Wildcats hand Irish a rare home defeat.

Byline: Steve Mims The Register-Guard

Westview has high hopes this season, and Sheldon won't argue with that.

Senior running back Kaale Papas scored three touchdowns in the first half to spark the Wildcats to a 28-7 win over the Irish on Friday night in a nonleague football game at Sheldon High School.

It was the first regular-season home loss for the Irish since a 17-6 loss to Willamette on Sept. 8, 2000, the first game ever on their turf field.

"Westview is impressive," Sheldon coach Marty Johnson said. "We made too many mistakes, but rather than be critical of our kids, I give Westview credit. It is early in the season, and we will see if we can bounce back in the right direction. It will not get any easier, Tigard is going to be tough next week."

Westview was the runner-up to two-time defending state champion Jesuit in the Metro League last year and lost in the second round of the playoffs. The Wildcats are being mentioned as one of the top contenders in 6A this season.

"It's a big win," said Papas, who ran for 101 yards on 15 carries. "We've got to get better, this is only the second week of the season, so we have to work to get better every day."

Westview drove to Sheldon's 8-yard line on its opening drive before missing a field goal. However, Robert Casteel intercepted a pass on Sheldon's first drive, and three plays later Papas scored on a three-yard run.

Westview started its next drive at Sheldon's 43-yard line following a punt, and quarterback Josh Hill tossed a nine-yard touchdown pass to Papas.

Following another Sheldon punt, the Wildcats took over at Sheldon's 31-yard line and put together a four-play drive before Papas scored on a 10-yard run to give the Wildcats a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

"When they are operating on a short field, it makes them even more dangerous," Johnson said.

Last week, Westview took a 26-6 halftime lead en route to a 36-13 win over Skyview, which went 11-1 last year to reach the Washington Class 4A quarterfinals.

"It was pretty quick tonight," Papas said. "We come out all the time like that. One of our goals is to have our first string out by halftime."

The Wildcats didn't do that, as Hill ran for a one-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Sheldon avoided being shut out when quarterback Jordan Johnson ran for an eight-yard score with 5:01 left in the game.

Sheldon finished with minus-4 rushing yards and threw four interceptions while finishing with 189 yards of offense.

The Irish played two quarterbacks. Tommy Stewart was 13-for-22 for 134 yards while Johnson was 5-for-11 for 59 yards.

South Eugene 42, North Salem 17: Dustin Haines completed 8-of-13 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns to pace the visiting Axemen.

Abe Lapite caught two passes for 81 yards and a score, and Justin Goode had six catches for 69 yards and another touchdown.