Oregon High School Football Week 7: Who's Up, Who's Down

Week 7 of the Oregon high school football season is in the books, with plenty of great plays and miracle finishes around the state.

So, who saw their fortunes rise as we hit the homestretch, with only two weeks remaining in the regular season? And who will seek to rebound in the little time that’s left before the postseason arrives?

Three Up

Century

Things looked bleak for the Jaguars when Glencoe’s Titus Duhon scored on a 7-yard reverse with 1:31 remaining to give the Crimson Tide a 19-12 lead in the intracity rivalry game.

Then, Ryder Owens turned a swing pass in the left pass into a 70-yard touchdown, but when Century went for two, a bobbled snap led to a failed conversion. No problem — Seamus Holmes recovered the onside kick, and Danny Maldonado completed the comeback with a 57-yard hookup with Cam Jorgensen with 26 seconds left for a 24-19 victory.

The Jaguars, who were 3-6 a year ago, have now won five in a row and will play for the first Pacific Conference title in program history in two weeks against Sherwood.

“We were feeling the energy,” said Holmes, who had seven tackles (three for loss). “We felt the pressure. And pressure makes diamonds, baby.” 

Dallas

Injuries depleted the Dragons defense two weeks ago when they faced West Albany, and they faltered in the second half as they suffered their first loss of the season.

They were back to full strength as they faced Silverton, and their defense came up big time and again as the defending 5A champion, holding the Foxes to 146 total yards and stopping them on the doorstep in the closing seconds, forcing a field-goal attempt that Aidan Galusha blocked to seal a 17-14 victory — their first over Silverton since 2016.

“Our kids were just focused and didn’t talk about Silverton all week,” Dallas coach Andy Jackson said. “It was all about us. We played loose and fast all night.”

Sutherlin

The Bulldogs clinched a share of their first league championship since 2018 with a 34-22 road win over two-time defending Far West League champion Siuslaw. Brody Abney ran for 96 yards and two touchdowns for Sutherlin, including the clinching score from 5 yards with 1:22 remaining to cap a five-minute drive after Siuslaw closed to within 27-22 on Caleb Gray’s 70-yard touchdown run. 

Three Down

Marist Catholic

The week started with the Spartans firing coach Zach Loboy following a 63-0 win over Cottage Grove during which he called for an onside kick with his team leading 57-0 with 1:47 remaining in the first half — the game ended at halftime by mutual agreement of the athletic directors.

It ended with Marist Catholic losing 41-40 in overtime to North Bend after a sequence of events that saw Bulldogs RB Parker Pruett wrapped up for a loss on the first play of their possession, only to land on top of the Marist defender, roll over him, then pop up and sprint for a 25-yard touchdown. 

The Spartans were flagged for offside on the PAT kick, and the Bulldogs decided to go for two. After another offside penalty, Pruett powered his way into the end zone to give North Bend the victory and drop the Spartans below .500 to 3-4 and 2-2 in league play.

Bandon

Last year was a magical run for the Tigers, who won 10 games and reached the 2A semifinals for the first time since 2004 with a senior-driven team. This season, the fall has been steep. After an opening win over Waldport, they’ve dropped six in a row, the latest a 32-22 loss to Illinois Valley, to mark their longest losing streak since they lost their last six to end the 2016 season.

Union

Speaking of teams that made historic runs now coming to earth, the Bobcats made their first 1A eight-man semifinal appearance since 1986 last season. Their 36-24 quarterfinal win over Imbler is their last victory, as they’ve started this season 0-7, with their latest defeat a 40-12 loss to Powder Valley. Among their losses this year was a 92-6 loss to Adrian in a rematch of their semifinal and a 34-30 loss to Pine Eagle in their closest game so far.

Who rises and falls next? High School On SI will return each week with Three Up, Three Down from around the Oregon high school football scene.