The 2025 football season has been a rough go for Sherwood, with back-to-back lopsided losses to No. 2 West Linn and No. 4 Tualatin and a wave of injuries to key players.
But with their 6A Pacific Conference winning streak on the line Friday night against unbeaten Glencoe at Hillsboro Stadium, the Bowmen (3-2) dug deep and gutted out a 12-10 victory. It was their 23rd consecutive conference win.
“We've been through a lot this first month,” Sherwood coach Mark Gribble said. “The kids believe. They knew we were coming in for a dogfight. Glencoe's a really good powerhouse football team. It was cool to see our kids like, 'OK, we're right there with you.'”
Glencoe (4-1) led 10-9 in the fourth quarter when Sherwood senior Jack Wilson intercepted a pass and returned it 53 yards to the Crimson Tide's 28-yard line. Senior Brady Kunert kicked a 29-yard field goal to put the Bowmen up 12-10 with 1:18 remaining, and the defense turned back Glencoe's final threat with two sacks.
Kunert's winning kick came after he missed a 21-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter that would have put Sherwood ahead.
“When he came off after the miss, I put my arms around him and said, 'You have to flush that. We have confidence in you,'” Gribble said. “'You've got to be the guy that wants the ball at the end of the game. We're going to put you in a spot to be back out there.'”
Sherwood finished with a 246-243 edge in total yards. Wilson had 17 carries for 105 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Jayden Wallace rushed for 97 yards on 16 carries.
Glencoe senior running back Daniel Heninger, who entered the game with a 6A-leading 1,027 rushing yards, had 29 carries for 181 yards and one touchdown. Sherwood's defense – led by the front four of seniors Andres Hernandez, Isaac Bean and Lukas Thorne and junior Levi Klostreich – was able to keep Heninger from making big plays.
“With a kid like that, you just try to mitigate what kind of damage he does,” Gribble said. “We felt like we limited the amount of success he was having. There were a couple drives when he was in a groove and we were on our heels, but our kids were resilient and kept fighting.”
Sherwood has been shorthanded for much of the season. Two of their top linemen, seniors Walter Dahme (ACL) and Hunter Wylie (broken leg), have not played in a game. Junior Mace Tingey, a starter at running back and linebacker, broke his ankle in the season opener.
If that wasn't enough, sophomore Jace Brown, who rushed for 245 yards in a win over Tigard last week, suffered a dislocated shoulder in that game and is expected to miss the rest of the season, according to Gribble.
“We're still super young,” Gribble said. “it's been a challenge to put those kids in successful situations. We're getting better. Our kids are growing up and filling roles.”
Marshfield does 180
Three years removed from winning the 4A title, Marshfield slipped to 2-7 last season as the team ripped at the seams.
“It was a brutal year. It was awful,” coach John Lemmons said. “It was a divisive atmosphere. It almost made me want to pull the plug.”
Since the end of last season, though, the Pirates have done a 180. Friday night, they rolled over Mazama 49-6 in the Special District 4 opener to improve to 5-0. They have outscored their opponents 225-72.
“The kids are really playing together selflessly and as a team,” Lemmons said. “We're seeing a lot of that cancerous stuff that we dealt with last year kind of disappear. And it's being replaced with a lot of positive team energy. It's just a real attitude shift.”
The fourth-ranked Pirates dominated Mazama with big advantages in total yards (523-191) and first downs (22-5). Senior quarterback Enoch Niblett completed 14 of 17 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score. Senior Jaden Tice rushed for 157 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. Senior Lane Olsen had eight catches for 124 yards and ran for a touchdown.
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Niblett, who shared time at quarterback last year, has matured into a team leader. He has passed for 12 touchdowns and run for eight scores.
“He's really making a great effort at doing the team thing,” Lemmons said. “He's really hitting the easy-button throws, when in the past he'd like to force the deep balls. He's really a dangerous little runner. He's not high-end fast, but just real quick.”
Olsen has emerged as a threat at slot, catching 24 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns. He also has rushed for five scores.
The offensive line has come together behind senior center Bryson Harvey, a third-year starter, and senior left tackle Jamison Batdorff. Senior middle linebacker Kaleb Fox, first-team all-league in 2024, leads the team in tackles. Junior defensive tackle Skylar Folau (6-5, 265) is a force up front, often drawing double teams.
But most important, the Pirates are playing together. Lemmons said the improving chemistry was apparent in the offseason.
“A lot of us coaches in the summer, we just said, 'You can just feel it,'” Lemmons said. “We couldn't get out of the locker room last year without kids bickering or fighting or tearing each other down. And this year, it's just totally opposite.”
Marshfield has yet to play a team ranked in the top 10 of the OSAAtoday 4A coaches poll. On Oct. 24, the Pirates will visit No. 6 Henley (2-2) in a key SD4 game.
“I'm not 100 percent convinced we've really been battle-tested against a quality team,” Lemmons said.
Healthy Bandon thriving
Finally healthy, Bandon has made a dramatic rise in 2A, improving to 5-0 with Friday's 50-26 win at Glide in a Special District 4 showdown.
The Tigers were decimated by injuries in 2024, losing their final five games after a 3-1 start. During that stretch, they started four freshmen.
“We had a talented team last year. We just hit the injury bug and it never stopped for us,” coach Dustin Carmack said. “It was a trying season. I've been coaching football for 14 years and I've never had anything like it.
“We saw this year coming, especially with my group of seniors. They have a long history of performing well.”
Bandon, No. 4 in the OSAAtoday 2A coaches poll, outscored its first four opponents 195-19 heading into Friday's district opener at No. 10 Glide (4-1). The Tigers raced to a 29-6 lead and punted only once in the game.
Senior Hayden Thompson returned a kickoff for a touchdown and rushed for 151 yards and one score on 22 carries. Senior quarterback Reggie Turner had 13 carries for 110 yards and four touchdowns and senior Cody Robison had 13 carries for 137 yards for the Tigers, who amassed 452 rushing yards.
“I would say it was domination from start to finish,” Carmack said.
Last season, Thompson and junior receiver Brannan Jones did not play due to injury and Turner missed all of the district games after suffering a concussion. Senior lineman Adrian Gonzalez (6-1, 305) and junior receiver Cadan Johnston also missed the last five games.
Bandon's option offense thrives behind a line that features Gonzalez, senior Juan Sabin (5-7, 285) and senior Shane McGuire-Korp (6-3, 220), a third-year starter. Turner is the trigger.
“This year he's got weapons all over the place, so he doesn't have to run as much, which is definitely nice,” Carmack said.
Thompson is the team's leading rusher. He has run for more than 600 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“He's fast and super shifty,” Carmack said. “Cuts very well. Able to put one foot in the ground and go.”
Thompson, Turner and Robison lead the defense at linebacker. Sabin plugs up the middle at nose guard.
Bandon must navigate a difficult district schedule that includes No. 9 Myrtle Point (4-1), Gold Beach (4-2) and No. 5 Oakland (2-2).
“Our league is an absolute gauntlet,” Carmack said.
Sweet Home breakthrough
No. 10 Sweet Home announced its arrival as a contender in 4A Special District 3 with a 27-20 homecoming win over No. 8 Marist Catholic on Friday night.
The Huskies have come a long way since 2023, when they finished 0-9 and scored 53 points for the entire season. At 5-0, they have their most wins since they went 6-3 in 2018.
Defeating the reigning state champion Spartans (1-4) made it extra special. Since 2018, Sweet Home had lost all seven games against Marist Catholic by an average margin of 33.6 points. That included 56-6 and 49-7 losses the last two years.
“This one had a little more to it, for sure,” Huskies coach Ryan Adams said. “We felt like it was a huge opportunity for us to demonstrate to everybody else that we're kind of building something. Hopefully, we're someone that can contend as the season continues.”
Sweet Home led 20-7 at half but Marist Catholic pulled even at 20-20 early in the fourth quarter. The Huskies got the go-ahead score when senior Dillan Davis turned a short pass from junior Kyle Zajic into a 69-yard touchdown, giving them a 27-20 edge with 2:44 remaining.
The Spartans drove to the Sweet Home 3-yard line, but on second-and-goal, linebacker Luke Rosa forced a fumble and senior linebacker Trenton Templin recovered. The Huskies got one first down to run out the last 1:11.
Zajic completed 11 of 18 passes for 179 yards and four touchdowns, three to Davis, who had seven catches for 106 yards. The other score went to senior Bode Nichols.
Rosa had a team-high 15 tackles to go with his forced fumble. Zajic and Davis had interceptions on defense.
Returning eight starters on each side of the ball from a team that finished 4-5, Sweet Home had high expectations entering the season.
“But we understood it was just kind of our room thinking that, based on the last few years,” Adams said. “They're just seeing the fruits of their labor right now.”
Last year, the Huskies started 3-0 but stumbled in the second half of the season.
“It's been a lot of years since we've had a consistent winning culture,” said Adams, a 2015 Sweet Home graduate. “They got a little taste of it at the beginning of last year, and got a taste of what it means to have to continue that. That learned that lesson pretty well.”
Beaverton's star
Opposing defenses don't seem to have much of an answer for Beaverton senior receiver Oliver Luebkert this season.
The 6-2, 195-pound Luebkert, who has committed to Eastern Washington, had another highly productive game Friday as the Beavers (4-1) rolled over visiting Southridge 40-14 in the 6A Metro League opener for both teams.
Luebkert had 11 catches for 163 yards and three touchdowns against the Skyhawks (1-4). For the season, he leads 6A in receptions (53), receiving yards (858) and touchdown catches (14).
Why is Luebkert so hard to stop? According to coach James Testa, it's his ability to create separation and understand how to run routes against different types of coverages.
“On top of that, he has fantastic ball skills,” Testa said. “I trust him when the ball's up in the air and it's a 50-50 shot. When we've got Ollie down there, it's a good thing to have.'
Luebkert and senior quarterback Spencer York – both third-year starters -- have excellent chemistry.
“They have that connection as a classic wide receiver-quarterback duo,” Testa said. “They just kind of figure it out.”
York has a good feel for when to push the ball down the field to Luebkert. But he also knows that a short pass to Luebkert can turn into a big gain.
“Oliver is real physical and he uses it really well,” Testa said. “He can take a hitch or a slant and add 10 to 15 yards to it.”
As the season progresses, defenses are committing more defenders to Luebkert. Testa, the defensive coordinator at Metro rival Mountainside the last two seasons before taking over at Beaverton this year, is familiar with the challenge of defending Luebkert.
“It's cool to see this side of it,” Testa said. “He's one of the more pure wide receivers I've been fortunate enough to spend time with at the high school level.”
Unbeatens clash
Week 5 featured five games between teams with perfect records.
In the 6A Three Rivers League, No. 1 Lake Oswego pulled away to defeat No. 4 Tualatin 45-24. Senior LaMarcus Bell rushed for 248 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries to lead the visiting Lakers.
No. 5 Willamette went on the road to beat No. 8 West Salem 19-10 in 6A Special District 1. Sophomore quarterback Zeke Thomas threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to junior Kawai Chamberlin early in the fourth quarter to give Willamette its nine-point cushion.
Summit, ranked No. 1 in 5A, improved to 6-0 by dispatching No. 8 Ridgeview 35-14 in an Intermountain Conference game. Senior Max Shepherd had 11 carries for 118 yards and three touchdowns for the host Storm.
No. 1 Banks extended its regular-season winning streak to 38 with a 41-20 road victory over No. 6 Gervais in 3A Special District 1. Junior Nate Lyda passed for two touchdowns and ran for two scores, including an 88-yard burst.
No. 4 Bandon cruised 50-26 at No. 10 Glide in the 2A Special District 4 opener for both teams.
The losers of those games were among 10 teams suffering their first defeats in Week 5. The others were Glencoe, Lincoln, Stayton, Culver and Harrisburg.
That leaves 25 undefeated teams heading into Week 6.
jerryu@osaa.org
Subscribe
