Takeaways from Week 4 of Eugene-area high school football
SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Millers football team (4-0, 2-0 Special District 2) steamrolled their way to a 35-0 league victory over the South Eugene Axe (2-2, 1-1 SD2) on Friday night.
The Millers used a complete team effort in their win, which was led by Connor Dye who rushed for two touchdowns. Isaiah Navarrete and Clay Rhoades each rushed a touchdown and Lukas Babbitt caught a 40-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
"The bright spot was definitely defense," Springfield head coach Frank Geske said. "We're not anywhere close to a finished product yet, but we are getting better every single time we step on the field. If anything we got to work on, it's not much, I mean we work on pass equally. We work on everything 50/50 during the course of a practice, but I would say our passing."
Springfield got off to a shaky start after the Millers fumbled the ball out of the endzone, which the Axe recovered.
The Millers made up for it on a 5-yard touchdown from Navarrete with 52 seconds left in the first quarter.
Springfield led South Eugene 28-0 at halftime. Babbitt, Rhoades and Dye all contributed TDs in the first half.
Millers' back-up quarterback Zack Sherman had a two-point conversion after Babbitt's TD.
"I feel like I'm way comfortable now," Sherman said. "After good practices it always feels good after a win like that with the team."
The Axe, on the other hand, struggled getting their offense within scoring position while all of their kick returns throughout the game were within the red zone.
Dye completed the Millers scoring efforts when he rushed a 20-yard TD in the third quarter.
Springfield hosts crosstown rival Thurston (2-2, 2-0 SD2) at 7 p.m. Friday.
"I've been a part of a few rivalries before at other schools, but this is a different deal," Geske said. "I heard there's a little bit of true venom being split between these two schools."
Thurston dominates Crater in 64-21 win
Noah Blair completed 24 of 34 pass attempts for 331 yards and four touchdowns. Ethan Burkhead and Ashden Weiler each rushed for a TD. David Macdonald caught a 21-yard TD pass and Lombel Doreen caught a 27-yard TD pass. Thurston (2-2, 2-0 Special District 2) will play a league game at Springfield (4-0, 2-0 SD2) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Sheldon gets second win of the season
Sheldon erupted for a 49-6 league win over McNary at home for its second win of the season. Sheldon (2-2, 2-0 Special District 1) hosts Roseburg (1-3, 0-2 SD1) in a league game at 7 p.m. Friday.
Marist downs Stayton
Nick Hudson completed 19 of 24 pass attempts for 292 yards and six TD passes in the Spartans 38-0 win over Stayton. Brady Bidwell had three touchdown receptions, Aaron Bidwell had two and Kaden Erlenbush had one. The Spartans had three interceptions on defense. Marist (3-1, 1-0 Special District 3) will play a league game at Sweet Home (0-4, 0-2 SD3) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Churchill tops Willamette
Willamette rushed for 150 total yards in its 40-14 loss to Churchill. Churchill (1-3, 1-1 Special District 2) hosts South Eugene (2-2, 1-1 SD2) at 7 p.m. Friday. Willamette (0-4, 0-2 SD2) will take on Eagle Point (2-2, 2-0 SD2) at home at 7 p.m. Friday.
North Eugene falls to Eagle Point
Grady Kik-Down caught a 70-yard touchdown pass as the Highlanders lost a league game to Eagle Point 46-14. North Eugene (1-3, 0-2 Special District 2) hosts Crater (0-4, 0-2 SD2) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Junction City comes away with the win over Philomath
The Tigers narrowly defeated Philomath 20-17 in a league game on the road. Junction City (4-0, 2-0 Special District 3) hosts Marshfield (1-3, 1-1 Special District 4) in a nonleague game at 7 p.m. Friday.
Other Week 4 action
In Class 4A, Cottage Grove got its first win of the season after defeating Sweet Home 14-12 in a league game. In Class 3A, Pleasant Hill defeated North Marion 41-34. Elmira defeated Creswell 14-0. Harrisburg lost to Siuslaw 22-21. In Class 2A, Monroe defeated Oakridge 43-28.
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: Takeaways from Week 4 of Eugene-area high school football
