Ridgeview's Rodriguez unanimous choice to wear coveted No. 18

REDMOND — It was a unanimous vote for which player would wear the No. 18 jersey this season, a point of pride for the Ridgeview football team. It was the first time in Patrick Pileggi's coaching tenure that it was a unanimous decision of who would wear the same jersey number of Reece Rollins, a 2014 graduate of Ridgeview who was part of the state title team in 2013 and died in a car accident in 2018. Ridgeview's football field is named after him and the 18-yard line is colored purple in his honor. Technically, one player voted differently. The only player who didn't vote for the current No. 18 is the player wearing No. 18. 'No matter who was picked, they would have represented it well,' said senior quarterback Jordan Rodriguez, this year's No. 18. 'I'm able to encourage my teammates a lot,' Rodriguez added. 'Especially the younger ones. When I think of the varsity and JV levels, it is all one team to me, so I want to make sure that everyone feels included. And I think Reece probably did the same.' To his teammates and coaches it was an early decision on who would get to wear the number of Rollins. 'He has definitely worked harder than anyone on this team,' said senior lineman Preston Temple. 'He's an amazing leader, doesn't let guys slack. He just sets a great example on the field and in the classroom. He does an amazing job of just picking everyone up when we are having a hard time.' 'You couldn't ask for a better player to wear that number,' Pileggi said. 'He's a leader in every aspect, whether it is in the weight room, on the field, in the film room. He didn't get a lot of reps last year and it was kind of a question mark coming into the season, but he put the work in.' Rodriguez took over the quarterbacking duties from Gage Hobbs and was tasked with keeping Ridgeview on its positive upward trajectory and keeping the Ravens in playoff contention. 'He does a great job at keeping plays alive,' Pileggi said. 'He has been growing this season just like the other guys.' And so far, so good. In the season opener on Aug. 28, Rodriguez threw for more than 200 yards and had two passing touchdowns in a win over Lebanon. And this past Friday in a win over Crater, he passed for two more scores. Two days before the Crater game, Ridgeview senior wideout Finn Chambers said that he wanted his team to 'come out and punch first.' Well, it was the Comets who came out and threw the first punch, returning the opening kickoff inside the Ravens' 5-yard line. But it was the only punch that the Comets landed all night. Ridgeview responded with several haymakers and delivered the knockout early in the second half to improve to 2-0 on the season with a 37-0 win at Reece Rollins field. 'It was similar to last week where we gave up a big kick return and our defense stepped up,' Pileggi said. 'We gotta learn to come out of the gate harder. But the kids are resilient and they have grown up in front of our eyes so far this season.' The Ravens defense was dominant. In the two occasions in which the Comets (1-1) got inside the 5-yard line, the Ridgeview defense stood tall and forced turnovers. The Ravens also recovered two fumbles. Bronx Lick scored three rushing touchdowns and Rodriguez connected twice with Chambers for touchdowns. It took a couple of possessions for the Ravens to get going, only scoring once in the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown by Lick. In the second quarter, the Ravens extended the lead when Rodriguez unleashed a long pass to Chambers, who got behind the defense for a 62-yard touchdown. 'He's had three different quarterbacks,' said Rodriguez. 'But we were able to keep the connection going and we are going to keep building on it throughout the year.' In a rain-soaked second half, the Ravens continued to assert their dominance. Senior Marcus Hamann returned the second-half kickoff all the way down to the 1-yard line. Then, after a 5-yard penalty, Lick scored his third touchdown of the night from six yards out. Chambers caught another touchdown in the third quarter from 10 yards out. A short field goal from senior kicker Chance Larson midway through the fourth quarter started the running clock and put a quick end to the game. Next week, Ridgeview will host Canby. Bishop Kelly (Idaho) 28, Summit 26 With less than two minutes remaining against Idaho's defending state champions, the Storm had a chance to tie the game with a two-point conversion, but the Knights came up with the stop to get the win. Summit senior quarterback Andrew Guthrie finished with 216 yards passing and a touchdown. Summit (0-1) will be on the road next week against Sheldon. Mountain View 24, North Medford 17 Senior running back Ryder Carpenter rushed for 92 yards and three touchdowns, while senior linebacker Carson Bottemiler had the game-sealing interception to stop the Black Tornado's scoring effort and help the Cougars remain unbeaten on the season. Mountain View (2-0) will play at South Medford (0-2) next Friday. Springfield 20, Bend High 14 Sophomore running back Trey Lawrence rushed for two touchdowns, including a 32-yarder, but the Lava Bears could not hold off Springfield, which scored twice in the fourth quarter to get the win. Bend (0-1) will host Roseburg (2-0) on Friday. Sprague 47, Caldera 21 Senior quarterback Lucas Ninneman rushed for two touchdowns and sophomore running back Ashton Blumenschein rushed for another, but it was too little too late for the Wolfpack, who fell behind 28-0 in the first half against Sprague. Caldera (1-1) will play at North Eugene (0-1) on Friday. Redmond 35, South Albany 25 The Panthers picked up their first win of the season after two rushing touchdowns from senior running back Gannon McNulty. Sophomore wideout Riley Adams had a 53-yard rushing touchdown and senior Nathan Perry caught a touchdown pass from senior quarterback Tyler Miner. Redmond (1-1) will host Pendleton (2-0) on Friday. Henley 7, Crook County 6 Xzavier Moore scored on a 5-yard touchdown run late in the first half to potentially tie the game against Henley. However, the PAT was unsuccessful, which was the difference-maker in the low-scoring affair in Klamath Falls. Crook County (0-1) will play at South Albany (1-1) next Friday. La Pine (1-0) snapped its 13-game losing streak with a 21-0 win over Illinois Valley. The Hawks had three different players rush for touchdowns, including sophomore running back Daniel Larios' 80-yard rushing touchdown. La Pine will play at Lowell on Friday. Culver (1-0) started the season off with a 47-0 shutout over Weston-Ewen. The Bulldogs will host Grant Union on Friday. Sisters was blanked by Burns, last year's second-place 3A team, falling 54-0. The Outlaws will host Gervais on Thursday. This past Thursday, Madras fell to Molalla 53-14. The White Buffaloes will host Phoenix on Friday.