Eugene-area football: Takeaways from first round of OSAA playoffs
The first round of the OSAA high school football playoffs saw a few strong wins and a couple tough losses.
Here's how Eugene-area teams did on Friday night.
Noah Blair throws 4 TD passes, leads Thurston to first round victory
A little rain didn't stop No. 8 Thurston from cruising to a 37-24 win over No. 9 Dallas in the first round of the 5A state playoffs at Willamette High School on Friday.
Thurston will next play at No. 1 Wilsonville in the quarterfinals next week.
Junior quarterback Noah Blair threw four touchdown passes and rushed for one. He completed 18 of 27 passes for 346 total offensive yards.
Senior Walker Bonar caught two of Blair's touchdown passes, including his first of the night which was a 98-yard TD reception. Senior Luke Newell and sophomore Matt Newell each caught TD passes.
Thurston and Dallas got off to a slow start, tied 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Blair connected with Bonar on a 14-yard touchdown pass, extending Thurston's lead to 21-10 at halftime.
The Colts put the game out of reach for the Dragons after Blair rushed a 1-yard touchdown followed by a 4-yard TD pass to Matt Newell with 4:39 left in the game.
"We were up against a great team, and they (Dallas) were competitive," Blair said. "But our team was ready."
Noah Zanotto's 34-yard field goal added to the Colt's offensive efforts.
"I'm glad we won because I want to get back at Wilsonville," Luke Newell said of the Millers' Week 1 44-15 loss to the Wildcats. "That first game of the season wasn't us, we're a different team now. I wasn't playing defense in that first game, but my eyes have been on them this entire time."
Bonar, who was out with a collarbone injury in that game, said as a team they will need to clean up penalties and polish their run game in order for them to defeat Wilsonville.
"Clearly we weren't able to run the ball when we needed to burn out the clock," Bonar said.
Marist advances to quarterfinals after routing Crook County
Marist defeated Crook County 42-14 in the first round of the 4A state playoffs at Marist High School.
No. 2 Marist hosts No. 7 Mazama in the quarterfinals on Friday. Time is to be determined.
Lowell defeats Clatskanie
No. 3 Lowell defeated No. 14 Clatskanie, 48-12, in the first round of the 2A state playoffs at home.
Lowell hosts No. 6 Gold Beach in the quarterfinals on Friday. Time is to be determined.
Springfield loses heartbreaker to Lebanon
Undone by a three-minute stretch to open the second half, No. 4 Springfield saw its 13-0 halftime lead erased and couldn’t get any offense going in the second half in a 14-13 loss in the first round of the Class 5A OSAA state playoffs to No. 13 Lebanon Friday night at Silke Field.
The Millers were seemingly in command at the halftime break, with Clay Rhoades bursting into the endzone to open scoring in the second quarter, and tailback Connor Dye taking a swing pass from Zack Sherman 20 yards with seconds remaining in the half to take a two-score lead into the recess.
But a poor defensive series, a costly fumble, and a big Lebanon play to open the second half gave the Warriors a lead they would never relinquish throughout the rest of the game.
Sheldon, Elmira exits first round of state playoffs
Sheldon dropped a 13-10 loss to Lakeridge in the first round of the 6A state championship bracket at Lakeridge High School.
Sheldon senior quarterback Colby Parosa rushed for a touchdown, while the Irish's special teams added a field goal.
A touchdown late in the game followed by an interception sealed the win for No. 5 Lakeridge.
Elmira dropped a 26-21 loss to North Valley in the first round of the 3A state playoffs at North Valley High School.
Edith Noriega is a sports reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at ENoriega@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Noriega_Edith.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Thurston, Marist football advance as Sheldon loses in OSAA playoffs
