Playing up in Class 4A for the first time in four years, Banks showed no signs of struggling with the transition Friday night at Clemens Field with a 58-0 win over Philomath. The Braves came away with five interceptions — three returned for touchdowns — and frustrated the Warriors all night at the line of scrimmage on the strength of a strong performance by 6-foot-5, 300-pound senior lineman Cade Wilson.
“I think for us, it was point of attack … No. 66 (Wilson) just dominated the point of attack,” Philomath High coach Alex Firth said after a postgame talk with his players. “We couldn’t establish anything with him being in our backfield most of the time. We had no offensive rhythm because he was so disruptive.”
Gallery: PHS football vs. Banks (Aug. 28, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 58-0 football loss at home vs. Banks on Friday.
Firth said the pressure from Wilson, who reportedly holds college offers from Idaho, Eastern Washington, Portland State and San Jose State, and the rest of the Banks’ front played a role in Philomath’s six turnovers on the night.
“Some of it’s just I think we got a little happy with the feet — you feel pressure and you try to get the ball out a little too quick,” Firth said. “You don’t blame a kid for that because when you have that much pressure in your face, the ball’s got to be out quick and sometimes it’s just not there.”
Firth said the Warriors couldn’t find a rhythm on offense but still, he saw some encouraging performances from players stepping into larger roles.
“There’s some takeaways. There were some young kids I thought that went out there and played pretty well. There were some kids that hadn’t played in the past that are playing now that are doing pretty well,” he said. “So there’s some positive takeaways and then there’s some things we got to work on. We’ve got to get the O-line sorted out, figure out what’s going on in there. But I don’t know that we’ll see another D-lineman like that — maybe until we get to Cascade.”
Firth said a rough week of practice caught up with his team Friday night and he plans to use the loss as a teaching moment heading into next week.
“We didn’t have the best week of practice, so we had a little hangover going in, and it showed on the field,” Firth said. “They got the message. I think they’ve got to be a little more focused at practice and pay attention to what they’re doing and execute.”
Firth pointed to a handful of individual bright spots despite the final score. For starters, senior Gavin Bennett ran for 67 yards on 15 carries.
“Gavin ran hard — there wasn’t much space for him to run,” Firth said. “Some of the receivers ran great routes but we just couldn’t get them the ball. There was just no time and it’s something we’ve got to adjust.”
The Braves (1-0) piled up 30 points in the first quarter. Senior Ben Lyda and senior Grady Lucia each returned interceptions for touchdowns, senior Jaic Lamb scored on runs of 33 and 9 yards, and junior Chase Mead had a 28-yard field goal.
Banks led 44-0 at halftime after sophomore Cristian Medina scored on a short run and senior quarterback Nate Lyda connected with junior Conor Bergin on a 27-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
Junior backup quarterback Finan Hailey capped the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and junior Damien Robles added a 53-yard interception return for the Braves’ third pick-six of the night.
Despite the lopsided score, Banks finished with just 241 yards of total offense.
It appeared that Philomath might score early in the third quarter. Starting inside their own 20 after a Jacob Hernandez kickoff, the Braves fumbled on the first play. Senior Gunner Eveland recovered to set up first-and-goal for PHS at the Banks 10-yard line. The Warriors moved the ball down to the 1 with carries by Gavin Bennett and sophomore Mason Bennett. But the Braves stopped Philomath for no gain on third and fourth down from the 1.
The Warriors’ defense had its moments with two fumble recoveries — the second one covered up by either senior David Vargas Juarez or freshman Eli Cook. Gavin Bennett and junior Cole Barron had sacks.
Philomath entered the game missing three key players — senior lineman Jamin Peters and receiver/defensive backs Kaden Howard, a senior, and Nathen Seits, a junior. Several players left Friday’s game with injuries with linemen hit hardest
Banks moved up to Class 4A this season after four years in 3A, where the Braves went 43-4, reached the semifinals three times and finished as state runner-up to Cascade Christian in 2023. In their last season in 3A, the Braves went 11-1 and lost to Burns 36-31 in the state semifinals.
Banks entered the season ranked No. 9 in the OSAA preseason coaches poll; Philomath was unranked. The Braves lost several key players on offense but returned senior QB Nate Lyda as a starter, along with Wilson on the line.
Friday’s meeting was the first between the two programs since 2015 when Banks won 48-20. Philomath’s last win over the Braves came in 2014 when Trey Ecker kicked a field goal on the game’s final play for a 3-0 victory.
Philomath will look to regroup next week on the road against Marshfield, a team Firth said presents another significant challenge, even without a lineman of Wilson’s caliber.
“They’re a good team and it’s another big challenge,” Firth said. “I don’t know that they’ve got a D-lineman like that, thank goodness, but we’ll see. We’ve got to see what we have, regroup and see what’s left.”
Banks 58, Philomath 0
Friday, Aug. 28, at Clemens Field, Philomath High School
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Banks (1-0) | 30 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 58 |
| Philomath (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
FIRST QUARTER
BHS — FG Mead 28, 10:46
BHS — Lamb 33 run (kick failed), 5:30
BHS — B. Lyda 32 interception return (Mead kick), 5:21
BHS — Lucia 27 interception return (kick failed), 3:33
BHS — Lamb 9 run (Mead run), 1:48
SECOND QUARTER
BHS — C. Medina 3 run (Mead kick), 9:01
BHS — Bergin 27 pass from N. Lyda (Mead kick), 6:15
FOURTH QUARTER
BHS — Hailey 10 run (Mead kick), 11:45
BHS — Robles 53 interception return (Mead kick), 6:50
Category BHS PHS First Downs 14 2 Total Net Yards 241 75 Rushes-Yards 23-106 22-54 Passing Yards 135 21 Punt Returns 3-58 0-0.0 Kickoff Returns 1-9 3-49 Interception Ret. 5-120 0-0 Comp-Att-Int 12-16-0 4-15-5 Punts 0-0.0 5-27.0 Fumbles-Lost 4-2 2-1 Penalties-Yards 2-10 2-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Banks, Lamb 4-47, Medina 3-32, Robles 5-20, N. Lyda 3-7, Hailey 6-7, Mueller 1-(-1), B. Lyda 1-(-6). Philomath, G. Bennett 15-67, M. Bennett 3-6, Grapoli 1-(-3), Hruska 1-(-6), Altishin 2-(-10).
PASSING—Banks, N. Lyda 6-9-0-83, Hailey 6-7-0-52. Philomath, Altishin 3-12-4-20. Iverson 1-3-1-1.
RECEIVING—Banks, Jackson 4-38, Bergin 2-38, Lamb 2-24, Vanderzanden 2-19, B. Lyda 2-16. Philomath, Kvidt 2-15, G. Bennett 2-6.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
4A SPECIAL DISTRICT 2
STANDINGS—Stayton 1-0, Central 1-0, Cascade 0-0, Estacada 0-0, Molalla 0-0, Gladstone 0-1, Philomath 0-0, 0-1.
SCORES—Aug. 28: Banks 58, Philomath 0; Stayton 41, Astoria 37; Woodburn 50, Gladstone 12; Central 42, Tillamook 7. Aug. 29: Estacada at Vale.
