Four years ago, Estacada's football team got the biggest win in the program's century-old history when it beat Tillamook 32-8 in the 4A final for its first state championship.
The game seemed to spark a nonleague rivalry between the Rangers and Cheesemakers. The teams met again the next three seasons, with the road team prevailing each time, Tillamook in 2023 and 2025 and Estacada in 2024.
Friday night, the teams will collide one more time when sixth-seeded Estacada (7-2) plays host to No. 11 Tillamook (5-4) in the first round of the 4A playoffs. Rangers coach Andy Mott and Cheesemakers coach Kye Johnson probably won't need much time to plot the other team's tendencies.
“Kye's a good friend of mine. We always enjoy good battles back and forth,” Mott said. “It's just always fun to match up with them. I think we're both excited. We've both got passionate fan bases. I expect a pretty packed crowd in Estacada on Friday night.”
Johnson said he has “a lot of respect” for the Rangers.
“We really like playing Estacada,” Johnson said. “I think we kind of identify with their program. Our schools and athletic departments are kind of the same, and I think we have kids that are kind of the same. We enjoy the competition with them.”
Much like in that 2022 championship game – when Estacada pounded for 329 rushing yards and controlled the ball for more than 35 minutes, a finals record – the Rangers' success is built on their ground game. They are averaging 352.1 rushing yards per game.
“That team and this team have a lot of similarities,” Mott said. “I think we're a little more dynamic this year with some of our playmakers. We've got lots of weapons in the run game, and we can throw the ball better than we could that year.”
The Rangers' offensive line – led by senior guards Connor Kendig and Willie Munds and senior center Dallas Tidd – doesn't have the giant road-graders it did in 2022, but makes up for it with athleticism. They have paved the way for junior Ashton Randall (879 yards) and senior Thomas Classen (732 yards), who each have rushed for 13 touchdowns.
“Asthon is more of a power back,” Mott said. “He can get between the tackles and get downhill, but he's also got breakaway speed. Thomas can go to the house on any play, but he can be a powerful guy as well. They really make a good combo for us.”
Estacada's offense averages 8.0 pass attempts per game. Senior quarterback Dane Carpenter has passed for 559 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 406 yards and six scores.
The Rangers have lost only to Vale 32-28 and Cascade 34-20, undefeated teams ranked No. 1 in the OSAAtoday 3A and 4A coaches polls, respectively. They are the closest games the Vikings and Cougars have played all season.
“The biggest positive we took out of those games is we felt like we had some things we could fix and get better from,” said Mott, whose team is No. 5 in the coaches poll. “It wasn't like we got blown out in either case. I felt like we went punch-to-punch with those powerhouse teams. That was a big confidence booster for our guys. I feel like we can play with anybody at this point.”
All four of Tillamook's losses have come against teams ranked in the top eight of the 4A coaches poll. The Cheesemakers fell to No. 8 Central 42-7, No. 4 Sweet Home 40-14, No. 7 Banks 28-0 and No. 3 Scappoose by forfeit.
Tillamook got a boost in the second half of the season with the return of senior running back Aden Camacho Garcia, who suffered a dislocated elbow in the first quarter of the season opener against Central and missed the next three games.
In a little more than five games, Camacho Garcia has rushed for 844 yards and 11 touchdowns. In the team's last game, Oct. 23 at Astoria, he rushed for a school-record 291 yards and five touchdowns on 29 carries.
“We knew that Aden was a great player and he was someone that we could lean on, so when we lost him right away, we were reeling offensively,” Johnson said. “We're just thankful he's as tough as he is. Some players would have packed it in for the year.”
Johnson said Tillamook's running game is much improved since the shutout loss to Banks on Oct. 8.
“We grew from that game,” Johnson said. “They challenged us to look in the mirror and make some good adjustments. I really like our offensive line. It's one of the better units I've had at Tillamook.”
Cheesemakers senior quarterback Kevin Hurliman has passed for 1,219 yards and nine touchdowns. His favorite targets are seniors Carson Remington (33 catches, 562 yards) and Eli Wootton (21 catches, 415 yards).
“They do a lot of things really well,” Mott said. “I think we match up well. They're always going to be big and physical, similar to us. So I think it's going to be a battle in the trenches.”
Both teams lost in the quarterfinals last year, Estacada 42-0 to Henley and Tillamook 46-7 to Scappoose.
A look at other intriguing opening-round match-ups:
Friday
6A
No. 10 Lincoln (7-2) at No. 7 Jesuit (7-2), 7 p.m.: Jesuit rebounded from a slow start to win six in a row and take the Metro League title for the 12th time in 13 seasons. Lincoln and Wells are bidding to become the first Portland Interscholastic League teams to win in the top 6A bracket since 2017.
No. 11 Grants Pass (5-4) at No. 6 Wells (9-0), 7 p.m.: Wells, PIL champion for the third time in four seasons, goes for its first playoff victory since 2003. The match-up pits the Guardians' dominant rushing attack against an explosive Grants Pass passing game led by senior quarterback Jordan Rossetta.
No. 12 Lakeridge (5-4) at No. 5 Sheldon (7-2), 7 p.m.: Lakeridge dropped three of its last four games, all by at least 27 points against Three Rivers League teams ranked in the top four of the OSAAtoday 6A coaches poll. But the Pacers are a dangerous draw for the Irish, who rebounded from going 2-7 last season to earn a share of the Special District 2 title.
6A Columbia Cup
No. 24 Century (6-3) at No. 17 Westview (6-3), 7 p.m.: The Jaguars and Wildcats, teams that suffered late-season losses that foiled their hopes of winning outright league titles and joining the top 6A bracket, will look to finish their seasons on a high note by making a run in the Columbia Cup.
5A
No. 9 Dallas (8-1) at No. 8 Milwaukie (5-4), 7 p.m.: The teams also met in the first round last year, with Dallas rolling at home 45-6. Milwaukie hasn't won a playoff game since 1991 and hasn't made the quarterfinals since finishing as big-school runners-up in 1975.
No. 10 Ridgeview (6-2) at No. 7 Sandy (6-3), 7 p.m.: Sandy, decimated by injuries to key players this season, got healthier down the stretch and won five in a row to claim its third league title in school history. For the second year in a row, Ridgeview's only regular-season losses came against Intermountain Conference rivals Summit and Mountain View.
3A
No. 14 Horizon Christian (7-2) at No. 3 Klamath Union (9-0), 6 p.m.: Klamath Union completed its first perfect regular season since the program started in 1912. The Pelicans draw upstart Horizon Christian of Tualatin, which is playing its first varsity season since 2017. The Hawks' last playoff win came in 2012.
2A
No. 13 Rainier (7-2) at No. 4 Culver (9-0), 7 p.m.: Culver's stout defense, which has recorded five shutouts, must deal with Columbians senior running back Jayden Quevido, who has rushed for 2,329 yards and 31 touchdowns. Last week, Quevido ran for 363 yards and six scores in a 50-42 win over Corbett.
1A-8
No. 11 Cove (5-4) at No. 6 North Douglas (7-2), 7 p.m.: North Douglas will try to bounce back from losing at Perrydale 52-12 for the Special District 2 title last week. Cove, which went 2-7 last year, has bounced back behind an offense that averages 46.7 points per game.
1A-6
No. 10 Eddyville Charter (4-5) at No. 7 Days Creek (6-3), 2 p.m.: The winner of the sub-round game advances to meet No. 2 seed Griswold in the quarterfinals. Days Creek, much improved after going 2-6 last year, is making its first playoff appearance since 2019.
jerryu@osaa.org
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