Vale's issue with district football rival Burns hasn't been in the regular season, where it's had the Hilanders' number in recent years.
The problem for the Vikings has come in the 3A playoffs, with losses to Burns in the state final in 2024 and quarterfinals in 2025.
Still, No. 1 Vale (8-0, 3-0) felt a measure of redemption Friday when it cruised to a 42-0 home win over No. 2 Burns (6-2, 2-1) to take sole possession of first place in Special District 5. By beating the Hilanders for the sixth year in a row – and running their district winning streak to 23 --the Vikings clinched at least a share of their sixth consecutive district title.
“We knew we owed them one,” Vale coach Jeff Aldred said. “They got us a couple times. Burns had a heck of a run two years in a row. We knew we had to change a few of our traditional things up a little bit, both offensively and defensively.”
Burns averaged 49.2 points during a six-game winning streak, but Vale's defense shut out the Hilanders on 94 total yards. The Vikings forced three turnovers, including interceptions from junior safety Cal Johnson and junior linebacker Peyton Hood.
“We have a different style of player this year,” Aldred said. “We're a lot faster and more athletic defensively than we've been. We had a few wrinkles in there defensively that they probably weren't prepared for.”
Johnson continued his masterful play at quarterback. He rushed for 146 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries and completed 10 of 18 passes for 195 yards and three scores with one interception.
Two of the touchdown passes went to senior Kellen Hartley, who had six catches for 160 yards. For the season, Johnson has passed for 1,360 yards and 25 touchdowns with two interceptions and Hartley has 28 catches for 767 yards and 15 scores.
Aldred said that Johnson and Hartley have had a special chemistry since they began playing together on the JV team two years ago. They also are teammates in basketball and baseball.
“They're both extremely competitive, kind of a quiet competitiveness,” Aldred said. “They really don't like to lose. It's kind of bred into their DNA with their families. Kellen wants the ball in his hands. He really craves those big moments.
“We've had some really great players in the past, but in my 12 years at Vale, I don't think we've ever had this kind of quarterback-receiver connection.”
Glide 'changing narrative'
No. 5 Glide continued its magical season with a 49-14 home win over No. 8 Oakland on Friday, taking over first place in 2A Special District 4.
The Wildcats (8-0, 4-0), winless in district play last year, locked up at least a share of their first district title since 2005. They also ended a five-game losing streak in the series against the Oakers (5-4, 3-1).
With a win at Illinois Valley (4-4, 2-2) in the regular season finale, Glide will claim the outright district title and complete its first unbeaten regular season since 1955, when it was the B-6 state runner-up. The Wildcats won the B-6 title in 1954, their only state championship.
“We have a pretty special group this year,” third-year coach Zack Mandera said. “I expected big things this year, but I don't think the kids quite understood what they could do. Now they're starting to see that.
“They're starting to believe in themselves a little bit. Our program hasn't had a whole lot of success in the past, so we're starting to change that narrative.”
Beating Oakland, which won the state title in 2022 and was runner-up in 2024, was a breakthrough.
“It means a lot because they're right next to us,” Mandera said. “They see that success that Oakland always has, and they've wanted that so bad. They wanted this one really bad, and you could see it on the field, just the energy the kids brought.”
Junior receiver Collin Groth led the way by catching three passes for 130 yards – including a 70-yard touchdown – and returning a kickoff 72 yards for a score. Groth, the reigning 3A champion in the 400 meters, also had a 94-yard touchdown run nullified by a penalty.
Mandera touted Groth as a 2A player of the year candidate.
“He's just so elusive,” Mandera said. “He's very quick, and he's very hard to get down.”
Glide racked up 504 yards against Oakland. Senior Zachariah Jones rushed for 115 yards and one touchdown on four carries, senior Colt Skinner ran for 102 yards and one score and sophomore Spencer Sahr had a 70-yard touchdown run. Sahr also recorded 16 tackles and an interception.
North Medford, Glencoe surprise
Two 6A league frontrunners fell victim to upsets Friday, foiling winner-take-all league title showdowns for next week.
Unranked North Medford (4-4, 1-2) knocked off No. 5 Sheldon 27-16 at home in a Special District 2 game. As a result, Sheldon (6-2, 2-1) can earn only a share of the district title by beating No. 6 Willamette (6-2, 3-0) at home in the final regular season game.
Glencoe upended Sherwood 28-18, ending the Bowmen's 29-game winning streak in the Pacific Conference. Sherwood (4-4, 2-1), tied for second place with Glencoe (3-5, 2-1), could tie for first place with a home win over Century (6-2, 3-0) in the regular-season finale. Glencoe, which plays host to Newberg (2-6, 1-2), also could tie for first place.
The win over Sheldon breathed new life into North Medford. The Black Tornado moved up from No. 19 to No. 14 in the OSAA 6A power rankings, in position to grab one of the 16 berths in the 6A championship bracket.
“It’s big,” North Medford senior Samson Vaelua told the Rogue Valley Times. “It sets us up for the playoffs and everything. We’ve been preparing the whole week for this.
“Right now they’re currently ranked and we’re not, but we don’t really care about that. We just care about us. It’s us versus everybody else.”
North Medford rushed for 215 yards with Vaelua (16 carries, 136 yards, three touchdowns) and his sophomore brother, Mason Vaelua (12 carries, 85 yards). Samson Vaelua's third scoring run with just under four minutes left accounted for the final margin.
Sheldon suffered a blow in the second quarter when senior quarterback Ryker Rohaley left the game for good after suffering a jammed finger. Rohaley is among the 6A passing leaders.
Glencoe powered past Sherwood as junior Abraham Castro rushed for 207 yards and four touchdowns. Since beating the Bowmen in 2007, the Crimson Tide had lost the last nine meetings in the series.
Wells delivers 'gutsy' win
Wells did its part to set up a title game for the 6A Portland Interscholastic League by going on the road to beat Grant 34-28 on Friday.
The co-No. 10 Guardians (8-0, 7-0), who have won their first eight games for the first time in 23 years, will finish the regular season by playing host to Lincoln (7-1, 7-0) for the PIL championship.
Friday's win over Grant was the toughest test of the season for Wells, which won its first six games by running clock before taking a forfeit win over Benson. Grant cut a 28-7 halftime deficit to 28-21 after three quarters and drew within 34-28 after scoring a touchdown in the final minutes, but could not recover the onside kick, and Wells ran out the clock.
“It was gutsy,” Wells coach Robby Scharf said. “Last year’s defense, and the personnel we had and the experience we had, probably gives up a lot more points. This year’s team, there’s a mental toughness that’s different as well as their athletic difference. It pays to have athletes.”
Wells rushed for 513 yards. Junior Lucius Coon had 29 carries for 227 yards and one touchdowns and junior SeAun Davis added 104 yards and three touchdowns.
“It was a lot of pushing through,” Coon said. “I was a little skeptical about how we’d deal with adversity. I’m really proud of my guys on offense and defense, locking in at the end and turning it around when it was starting to look a little bad.”
Grant junior quarterback Gage Creasy completed 13 of 23 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns with one interception and ran for one score.
-- Austin White contributed to this report
Hawks rising
In its first varsity season since 2017, Horizon Christian of Tualatin is on the brink of making the 3A playoffs.
The Hawks outlasted host Warrenton 44-42 in overtime Friday to move into position to secure the No. 3 playoff berth in Special District 1. Horizon Christian (6-2, 3-2) can lock up its spot by winning its final game at home against Yamhill-Carlton (0-7, 0-5).
“I was hoping for a playoff berth. I think that's what our expectation was,” coach Keith Bennett said. “I think we have enough athletes to make that happen, it was just a matter of if the coaching staff could get the kids in position, and get them to believe in what we could see. For the most part, that's come to fruition.”
Horizon Christian rebooted its program last year with a JV schedule. Bennett, who coached Wells to back-to-back 6A Portland Interscholastic League titles in 2023 and 2024, and also served as head coach at North Marion and Riverdale, accepted the challenge as coach.
“It's made me a much better coach,” said Bennett, who runs the same Guardian-T offense that he used at Wells.
The Hawks needed to beat Warrenton (5-3, 4-1) to have a shot at the playoffs. They scored on the opening drive and never trailed, but after giving up a tying touchdown and two-point conversion in the final 30 seconds, they were forced into overtime.
Horizon Christian scored on the first overtime possession on a four-yard run by senior Chris Carter and a two-point conversion run by senior Blake Jones. Warrenton countered with a 25-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Dylan Ballard, but on the two-point conversion attempt, Ballard's pass fell incomplete in the end zone.
Jones had 14 carries for 141 yards and two touchdowns and Carter had 14 carries for 105 yards and two scores. Junior Colton Grasvik had five carries for 83 yards and one touchdown for the Hawks, who threw one pass in the game.
'Step in the right direction'
Anticipating a dramatic drop-off in turnout, 5A La Salle Prep was in a tight spot when the OSAA football ad-hoc committee realigned the leagues prior to this season.
When the committee proposed that La Salle Prep join Special District 3 with larger programs such as Wilsonville, Aloha and Forest Grove, the Falcons balked, requesting to stay with neighbors Putnam and Milwaukie in Special District 2.
It didn't pan out, so they opted for an independent schedule. And they have made the best of it, improving their record to 6-2 on Friday by scoring the last 17 points in the fourth quarter for a 31-21 win at Gresham. For coach Dustin Janz, it was perhaps the most satisfying game of the season.
“Finally we played competitive football,” he said. “It's been a couple years since we've had that experience, having to come from behind and end up winning in the end. We battled like crazy. It was hard, and we won, so it was a step in the right direction.”
Sophomore quarterback Nathan McCoy threw three touchdown passes, giving him 17 for the season. Two of them went to junior Will Morgan and the go-ahead strike in the fourth quarter went to senior Dom Delucia. Senior Jack Schweitzer ran for a touchdown.
La Salle Prep has 41 players in the program, down from 70 last season, when the Falcons finished 2-7. They lack depth, particularly with only six varsity offensive linemen, but have found a way to make it work.
“We went independent to try to just save a marginal season, have some fun and try to get people excited about football at La Salle,” Janz said. “It's been a challenging situation this year just trying to keep the program alive and moving forward. We want to get our numbers up to the 60s and 70s like we've been in the last four years.”
La Salle Prep starts a half-dozen sophomores and has played three freshmen. But considering the team will graduate 12 seniors, including four of those offensive linemen, depth is likely to remain an issue in 2027.
“I don't know the plan yet for next year,” Janz said. “We're trying to figure it out. We're a 4A school and we should play 4A football, in my opinion. It's something that I think could keep our program more viable.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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