The Dallas Dragons might have had a few flashbacks Friday night as they were backed up against their own goal line, clinging to a three-point lead in the waning moments of a key Mid-Willamette Conference football game against No. 1 Silverton.
In last year's regular-season finale, the Dragons gave up the winning two-point conversion as time expired in a loss to Lebanon that cost them a share of the conference title.
“A lot of our kids were in that game,” Dallas coach Andy Jackson said. “We've had moments in the last few years where we've lost games like that.”
This time, though, Dallas didn't buckle. From the 2-yard line, the Dragons got a third-down stop when sophomore cornerback Jace Coleman defended a pass at the goal line. When Silverton attempted a tying field goal with 16 seconds left, senior Aidan Galusha came over the top to block it, giving eighth-ranked Dallas a massive 17-14 win.
“Our kids made some big plays in big moments,” Jackson said.
With the home win, Dallas (6-1, 3-1) is tied for first place with reigning state champion Silverton (5-2, 3-1) and No. 3 West Albany (5-2, 3-1) with two conference games remaining. The Dragons like where they stand, especially considering they are much healthier than when they lost at West Albany 41-21 on Oct. 2.
Outscored 20-0 in the fourth quarter against West Albany, the Dragons were eager to acquit themselves of that defeat with a more complete performance Friday.
“We were not going to take that,” Dallas senior quarterback Thomas Hess said. “We played horrible in the second half. We were going to play our hearts out on this one. We prepared for four days like champs. My linemen, they fought their hearts out. It’s them.”
Dallas knew it had a tall task Friday against Silverton, but was determined not to get psyched out about it. The Dragons outgained the Foxes 247-146.
“We go into every single game like it’s a faceless opponent,” said Galusha, who also rushed for 95 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries. “We don’t care that it’s Silverton. We don’t care that it’s anyone else. We just go in there with the best mentality and play our ball.”
Dallas led 17-7 with 3:57 left after Hess ran for a one-yard touchdown. Silverton junior Ryder Vandeweghe returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards for a touchdown to make it 17-14, and the Foxes made a stop to get the ball back near midfield inside the final two minutes.
“Silverton caught a wave of momentum,” Jackson said.
The blocked field goal – a play drawn up by special teams coordinator Brodie Unger – turned out to be the difference.
“He's been working on it quite a bit,” Jackson said of Unger. “Our kids went out and executed.”
-- Jeremy McDonald contributed to this report
Cowapa showdown
No. 4 Scappoose took control of the 4A Cowapa League with a 34-13 win over No. 3 Banks on Friday, ending the Braves' 48-game regular-season winning streak.
Senior Elijah Greenan-Biggs ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 31 carries as the Indians (7-1, 5-0) prevailed in the trenches against the Braves (6-1, 3-1), who held their previous six foes to a combined 19 points.
“We ran the ball really well,” Scappoose coach Sean McNabb said. “That was a concern going into it.”
The Indians opened the game with eight offensive linemen, a formation they had not shown all season. They operated out of a sugar huddle and sprinted to the line of scrimmage. Even though they did not stay in that look all game, McNabb believes it set a tone.
“We played really fast at times,” he said. “We were going as fast as they would let us go. I feel like that gets you a little frustrated when you're not being able to get ste, in your comfort zone.”
The Scappoose offensive line of seniors Matthew Neilson, Wyatt Thompson and Shaun Washburn and juniors Carter Hoerauf and Collyn Lewis were able to neutralize a Banks defense that features 6-foot-5, 300-pound nose guard Cade Wilson.
“We were trying to get them to run sideline to sideline and tire them out a little bit,” McNabb said. “I felt like were accomplished that. We were able to dictate the tempo of the game offensively.”
Tied with Banks 13-13 at half, the Indians took a 20-13 lead in the third quarter on a three-yard touchdown pass from senior Will Kessi to senior Sam Morris on fourth-and-goal.
Banks threatened to answer but Scappoose junior Sam Harrah intercepted senior quarterback Nate Lyda in the end zone. Greenan-Biggs and Kessi ran for touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Indians pulled away.
Scappoose has won six in a row since a 35-7 loss to No. 2 Cascade Christian.
“I feel like we've gotten a lot better since that Cascade Christian game,” McNabb said. “The defense has been playing well all year. We were able to put it all together.”
Nagel leads Churchill surge
The two-way play of junior Ryder Nagel has been a key factor in the turnaround for Churchill (4-3, 4-1 5A Special District 5), which has won four in a row after an 0-3 start.
Friday night, the 6-1, 208-pound Nagel rushed for 155 yards and one touchdown on 32 carries to propel the Lancers, who came back in the second half to win 20-13 at Crater (2-4, 2-2). He ran six yards for the go-ahead score with 3:21 left in the game.
Nagel not only is thriving as the team's featured running back with 1,325 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, but he continues to make his presence felt as a defensive edge player. He has returned two interceptions for touchdowns and forced three fumbles.
“He's one of the better players in the state, for sure,” Churchill coach Layne Coffin said of Nagel, who had 22 tackles for loss and seven sacks as a sophomore. “He's as good a player on offense and defense as there is. He carries a heavy load for us. He plays 100-plus plays a game, and he never asks for time out. He just keeps going.”
Nagel has fit nicely into the workhorse running back role held by Ceville Pasi (1,604 yards, 28 touchdowns) in 2024 and Lukas Babbitt (1,826 yards, 27 touchdowns) in 2025.
“He's a little bit different than those two,” Coffin said. “Top-end wise, Ryder has that breakaway speed. Lukas could power you and go the distance, and Ceville had that little hippity-hop, juke-step, and away he would go. But as far as top-end speed goes, I think that's where Ryder has a big advantage.”
Coffin believes Nagel has a bright future as a college player.
“I think he's a big-time player somewhere,” Coffin said. “It depends on whether you want to play him as an outside backer or running back, but he has the potential to do both.”
Churchill trailed Crater 13-6 at half Friday before rallying. Senior quarterback Talon Jerabek ran for a 1-yard touchdown to finish a 16-play drive and make it 13-13 late in the third quarter, and Nagel's score put the Lancers ahead 20-13.
The Comets reached Churchill's 15-yard line on their last possession before sophomore defensive back Everett Bousquet sealed the win by defending a fourth-down pass at the goal line.
Sprague sinks Saxons
South Salem senior quarterback Kellen Bowman has been putting up monster numbers this season, but Friday night, he was overshadowed by Sprague sophomore Camden Buchheit in a pivotal 6A Central Valley Conference game.
The 6-4, 185-pound Buchheit completed 14 of 17 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns and ran for a 34-yard score to lead the Olympians (4-3, 3-0) to a 56-6 road win over the previously unbeaten Saxons (6-1, 1-1). All four of Buchheit's touchdown passes and his scoring run came in a 42-point second quarter as Sprague took a 42-6 lead into halftime.
Buchheit shared time early in the season with junior Ethan Wylam but took over as the starter after coming off the bench in the second half to propel Sprague to a 31-14 win at West Salem on Oct. 2. The following week, he went 14 for 16 for 182 yards and three touchdowns as the Olympians rolled past North Salem 42-14.
“He really won the West Salem game for us with some big plays,” Sprague coach A.J. Robinson said. “He's really talented. He's just getting more comfortable each week. People are trying to stop the run and he has the arm talent to make people pay when they play man coverage.”
In Friday's game, Buchheit tossed scoring passes of 65 yards to junior Julian Lutz, 26 yards to junior Carter Nguyen, 47 yards to senior Max Sterling and 22 yards to junior AJ Tokstad. Sterling finished with four catches for 126 yards and Lutz had three for 121.
Sprague's defense contained Bowman, who in his first six games passed for 2,561 yards and 30 touchdowns. The defensive front applied pressure on Bowman and the secondary of Lutz, Nguyen, senior Manoa Allifua and junior Duey Stephens, a transfer from 5A Crescent Valley, locked down the receivers.
“I think we have multiple college guys in our secondary,” Robinson said.
Sprague has won three in a row since losing to No. 8 Jesuit 31-21, No. 7 Grants Pass 35-0 and No. 5 Sheldon 55-14 in consecutive weeks. The Olympians, who were missing eight starters in the losses to Grants Pass and Sheldon, have welcomed back several key players in recent games.
“I don't feel like those losses were indicative of our team,” Robinson said. “We had a rough patch and everyone kind of forgot we have a pretty good team this year.”
With Friday's win, Sprague cliched at least a share of the conference title. The Olympians can claim it outright by beating McNary (2-5, 0-2) in the regular-season finale Oct. 30.
Willamette stays on track
No. 6 Willamette cleared its last hurdle to set up a potential season-ending showdown in 6A Special District 2 by routing No. 7 Grants Pass 35-10 at home Friday.
The Wolverines (5-2, 3-0), who play at 5A No. 2 Summit in a nonleague game next week, are on a collision course to play at No. 5 Sheldon (6-1, 2-0) for the district title in the regular-season finale Oct. 30. If the Irish win at North Medford (3-4, 0-2) on Friday, the table will be set for a winner-take-all game.
Willamette overpowered Grants Pass at the line of scrimmage, accumulating 309 rushing yards. The offensive line paved the way for senior Conner Harvey (20 carries, 114 yards, two touchdowns), sophomore Jonny Jenkins (12 carries, 83 yards, one touchdown) and junior quarterback Zeke Thomas (12 carries, 82 yards, one touchdown).
"Shoutout to the five up front, the O-line," Thomas told the Register-Guard about the offensive line. "They did a phenomenal job pushing the line of scrimmage and communicating. I think the outcome of the game is different if they don't do what they did tonight."
Willamette's running attack was so dominant that Thomas, and Oregon State commit, threw only 10 passes.
"We've got a freaking unreal Division I quarterback, and he's not throwing the ball a whole lot, but he doesn't care. He just wants to win," Willamette coach Josh Line told the Register-Guard. "We're creating that identity, and that's going to create opportunities for Zeke and our outside guys down the road. I'm sure of it."
Willamette led 14-3 at half on touchdown runs by Jenkins and Thomas. Senior Tripp Johansen, a 6-2, 275-pound defensive lineman, bullied for a short touchdown run to make it 21-3, and Harvey added his two scores for the final margin.
The Wolverines have won five in a row since losing to 6A No. 1 Lake Oswego 34-7 and 5A No. 1 Silverton 33-12 to start the season.
Grizzly discovery
When Griswold was dropped from its football co-op with 2A Weston-McEwen last year, players at the Helix school had nowhere to turn.
So Griswold fielded its own 1A-6 team last year, finishing 4-0 with an independent schedule and no seniors. The Grizzlies moved into Special District 1 this season and quickly have become state contenders.
Saturday afternoon, No. 3 Griswold posted its most impressive victory, going on the road to beat top-ranked and previously undefeated Jordan Valley 33-14 in an SD1 contest. The win keeps the Grizzlies (5-1, 4-1) in the district title chase with Jordan Valley (6-1, 6-1) and No. 4 Ione/Arlington (6-1, 4-1).
“I have a very young team, so it gives them the confidence to go and say, 'You just knocked off the No. 1 team, you can go run with the best,'” Griswold coach Jon Matye said.
Sophomore Lyle Peck ran for 228 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries for the Grizzlies. His 55-yard score was the first of four third-quarter touchdowns for Griswold, which broke from a 7-7 halftime tie to lead 33-7.
Senior Cameron Makin caught four passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns, one each from sophomore Kaiden Matye and senior Andrew Carmichael. Kaiden Matye completed 5 of 11 passes for 160 yards.
The Grizzlies, following the plan drawn up by defensive coordinator Mindy Arnold, slowed down a Jordan Valley offense that was averaging 42.3 points per game. They stacked their defense to contain senior quarterback Ross Eiguren, getting strong play from senior Ethan Harlow up front and Kaiden Matye and senior Camp Kinneman in the secondary.
“We were able to keep him from killing us,” Jon Matye said. “We knew he could throw, so we were just trying to make him hurry his throws. And we played real disciplined coverage.”
Griswold's only setback is a 41-21 home defeat to Ione/Arlington on Sept. 12.
“This gets rid of the bad taste from Ione/Arlington,” Jon Matye said.
jerryu@osaa.org
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