5 takeaways from Week 1 of Mid-Valley high school football
The high school football season began statewide this week, and there was a lot of action in the Mid-Valley.
There are eight more weeks left in the regular season, but every team wants to get off to a fast start.
Here are five key takeaways from the first week of football in the Mid-Valley.
1: North Salem cruises in opener
Senior running back Jamahl Wilson made quite a first impression for the Vikings.
In his first game since transferring to North Salem from McKay, Wilson had 12 carries for 180 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings’ 35-6 win against Roosevelt on Thursday.
“Jamahl is a stud. Our team is lucky to go from Josiah (Davis) to Jamahl in one season. He’s the best running back in the state in my opinion,” North Salem senior quarterback TC Manumaleuna said. “He’s fast, strong and quick.“
The win at home was a strong start for a North Salem team trying to reach the OSAA postseason for a third consecutive season.
The 1-0 Vikings next will host David Douglas at 7 p.m. Friday. North Salem opens Special District 1 play at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at Roseburg.
2: McKay tops Lebanon to open season
McKay held off Lebanon 31-28 to win its season opener.
Kyrin Fuimaono threw three touchdowns, and on defense had an interception for the Royal Scots.
Justice Anthony caught two touchdown passes and threw another for McKay.
The Royal Scots have now won three in a row dating to last season.
“Extremely proud of how we battled and how hard kids worked and responded to adversity,” McKay coach Brandis Piper said.
McKay (1-0) next will host Dallas (0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.
3: West Salem drops opener
West Salem fell 34-21 to Sherwood to open the season Friday.
The Titans’ tough schedule continues the next couple weeks, at Lake Oswego at 7 p.m. Friday, then at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at North Medford.
West Salem then returns home at 7 p.m. Sept. 21 against Grants Pass.
“I think our guys battled, our youth and inexperience showed at times, but we never gave up,” West Salem junior quarterback Kaden Martirano said. “We'll learn and continue to build moving forward. I have full confidence in my coaches and teammates, last night's loss will only make us stronger in the end.”
4: Sprague falls just short
Sprague dropped its season opener 40-36 to Liberty in a close one.
The Olys are in a new system with new head coach AJ Robinson, and Friday’s opener was encouraging.
Sprague next will play at Lakeridge at 7 p.m. Friday.
“I think overall we played good as a team, we had adversity that we could not control with a lot of starters out with cramps,” Sprague junior Kenya Johnson said. “Overall it was a very winnable game and gave us lots to think about and work on for next week.”
5: Silverton wins opener against Dallas
Silverton cruised past Dallas 34-7 on Friday in the season opener.
The Foxes (1-0) went 7-4 and reached the 5A state quarterfinals last season, and this is another strong start.
Silverton next will host Woodburn (0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Dallas (0-1) will try to rebound next week at McKay at 7 p.m. Friday.
Statesman Journal reporter Pete Martini covers college and high school sports. He can be reached at pmartini@StatesmanJournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Mid-Valley high school football: 5 takeaways from Week 1
