Coach Tim Dodson was on point Friday, for his players and the many Vikings fans who gathered in Grants Pass.

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GRANTS PASS — The Siuslaw Vikings kept to some familiar scripts Friday night to come away with a 35-13 nonleague football victory over No. 4-ranked Hidden Valley.

Script 1, learned at Newport, had Preston Mitchell running for two touchdowns, passing for a third and grabbing an interception (although in this case it was two picks for the senior quarterback/defensive back).

Script 2, with another senior in the starring role, had Kenneth Thrall rushing for a touchdown, playing solid defense at linebacker and kicking in some unusual contributions on special teams.

And, finally, Script 3, which debuted against Pleasant Hill, had the Vikings leading at halftime despite giving up a quick TD on the game's opening drive and being outgained in the first two quarters.

Once again, the Vikings regrouped splendidly at intermission.

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"We certainly don't give up when it gets tough, and our guys fight back," Mitchell said. Mitchell's night included touchdown runs of 3 and 25 yards and a TD pass of 61-yards to senior tight end Reese Siegel.

Unofficially, Mitchell connected on 4 of 13 passes for 107 yards while rushing 15 times for 108 yards.

Wide receiver Scott Gordon, who had eight catches in each of the first two games, had two receptions for 33 yards.

"We struggled getting the passing game going for some reason," Mitchell said. "But we made up for it in the run."

Again unofficially, the Vikings had 39 rushes as a team for 237 yards, an average of nearly 6.1 yards per carry.

Mitchell also picked off two passes, the first inside the Vikings' red zone seven seconds before halftime, the second midway through the fourth quarter to set up Siuslaw's final TD.

"The interceptions were pretty fun, to just keep them away from the end zone," he said. "And the touchdown pass was great. I'm glad (Siegel) got it, and he ran away from some guys. He was awesome."

Thrall punished the Mustangs' defense with a 30-yard touchdown run up the middle midway through the second quarter, tying the game at 7-7 with the first of his five extra-point kicks.

Thrall's night also included a kickoff that richocheted off a Hidden Valley player and was recovered by Vikings sophomore Trent Reavis, setting up Mitchell's 3-yard keeper for a TD 55 seconds before the halftime break.

Siuslaw extended its lead to begin the second half, the Vikings given new life when they recovered a ball that glanced off a Mustangs' player following a Thrall punt.

"The ball was snapped over my head, and I tried to turn around and punt really fast, and I hit a line drive," Thrall said. "It ended in a good thing."

That good thing was a 25-yard dash by Mitchell through the Mustangs defense for a touchdown. A PAT by Thrall put the Vikings in control, 21-7.

Siuslaw put a stronger grip on the game on its next drive, a 92-yard, 11-play sequence ending with junior Cade Clawson scoring from the 1.

The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the Vikings' five-play, 72-yard drive ending with Siegel's catch, run and score. The Mustangs finally broke Siuslaw's run of 35 unanswered points on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Hill to Brandon Buchanon with 16 seconds left in the game.

Just like Pleasant Hill did a week earlier against the Vikings, Hidden Valley took the game's opening kickoff and marched quickly downfield. The Mustangs went 55 yards in six plays to score, Jaykob Pereira connecting with Elijah Casto for an 11-yard TD pass 2 minutes and 13 seconds into the game.

"I can't explain it," Thrall said, when asked how the Billies and Mustangs mustered such early scores. "(The Mustangs) came out with what we knew they would do. It just shows we can settle down and stop them.

"I think our defense played good again."

The victory gave the Vikings a 3-0 preleague record as they prepare for their Far West League season opener against South Umpqua.

Siuslaw hosts the Lancers at 7 p.m. Friday at Hans Petersen Field.

"I think this win was really important," Mitchell said. "It was a good test to see where we're at in the season.

"We definitely made some mistakes, but we did some good things as well. So we'll grow from it."

NOTES: The win moved Siuslaw to No. 11 in the Oregon School Activities Association's Class 4A rankings — one notch above Hidden Valley. ... South Umpqua is 1-2, but its losses were to OSAA No. 2 Banks and No. 3 Phoenix ... Cascade is No. 1 and Marshfield No. 10. ... Marshfield beat Newport at Newport on Friday, 64-7. ... Hidden Valley opens Skyline Conference play at home next Friday against Phoenix. ... The trip from Florence to Hidden Valley was nearly four hours each way. The Vikings weren't expected to return home until 3 a.m. Saturday. ... Siuslaw junior lineman Kainan Lane was able to see some game action after missing the first two games with an injury. ... The Vikings football players were out in force Thursday night to support the girls volleyball team against Marshfield.

OFFICIAL GAME STATISTICS BY JO DE AND BOB HYLTON

Friday, Sept. 18, at Hidden Valley High School, Grants Pass

SIUSLAW                        0      14      14       7   —   35
HIDDEN VALLEY            7        0        0       6   —   13

First Quarter
Hidden Valley — Elijah Castro 11-yards pass from Jaykob Pereira (Alex Thornhill kick), 9:47

Second Quarter
Siuslaw — Kenneth Thrall 30-yard run (Kenneth Thrall kick), 5:40
Siuslaw — Preston Mitchell 3-yard run (Kenneth Thrall kick), :55

Third Quarter
Siuslaw — Preston Mitchell 25-yard run (Kenneth Thrall kick), 8:37
Siuslaw — Cade Clawson 1-yard run (Kenneth Thrall kick), 1:11

Fourth Quarter
Siuslaw — Reese Siegel 61-yard pass from Preston Mitchell (Kenneth Thrall kick), 4:56
Hidden Valley — Brandon Buchanon 15-yard pass from Ethan Hill (kick failed), :16

TEAM STATISTICS
                                Siuslaw    Hidden Valley
First downs                         13          16
Yards gained rushing          253         142
Yards lost rushing                14          16
Plays-net yards rushing   40-239          31-126
Passing yards                     107          241
Total yards                        346          367
Passing                      4-13-0         14-28-2
Punts-yards-ave.       5-165-33        3-98-32.7
Fumbles-lost                      1-0         8-2
Penalties-yards                3-20        9-60

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
Siuslaw—Preston Mitchell 14-111, Kenneth Thrall 12-86, Cade Clawson 13-42, Trent Reavis 1-0.
Hidden Valley—Nick Elmore 5-34, Marcus Peckham 3-33, Garrett McNair 3-26, Elijah Castro 4-18, Gabe Young 2-10, Jordan Vazquez 1-4, Ethan Hill 6-3, Jaykob Pereira 7-(minus 2).

PASSING
Siuslaw—Preston Mitchell 4-13-0—107.
Hidden Valley—Jaykob Pereria 8-21-2—153, Ethan Hill 4-5-0—45, Brandon Buchanon 1-1-0—32, Marcus Peckham 1-1-0—11.

RECEIVING
Siuslaw—Scott Gordon 2-33, Reese Siegel 1-61, Evan Teter 1-13.
Hidden Valley—Marcus Beckham 6-90, Elijah Castro 4-72, Brandon Buchanon 2-47, Jaykob Pereira 1-16, Kasey Copeland 1-11.