Oregon High School Football Week 3: Who's Up, Who's Down

Week 3 of the Oregon high school football season is in the books, and there were notable results around the state — none bigger than Lake Oswego getting win No. 300 in longtime coach Steve Coury’s career, taking control midway through the second quarter en route to a 51-16 victory.

But that wasn’t the only game that changed a team’s outlook around the state.

So, who saw their fortunes rise as everyone hit the one-third mark in the regular season? And who will be looking to rebound as some hit their bye weeks ready to hit the reset button?

Three Up

Lakeridge

The Pacers are the No. 13 team in the latest High School On SI Oregon Top 25 rankings and head into their bye having won three in a row following an opening loss to North Medford in which they committed seven turnovers.

Their latest win came against Mountainside, which was on the verge of returning to the rankings after winning two in a row. The Mavericks rallied from a 13-point deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead Friday, but Lakeridge answered with back-to-back scores — the first a 71-yard touchdown pass from Carson Pickens to sophomore Jagger Salazar, the grandson of track legend Alberto Salazar — to pull out a 34-22 victory.

“I’m really proud of how hard our team is playing,” Lakeridge coach Spencer Phillips said of a team that starts underclassmen at 16 of 22 positions. “We are so young, and they are doing a tremendous job.”

Sweet Home

The Huskies got sweet revenge for last year’s loss to Junction City that spoiled their 5-0 start, rolling to a 42-7 victory behind three touchdown runs from Sam Barringer and another solid performance from senior QB Kyle Zajic, who threw for two scores and ran for another.

“We knew we didn’t play our best football last year against them, and we really wanted to start league play off well,” said Sweet Home coach Ryan Adams, whose team last won a league title in 2014, when it shared the crown with Junction City. “The kids were focused all week and determined to take care of business.”

Culver

Not only are the Bulldogs 3-0, but they have yet to give up a point through three weeks following their 68-0 victory over Gaston. Culver opened the year with a 48-0 win at Weston-McEwen, then returned home the past two weeks, beating Grant Union 38-0 before trouncing the Greyhounds.

Three Down

Churchill

The Lancers knew this year would be a challenge after graduating 10 all-Midwestern League players off a team that reached the 5A semifinals. Still, I don’t think veteran coach Layne Coffin anticipated his team would be 0-3 following a 34-16 loss to rival Thurston in which the Colts matching Churshill’s smashmouth style of play while getting a solid performance from senior QB Emmit Distefano (15-for-17, 196 yards, three TDs).

The Lancers’ next two games are on the road at North Eugene and Springfield, and there’s still time to turn the season around and snag one of the MWL’s two automatic playoff berths or an at-large spot in the 16-team field.

Beaverton

The Beavers reached the Columbia Cup semifinals a year ago as Oliver Luebkert broke several state receiving records. Now, Luebkert is catching passes at Eastern Washington, and his quarterback, Spencer York, is at Southern Oregon. And with them gone, the Beavers have started this season 0-4 — one of only three teams with that record at this point in the season.

Their bye week comes at a perfect time to regroup before kicking off Metro League play Oct. 2 against Sunset.

Yamhill-Carlton

The Tigers joined a rising trend around the state of teams canceling games due to not having enough players available to field a team, scrapping their home game against Sisters. Y-C had not scored a point in its first two games. South Eugene, Stanfield, Irrigon, and Blanchet Catholic are among the programs to cancel or curtail their varsity programs for similar reasons this fall.

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.

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