HILLSBORO – For Wilsonville to repeat as 5A football champion this season, the Wildcats had to find the replacement for star quarterback Kallen Gutridge.
It turns out, they had the perfect answer.
Mark Wiepert, an all-state receiver who switched to quarterback, punctuated a brilliant senior season with a tour-de-force performance Friday in leading No. 5 Wilsonville to a 56-35 win over No. 2 Mountain View in the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 5A final at Hillsboro Stadium.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Wiepert completed 17 of 26 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns and had 18 carries for 169 yards and five scores as the Wildcats (11-2) defeated the Cougars (12-1) in the final for the second year in a row. He accounted for eight touchdowns, the most ever in an 11-man final in Oregon.
“It's really cool to see it all play out,” Wiepert said. “You love to peak at the right time. I'm super proud of my team. I just filled my role. … I just got to fall into that position this year. I had big shoes to fill, but I just had so much fun doing it.”
For the season, Wiepert passed for 3,805 yards and 51 touchdowns and rushed for 700 yards and 12 scores. The touchdown pass total ranks him No. 5 on the state's all-time single-season list, which is topped by two other Wilsonville quarterbacks, Nathan Overholt (59 in 2018) and Gutridge (57 in 2023).
“He's the best football player in the state of Oregon, hands down, I don't care what anybody says,” Wildcats coach Adam Guenther said of Wiepert, an Oregon State baseball commit as a catcher. “I'm very thankful he's got the 'W' on the side of his helmet. I'm glad we don't have to play him. He can do what he wants to do.”
Mountain View coach Brian Crum said that Wiepert is a “one-man show sometimes.”
“He is on another level, just the size and athletic ability,” Crum said. “He's an incredibly intelligent kid, too, to be able to make the plays that he does. … He's a kid that probably should be playing Division I football.”
Wiepert staked Wilsonville to a 28-7 lead in the second quarter with touchdown runs of four and nine yards and scoring passes of 39 yards to junior Keona Tam and 45 yards to senior Nick Crowley. He ran for a 46-yard touchdown to make it 35-14.
By halftime, Wilsonville had outgained Mountain View 409-136 and Wiepert had passed for 231 yards and rushed for 143 yards.
Leading 35-21 at half, the Wildcats put the game away with three touchdowns in the third quarter. Wiepert ran for a one-yard touchdown, threw a 24-yard scoring pass to Crowley and added a 10-yard touchdown run. That extended the lead to 56-21, triggering a running clock with 6:23 left in the third quarter.
Crowley had another outstanding game with five catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns and an interception on defense. He ended the season with 80 catches for 1,515 yards and 26 scores. His rapport with Wiepert was at the center of the team's success.
“It was all timing,” Crowley said. “He's been amazing from the start. He's just an athlete who does his thing. His growth is amazing. He's the hardest worker I've ever seen in my life, so that's what happens.”
Wilsonville senior tight end Emmitt Fee said Wiepert grew “a tremendous amount” as a quarterback.
“It all started with just reps,” Fee said. “Once he got the most reps, he was dialed. He's insane. He makes tons of plays, makes a lot of stuff happen for us.”
Wiepert, who also had a 37-yard punt return, accounted for 477 yards. Junior Roman Kealoha rushed for 43 yards on 10 carries and caught seven passes for 63 yards for Wilsonville, which owned a 478-232 advantage in total yards.
Wilsonville played in its third consecutive final. The Wildcats lost to Summit in 2022 before beating Mountain View in 2023, their first title since 2004. Despite heavy graduation losses, they relied on their common faith to pull them through this season, according to Crowley.
“Faith brings belief and hope,” Crowley said. “We never lacked confidence for a second that we could do it.”
Mountain View, going for its first title since 2011, was looking to make up for losing to Wilsonville 29-23 in last year's final. But the Cougars gave up the first two touchdowns and had to play from behind all game. Crum said his team struggled to match up with the Wildcats' athleticism and size.
“There's no doubt they're the best team in 5A,” Crum said. “We hadn't played a team this year that's that fast and that physical. So it took us a little while to settle in.”
The Cougars had their moments. Senior receiver Jack Foley, a Washington State commit, returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Cougars senior Mason Chambers completed 13 of 24 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns, two to senior Brady Kennedy and one to senior Jordan Best (five catches, 109 yards).
Mountain View just didn't have an answer for Wiepert.
“He can do whatever he wants, and you just can't tackle him,” Crum said. “He's that fast and that strong. It makes it tough on a defense to decide what you want to do.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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