Walker runs for 132 yards, two TDs to power No. 2 Challengers over No. 4 Vale in marquee 3A matchup

A year ago, Cascade Christian’s revamped football lineup wasn’t up to speed or experienced enough to contend with a Vale group that ultimately finished runner-up at the Class 3A level.

On Saturday, the Challengers showed the poise of a team that was a little more battle-tested and ready to contend at the highest level in the season opener for both teams in Bend.

Cascade Christian built a 15-0 lead in the second quarter over Vale and never relinquished its grip in a battle of the Nos. 2 and 4 teams in the 3A preseason coaches poll to earn a 29-13 victory.

The Challengers (1-0) limited the Vikings to 195 yards of total offense and got a tremendous effort from junior Bryson Walker, who rushed 16 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

Walker’s 8-yard TD run and another 8-yard rushing TD from Caleb Scaglione allowed Cascade Christian to open a 15-0 lead.

Vale was able to trim its deficit to 15-7 with the first of two TD passes from Cal Johnson to Troy Dayton before halftime, but Walker’s 49-yard TD scamper in the third quarter reset the 15-point advantage.

Vale trailed 22-13 in the fourth quarter with the football in a drive that began at the Cascade 44-yard line, but a fourth-down sack by Alex Fiannaca negated the threat. Fiannaca finished with a team-high 6.5 tackles.

Five plays later, senior quarterback Deryk Farmer connected with Scaglione for a 27-yard touchdown that all but secured the big win late in the fourth quarter.

Farmer completed 10 of 17 passes for 77 yards and joined Wyatt Hurley with five tackles on defense, while Scaglione made five receptions for 49 yards and had 4.5 tackles.

Seth Scaglione contributed an interception in the defensive effort.

Johnson was 17-for-27 passing for 134 yards for Vale.

The teams combined for 20 penalties for 172 yards.

Cascade Christian 7 8 7 7 — 29

Vale 0 7 0 6 — 13

CC — Walker 8 run (Fiannaca kick)

CC — C. Scaglione 8 run (C. Scaglione run)

V — Dayton 3 pass from Johnson (Longoni kick)

CC — Walker 49 run (Fiannaca kick)

V — Dayton 10 pass from Johnson (conversion failed)

CC — C. Scaglione 27 pass from Farmer (Fiannaca kick)

MARSHFIELD 41, CRATER 30: At Central Point, three turnovers hindered Crater’s cause and Marshfield was able to string together a 21-0 run over the span of the second and third quarters to erase a 14-12 deficit in the season opener at Dutch Meyer Field.

Terrius Allen opened the game with an 88-yard kickoff return for a score, and Jose Rodriguez ran in for a 1-yard touchdown after Armando Ayala created a turnover for the Comets (0-1).

Things bogged down from there, however, for Crater, which was unable to finish drives on offense and couldn’t get off the field on defense as Marshfield (1-0) went on its game-changing surge.

Rodriguez ran 19 times for 88 yards and two TDs, while Cohen Sprague went 6-for-10 passing for 87 yards with an unfortunate interception on a ball that went off his receiver’s hands.

Trey Smith came on at quarterback with 2 ½ minutes left in the third quarter to provide a spark, taking advantage of broken coverage on his first play for a 30-yard hookup with Julien Grant. Smith capped that drive with an 11-yard scramble for a score, and later completed a 41-yard pass to Allen to set up a 1-yard TD by Rodriguez with 4 ½ minutes to play.

Linebacker Brayden Singery led the defensive effort with double-digit tackles.

Marshfield 12 14 8 7 — 41

Crater 7 8 8 7 — 30

CENTRAL 28, EAGLE POINT 12: At Eagle Point, sophomore Eli Hamann rushed for a career-high 85 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown, but Eagle Point struggled with penalties and a second-quarter lull in the season opener.

Mason DeVry completed 10 of 17 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown connection with Skylar Tribur for the Eagles (0-1), who trailed 7-6 through the first quarter before Central used a 21-0 surge in the second to create separation.

Thomas Wippel carried nine times for 31 yards and came up with an interception, while Landon Myre and Conor Campagna each contributed four tackles and Ethan Metcalf recovered a fumble.

Central 7 21 0 0 — 28

Eagle Point 6 0 0 6 — 12

PHOENIX 35, MADRAS 9: At Phoenix, junior quarterback Trae Casteel completed 8 of 11 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns to lead Phoenix to a season-opening home victory.

Casteel also joined Cody Martin for team-high honors in rushing with 33 yards, but it was the big-play ability through the air that confounded Madras.

Landon Hudson turned in touchdown receptions of 32 and 71 yards to finish with four catches for 101 yards for Phoenix (1-0), while Terelle McSwain had a 35-yard TD reception to help account for 85 yards overall and Erik Calhoun had an 88-yard score.

The Pirates limited Madras (0-1) to 138 total yards behind three interceptions from Hudson and five forced turnovers overall. McSwain had nine tackles, while Aaden Reyna and Elias Islas each accounted for seven tackles.

Phoenix 14 0 14 7 — 35

Madras 0 0 9 0 — 9

P — Hudson 32 pass from Casteel (Alcantar-Ochoa kick)

P — Casteel 4 run (Alcantar-Ochoa kick)

M — Williams 37 interception return (Reynoso kick)

M — Safety

P — Hudson 71 pass from Casteel (Alcantar-Ochoa kick)

P — McSwain 35 pass from Casteel (Alcantar-Ochoa kick)

P — Calhoun 88 pass from Casteel (Alcantar-Ochoa kick)

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035