Sheldon gets first win of season, 33-10, over North Medford

After losing its first two games of the season on the road, the Sheldon Irish football team was looking forward to some love from the home crowd Friday, Sept. 19.

The Irish (1-1, 1-2) got plenty of that in its home-opener against North Medford (0-3, 0-3) and pulled away from the Black Tornado for a 33-10 win and its first victory of the season.

“It’s good for our guys to feel the success of their hard work,” Sheldon head coach Tyler Martell said. “We ran into a buzzsaw (a 51-7 loss at No. 6 Lake Oswego) in Week 1, and West Salem did a really good job and hit us in the mouth, so it’s good for our guys to get home and feel success.”

Sheldon’s senior quarterback Micah Ritchie-Tuisue threw four touchdown passes, two each to senior wideout Cameron Gilhuber and junior Barry Myles, for the bulk of Sheldon’s scoring.

Less than two minutes into the game, Ritchie-Tuisue hit the streaking, wide-open Myles down the middle for a 59-yard touchdown.

Senior Osvaldo Canchola’s point-after touchdown made it 7-0 Irish with 10:02 left in the quarter.

The 6-3, 180-pound Myles intercepted a North Medford pass at the Black Tornado’s 40-yard line and ran it back to the 27, giving the Irish great field position.

Myles then caught a 9-yard pass on fourth-and-7 from the Black Tornado 24 but fumbled and North Medford recovered.

Sheldon scored again, though, with 8:03 to go in the second quarter when Ritchie-Tuisue hit Gilhuber on a 12-yard crossing pattern over the middle, giving the Irish a 14-0 lead.

The Black Tornado came back to make it a 14-7 game with four minutes left in the half on junior running back Samson Vaelua’s 7-yard run.

Brady Peterson nailed a 43-yard field goal with 1:30 left to cut Sheldon’s lead to 14-10.

But 90 seconds was plenty of time for the Irish to score not once, but twice, before halftime.

Ritchie-Tuisue hit Gilhuber for a 41-yard touchdown on a post pattern from the right side with 53 seconds left, and Canchola added the extra point and then kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1.4 seconds left after Sheldon got the ball back on downs.

A 24-10 halftime lead turned into a 26-10 lead after North Medford found itself punting from its end zone with 2:07 left in the third quarter, and the punter bobbled the ball and got tackled for the 2-point safety.

After Myles returned the ensuing Black Tornado kick 45 yards to the North Medford 30-yard line, the quarter ended with the Irish on the 9-yard line.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Ritchie-Tuisue hit Myles on a quick slant pass for the 9-yard touchdown and a 33-10 lead after Canchola’s kick with 11:56 left in the game.

“It feels really good,” Myles said amid the post-game celebration on the field. “We definitely bounced back after the first two weeks.

“This game was a good momentum swinger to get us ready for next week,” Myles said. “I think we’re going to be (well) prepared.”

Next week, Sept. 26, is the biggest game of the regular season on Sheldon’s schedule, a trip seven miles to the west to take on third-ranked and 3-0 Willamette, coached by former Sheldon coach Josh Line, who took in seven transfers from the Irish this season.

“It’ll be fun, and our guys will be excited for it,” Martell said. “And what we have to do is just continue to prepare the right way. That’s all we’ve ever hung our hat on is just doing things the right way and preparing the right way.”

The game will be a “dogfight,” Martell said.

“And it’s good for our community to have a big in-town game that we haven’t had in a long time. It’s good for the city. It’s good for high school football.”