The last time St. Paul appeared in the 2A football playoffs, it ended with a heartbreaking one-point semifinal loss to Santiam in 2017.
Friday, after a six-year run in 1A-8 that included three state runner-up finishes, the Buckaroos returned to the 2A postseason with a bang.
No. 5 seed St. Paul stayed unbeaten with a 43-0 first-round win over No. 12 Salem Academy at the St. Paul Rodeo Grounds. The Buckaroos (10-0) led 37-0 at half and finished with a 437-118 edge in total yards.
St. Paul will play at No. 4 Culver (10-0) in a battle of unbeaten teams in the quarterfinals. With a win, the Buckaroos would make the semifinals for the seventh consecutive postseason.
St. Paul has won six state championships, but none since 2010. The Buckaroos have one of their best teams this season, but the 2A bracket is loaded with potential contenders.
“There's a bunch of really good teams,” St. Paul coach Tony Smith said. “On our side of the bracket in the quarterfinals, I think all four teams are good enough to win it. I don't think that's always the case. The competition is really good.”
In Friday's game, senior Clay Smith rushed for 112 yards on 16 carries and scored a 90-yard touchdown on a screen pass. Junior Branson Cook had seven carries for 164 yards and two scores. Sophomore Bricen Britten and senior Diego Medina also had touchdown runs.
It was the fourth consecutive shutout for the Buckaroos.
“We're doing a great job defensively with our guys up front and our ability to stop the run,” Tony Smith said. “We're not giving up big plays.”
Medina returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown in the second half and sophomore Wyatt Smith had two interceptions. Wyatt Smith and his brother, Clay, have been stellar at linebacker.
“Wyatt is very good now, and he's going to be really good,” Tony Smith said.
St. Paul's has taken steps as the season has progressed as it evolves in the nine-man game.
“The transition from eight to nine, you wouldn't think it's a big deal, but there is stuff we're able to do offensively and defensively that we couldn't do in eight-man,” Tony Smith said. “I think we've gotten a lot better with it. We've got stuff ironed out with run-block schemes.”
Salem Academy (5-5), which also lost at St. Paul 48-12 on Sept. 27, made its first playoff appearance since finishing as 3A runner-up in 2016. The Crusaders have a young roster that includes promising freshman quarterback Taiki Kawamura, who struggled Friday with the muddy conditions.
“They are really going to be dynamic,” Tony Smith said of the Crusaders.
--Jeremy McDonald contributed to this report
Hart-McNally sparks West Albany
The improved health of senior running back Tyler Hart-McNally has helped West Albany's offense shift into another gear late in the season.
Hart-McNally rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries and caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from senior Kaden Martirano as the No. 6-seeded Bulldogs (8-2) rolled over No. 11 Hillsboro 41-6 in a 5A first-round game Friday.
A fourth-year varsity player, Hart-McNally suffered a season-ending knee injury early in his junior year and underwent surgery. He has gradually regained his form this season, rushing for 1,062 yards.
“Tyler is playing with a lot more confidence now,” West Albany coach Brian Mehl said. “He kind of started slow this year, just trusting that knee. Now we're starting to see that Tyler that we've always known.”
The 5-9, 175-pound Hart-McNally has superior elusiveness and instincts.
“He's a football player,” Mehl said. “Tyler with the ball in his hands, it's always like, watch out. When he gets into space, he just does a remarkable job of being able to make the first guy miss. He's able to finish off runs this year like he used to.”
West Albany's offensive line – which features junior left tackle Zaide Mars, senior left guard Ashton Wusstig and sophomore center Zakk Hopkins – has gelled in the second half of the season.
“They have a great understanding of what we're doing,” Mehl said. “We're starting to see the whole thing kind of evolve.”
The Bulldogs started the season 2-2 – losing to Bend 23-14 and Silverton 44-34 – but have reeled off six consecutive wins. The streak includes a 34-20 home win over No. 3 Dallas (9-1) in a game that ultimately decided the Special District 3 title. West Albany will play at Dallas in the quarterfinals.
“It's a common opponent, so we know there's a level of comfort there,” Mehl said. “But we know it's going to be a difficult challenge. … There's still some meat on the bone in what we're doing. We feel like we can still play our best ball. That hasn't quite been done yet, but we're definitely on the right track.”
'Rag-tag' Buckaroos
No. 7 Pendleton/Nixyaawii got some payback for last year's first-round loss at Mazama with a 41-0 win in a 4A first-round game Friday. Unlike last year, when Mazama won 24-6 at home, this time, it was the No. 10 Vikings making the 750-mile round trip.
“They had to make that trip all the way up to us,” Pendleton coach Erik Davis said.
The Buckaroos (7-3) advance to the quarterfinals to play No. 2 Cascade (9-1).
“We didn't expect to be in the quarterfinals at the beginning of the season,” Davis said. “We were pretty young, pretty underdeveloped. It's kind of a rag-tag group of kids that came together.
“I think it culminated Friday night. I really saw a different fire, a different team vibe. The kids don't want to be done. They're not ready to go to the basketball gym or wrestling room.”
Running back Tugg McQuinn continued his outstanding junior season by rushing for 171 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries. For the year, he has rushed for 1,463 yards and a 4A-leading 23 touchdowns.
“He's very special,” Davis said of the 5-10, 165-pound McQuinn. “It's his vision and his lateral movement in the hole. He doesn't lose speed in his cuts, and he's got breakaway speed at the end.”
The Buckaroos have found different ways to utilize McQuinn's skills. When Crook County shut down Pendleton's running game, McQuinn had 189 receiving yards.
“You could put him anywhere,” Davis said. “We call him Clark Kent. He walks around school with horn-rimmed glasses. He's pretty unassuming. He puts that gear on, and he's pretty special.”
Pendleton's defense, which entered Friday's game allowing 39.3 points per game, played its best game of the season against Mazama (5-5). Junior outside linebacker Vance Nelson had a team-high 10 tackles and an interception. Junior defensive end Aidan Perkins had eight tackles. Senior Kaden Moore had an interception.
Mazama played without star running back Kris Baldwin, who has a torn ACL.
Here comes Dufur
The last two seasons were an anomaly at Dufur, where the Rangers posted back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 10-time state champion coach Jack Henderson took over in 1987 and 1988.
In fact, last year's 2-7 record was Henderson's worst since he went 1-8 in 1988.
“Frankly, last year felt like one of the early years when I was first here,” Henderson said. “At the end of the season, we talked a lot about how quickly we could turn it around. I really felt this year we'd go from 2-7 to 7-2, and we did one better.”
After finishing the regular season 8-1, Dufur posted its first playoff win in three years Saturday, handling Powder Valley 62-14 in a 1A-8 first-round game. The sixth-seeded Rangers (9-1) will play No. 3 North Douglas (9-0) in a quarterfinal Saturday.
“We're where we want to be at this time of the year,” Henderson said. “We've really developed at every position. It's always our goal to play in late November, and here we are. We're just excited to keep going. It's been an exciting fall in Dufur.”
The addition of senior running back Nolan Cates, a transfer from 4A The Dalles, has provided a jolt for the offense. He has rushed for 1,523 yards and 23 touchdowns, averaging 16.2 yards per carry, and has 22 catches for 692 yards and 10 scores.
Cates showed his versatility in Saturday's win, rushing for 198 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries and catching four passes for 111 yards and two scores.
“He's a huge part of our success this season,” Henderson said. “I think it took him a while to get his feet under him, just in terms of the eight-man game, and how much different it was from what he was doing at his former school. But he's certainly found his footing.
“He's a load for anybody. He's a threat to go the distance on any play. We're just way more explosive this year than we were a year ago.”
Sophomore quarterback Gavin Anderson has added about 30 pounds after playing last season as a 130-pound freshman. Anderson also was in a zone Saturday, completing 9 of 14 passes for 222 yards and four touchdowns, two to Cates and two to senior Sonny Wilson.
Henderson credits the team's commitment in the offseason with the dramatic improvement, along with picking up three transfers from The Dalles in Cates, freshman cornerback Bryson Cates and junior defensive tackle Austin Kuehnl.
