Cascade’s dominance on the line of scrimmage proved too much for Philomath on Friday night as the defending 4A state champions rolled to a 68-0 victory at Clemens Field.
The Cougars scored on the first play from scrimmage, a 65-yard run by senior Wyatt Kerrigan, and built a 56-0 halftime lead that triggered the running-clock mercy rule for the second half.
Gallery: PHS football vs. Cascade (Oct. 2, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 68-0 football loss at home to defending state champion Cascade on Friday.
“Physically, they’re just dominant on the line of scrimmage,” Philomath coach Alex Firth said. “Across the board, if you look at them compared to us, they’re older, they’re more mature, they’re bigger up front.”
Firth pointed to Cascade’s depth as a key difference. The Cougars could rotate separate offensive and defensive lines while Philomath relied on the same group up front all night.
| PHS HOMECOMING |
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| Check PhilomathNews.com this weekend for a feature on the school’s homecoming royalty for 2026 with plenty of photos from Friday morning’s parade and Friday night’s halftime activities. |
“They have kids resting in between series and we have the same five kids out there every play,” Firth said. “So, it’s a war of attrition. They have depth, a lot of seniors and upperclassmen where we’re really young. It just shows.”
Cascade (5-0 overall, 3-0 Special District 2) extended its winning streak to 18 games, a run that includes a 52-0 win over Henley in last season’s 4A championship game. The Cougars have outscored their last two opponents 149-0 and are averaging 57.2 points per game.
Cascade piled up 480 yards of total offense, with 361 on the ground and 119 through the air. Nine different players carried the ball for the Cougars.
Kerrigan ran five times for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Junior quarterback Madden Hughes completed 5 of 6 passes for 119 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to junior Brody Anundi. Senior Andrew Moore returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter and added a 9-yard scoring run in the third.
Senior Josiah Hawkins had a 28-yard touchdown run and an interception for the Cougars.
Philomath (2-4, 1-2) struggled to move the ball for most of the night. Four of the Warriors’ seven first-half possessions ended in three-and-outs, and Philomath managed just 55 yards combined on its first six drives.
The Warriors picked up a first down on their second possession on a pass from senior AJ Altishin to sophomore Max Grapoli, but Hawkins intercepted a pass three plays later.
Philomath’s best stretch came in the final three minutes of the first half. Sophomore running back Mason Bennett converted a fourth-and-1 at the Warriors’ 29, and Altishin connected with senior Kaden Howard on a 22-yard completion. On the final play of the half, Altishin found senior Bryce Hruska for a 26-yard gain to the Cascade 21, but time ran out before Philomath could run another play. The drive covered 59 yards.
Altishin finished 6 of 13 for 89 yards. Howard caught two passes for 49 yards and Hruska had two receptions for 32 yards. On defense, sophomore Samuel McQueen made a touchdown-saving tackle in the second quarter, although the Cougars ended up scoring on the drive.
Junior Sammy Hernandez punted eight times for Philomath, including a 51-yarder in the first quarter and a 58-yarder in the fourth.
Firth worked to get as many players into the game as possible in the second half. Junior backup quarterback Jayce Iverson played the third and fourth quarters.
Despite the lopsided score, Firth said he saw effort from his team.
“I saw a little fire out there, which I appreciated from them. They weren’t going to just roll over and play dead,” Firth said. “The focus this week was to go out and fly around and have fun, and I thought a lot of them did. We dug ourselves a big hole, we weren’t getting out of it, but they still flew around, they did what they were supposed to, and we played.”
Firth said his players have shown resilience and that the coaching staff tried to keep the game in perspective during the week.
“We kept the focus this week on making sure that they understood that they’re 14- to 18-year-old kids,” Firth said. “We’re not playing an NFL team. You know, just go out and fly around.”
Philomath has not scored in nine quarters and faces a quick turnaround with a Thursday game at Gladstone. The Gladiators enter the game 0-5 after a 71-0 loss at Estacada on Thursday.
Firth said getting players healthy is the top priority for the short week, and he plans to limit contact in Monday and Tuesday practices.
“The season’s not over. Like I told them, we can’t let the same dog bite us twice,” Firth said. “We can’t have a hangover after losing to Cascade and then go out and lay an egg against Gladstone, so we’ve got to come back Monday, refocus, have a good practice Monday and Tuesday, and go up to Gladstone and take care of business.”
Cascade 68, Philomath 0
Friday, Oct. 2, at Clemens Field, Philomath HS
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Cascade (5-0, 3-0) | 21 | 35 | 6 | 6 | 68 |
| Philomath (2-4, 1-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Note: The running-clock mercy rule went into effect for the second half.
FIRST QUARTER
CHS — Kerrigan 65 run (Craig kick), 11:48
CHS — Hawkins 28 run (Craig kick), 8:41
CHS — Anundi 18 pass from Hughes (Craig kick), 2:15
SECOND QUARTER
CHS — Kerrigan 42 run (Craig kick), 11:39
CHS — Born 65 pass from Hughes (Craig kick), 10:21
CHS — Anundi 27 pass from Hughes (Craig kick), 5:32
CHS — Shewell 40 run (Craig kick), 3:10
CHS — Moore 23 fumble return (Craig kick), 3:03
THIRD QUARTER
CHS — Moore 9 run (kneel down), 4:28
FOURTH QUARTER
CHS — Laney 6 run (kneel down), 9:35
Category CHS PHS First Downs 18 5 Total Net Yards 480 104 Rushes-Yards 24-361 22-9 Passing Yards 119 95 Punt Returns 3-69 0-0 Kickoff Returns 0-0 9-102 Interception Ret. 1-12 0-0 Comp-Att-Int 5-6-0 7-14-1 Punts 0-0.0 8-33.5 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1 Penalties-Yards 4-55 2-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Cascade, Kerrigan 5-117, Laney 6-56, Shewell 3-51, Moore 3-37, Amaya 1-34, Coombs 3-32, Hawkins 1-28, Payne 1-3, Roden 1-3. Philomath, M. Bennett 15-9, Altishin 2-2, Grapoli 5-(-2).
PASSING—Cascade, Hughes 5-6-0-119. Philomath, Altishin 6-13-1-89, Iverson 1-1-0-6.
RECEIVING—Cascade, Born 2-70, Anundi 2-45, Erickson 1-4. Philomath, Howard 2-49, Hruska 2-32, M. Bennett 2-12, Grapoli 1-2.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
