Silverton Wins the Trophy That Matters Most in Capturing Oregon Class 5A State Title

Foxes topple No. 1 seed Summit 24-14 to win first championship since 2021

The Silverton football team celebrates after its 24-14 victory over Summit to win the Class 5A state championship Friday night. / René Ferrán

Six weeks ago, the Silverton football team lost in the final seconds to Lebanon in a game that decided the Mid-Willamette Conference title.

That was then.

On Friday night, as Foxes coach Dan Lever held the blue trophy following his team’s 24-14 victory over top seed Summit in the OSAA Class 5A state championship game at Hillsboro Stadium, his message to his players was simple.

The Warriors could have the MWC trophy. The one in his hands was the bigger prize.

“We used that loss as motivation,” Lever said. “That was our ‘Remember the Alamo’ moment. And I think without that, we’re probably not here.”

Silverton (12-1) won its first state championship since 2021 by handing the Storm (12-1) their first loss of the season in their first appearance in a state final since winning the 2022 title.

“It’s unreal, man, crazily unreal,” said Foxes senior Logan Uitto, who caught six passes for 52 yards and ran for a touchdown. “I’ve played my whole life here for Silverton football, and now, going out on a note like this, with my brothers, my family, it just feels so good.”

Here are three takeaways from Friday’s 5A championship game:

Foxes overcome fourth-down hiccups to take control

Twice in the first quarter, Silverton reached the red zone, only for Summit to come up with fourth-down stops.

The first came on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, with Lever steaming down the sideline, trying to call timeout but unheard over the din as a pass fell incomplete in the back of the end zone.

Then, Silverton reached midfield early in the second quarter but was stopped  again on fourth-and-1, and Summit took advantage on its first play following a media timeout as Jude Anderson ran 49 yards for the first of his two touchdowns.

But after giving up that score, the Foxes forced punts on four of Summit’s next five possessions — one ending with halftime and three resulting in three-and-outs — as they built a 21-7 lead, holding the Storm to 283 total yards and owning a 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession.

“I  was pretty frustrated getting turned away in the red zone a few times,” Lever said. “But our defense has really been great for us all season.”

Dominguez comes up big in final game as Foxes quarterback

The Foxes had to overcome several key injuries to capture the third state title in program history.

They lost sophomore running back Keysean Davis, who’d been counted upon to be the starter coming into the season, in Week 4. Junior safety Lincoln Teeney, the MWC defensive player of the year, broke his foot at practice the Monday before their quarterfinal win over Wilsonville.

They also lost senior quarterback Chase Dominguez to a shoulder injury early in their Week 5 game. The transfer from McKay of Salem missed two games, including the Lebanon loss, but looked good in directing the offense Friday, going 21-of-27 for 239 yards and two touchdowns.

“I mean, he’s a dog,” Uitto said. “I’ve known him since middle school, and he knows a lot of us; that’s  why he came here to Silverton. He’s an absolute dog. He’s quiet, keeps his mouth shut, but he plays bold. That’s how he talks. I love that guy.”

Failed onside kick allows Silverton to get game-sealing field goal

Despite all of Summit’s struggles offensively, its defense kept the team in the game. Besides the three first-half stops on fourth down that kept the Foxes to just a 14-7 halftime lead, the Storm also forced two punts and got another fourth-down stop in the first 13 minutes of the second half.

However, after a third consecutive three-and-out by the Storm, their defense finally yielded as Silverton went on a 13-play, 64-yard drive that ate up over six minutes off the clock before Uitto scooped up a botched snap in the wildcat and skittered around left end for a 4-yard touchdown with 4:40 to play.

Summit answered with a quick-strike drive, going 74 yards in five plays before Anderson ran 17 yards off left tackle to close the gap to 21-14 with 3:59 left.

That’s when Storm coach Corben Hyatt rolled the dice, calling for an onside kick. He overloaded the left side of the formation, then had Max Shepherd bounce the kick toward the right side.

However, Foxes junior Michael Orton jumped the play, snatching the ball and rumbling 22 yards to the Storm 21.

Summit forced a 34-yard field goal try, but holder Nolan Horner executed a successful fake to convert a first down. Although the Storm eventually forced Silverton to settle for a 25-yard Caden Druliner field goal, the Foxes drained another 55 seconds off the clock while Hyatt exhausted his supply of timeouts.

Summit’s last-gasp drive ended after earning one first down as Ryder VanDeweghe harassed quarterback Andrew Guthrie into a hurried throw on fourth down that fell well short of his target.

Afterward, Hyatt said he had no regrets about his decision.

“We had been working on that play the last two weeks, and it just didn’t happen,” he said. “It was set up perfect; as soon as we shifted, and they shifted over, I thought we had it, but the ball just didn’t go past that guy.

“But you know, we knew we were going to have to stop them anyhow. We could have played field position, but you gotta win a game. You can’t just hope that it’s gonna fall into your lap. I’m just proud of those guys to give us a chance, but we lost to a really good team.”