward the end zone and junior quarterback Ryker Rohaley hit him with a 23-yard touchdown strike with 45 seconds left, propelling Sheldon to a 27-20 win.
It was the second key play of the second half for Thomas. With Sheldon trailing 20-14 late in the third quarter and facing fourth-and-goal at the Grants Pass 4-yard line, Thomas found a crease between defenders in the end zone and caught a touchdown pass that tied the game.
It's the type of clutch play Sheldon (4-1, 1-0) has been getting during its four-game winning streak. The Irish's winning touchdown drive Friday covered 90 yards.
“Our guys showed great confidence on that last drive,” Martell said.
Rohaley completed 15 of 24 passes for 164 yards and four touchdowns, two to Thomas and two to senior Barry Myles. Junior Cody Hall rushed for 112 yards on 22 carries.
Sheldon's defense also came through against the explosive Cavemen (4-2, 1-1). The Irish held them to 31 rushing yards on 20 carries and contained dangerous senior quarterback Jordan Rossetta, who went 20 of 37 for 278 yards.
Sheldon put four or five defenders in the box and committed the rest to pass coverage, keeping close tabs on senior receiver Brevik Hill.
“Our down guys did a great job of stopping the run,” Martell said. “We tried to keep a guy locked onto Hill and not allow him into space.”
Reinforcements lift Jefferson
For 2A Jefferson, the biggest challenge this season has been finding enough healthy players to take the field.
The Lions had to stop their Sept. 18 home game against Willamina in the middle of the second quarter, resulting in a 57-0 loss. The following week, with only 12 players available, they forfeited a game to Colton.
So Friday, when Jefferson (1-4) returned to action and pulled out a 46-41 win over Regis (2-3) on homecoming night in a Special District 2 game, the Lions reacted as if they won a championship.
“They were jumping around, screaming,” coach Josh Threet said. “The mood change between last week and this week was just insane.”
It was the first varsity win since 2024 for the Lions, who played a JV schedule last year due to low numbers. It was made possible by the return of several players from injury in junior lineman Kasey Knowles, sophomore running back Keaton Khan, sophomore quarterback Tyson Grizzel-Ortiz and sophomore linebacker Fabian Hernandez.
“We got a lot of kids back all at once,” Threet said. “That gave our team a purpose and brought them all together. The kids that came back are our leaders. They get the kids hyped up more than a coach ever could.”
Jefferson got the go-ahead touchdown with two minutes left on a long run by Khan. The defense, which had not made a stop all season entering the game, turned back the Rams, and the offense ran out the clock.
“Huge step-up by them. Huge attitude change,” Threet said of the defense. “Really having the heart to win this game. Having enough kids to rotate for kids that are tired is ridiculously good for keeping kids healthy.”
Khan rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries and senior Adrian Hernandez ran for 89 yards and one score. Grizzel-Ortiz passed for 208 yards and four scores, two to sophomore Caleb Cooper (101 receiving yards) and one each to Khan and Adrian Hernandez.
Mid-Willamette showdown
No. 5 West Albany pulled away in the second half to beat No. 7 Dallas 41-21 in a high-stakes game in the 5A Mid-Willamette Conference on Friday.
Senior Godfrey Conn rushed for 232 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries and senior quarterback Beau Harvey ran for 93 yards and two scores on 16 carries as the host Bulldogs (5-1, 3-0) subdued the previously unbeaten Dragons (4-1, 2-1).
The game was tied 21-21 at half before West Albany took control. The Bulldogs held the Dragons and their star running back, senior Aidan Galusha, in check after intermission.
“The difference in the second half, I believe, was our defense,” Conn said. “Just being able to stuff the gaps when we saw it. We improved our tackling in the second half. We went lower. … It was great watching our defense play well.”
Conn's third touchdown run put West Albany ahead 28-21 late in the third quarter. The Bulldogs turned a fumble recovery by senior Pena Moors into a touchdown run by Harvey to go up 35-21 with 6:08 left in the game
Dallas senior quarterback Tommy Hess ran for 96 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. Galusha finished with 131 yards on 15 carries and caught five passes for 49 yards.
“We missed out on a couple of plays, and they played fantastic,” Dallas coach Andy Jackson said. “They were a great test for us. They were as good as we thought they'd be.”
West Albany visits No. 1 Silverton (4-1, 2-0) on Friday with first place at stake.
-- Jeremy McDonald contributed to this report
Record watch
The numbers keep piling up for South Salem senior quarterback Kellen Bowman and senior receiver Ben Greer, who led the way in a 51-35 win at North Salem in the Mayor's Cup Game on Friday.
Bowman completed 31 of 37 passes for 455 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception. Greer had 15 catches for 258 yards and three scores.
Through five games for South Salem (5-0), Bowman has completed 152 of 192 passes (79.2 percent) for 2,196 yards and 27 touchdowns with two interceptions. He could threaten state single-season records for completions (281, Scott Erickson, Eagle Point, 2007) and passing yards (4,420, Tim Tawa, West Linn, 2015).
For his career, Bowman has 614 completions for 7,551 yards, numbers that rank No. 4 and No. 14 among the state's all-time leaders, respectively. He is within range of the state record for career completions of 720 (Tawa, 2014-16).
Greer has 65 catches for 934 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. He is on pace to challenge his total of 117 catches from last season, just off the single-season state record of 118 (Oliver Luebkert, Beaverton, 2025).
Greer has 203 catches in his career, tied for fifth all-time and closing in on the record of 236 (Truman Brasfield, Crescent Valley, 2021-24).
jerryu@osaa.org
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