By Jerry Ulmer
OSAAtoday

Siuslaw senior Braydon Thornton set a state record Thursday by catching seven touchdown passes in a 66-19 home win over Pleasant Hill.

The 6-2, 170-pound Thornton caught 13 passes for 359 yards and seven scores, all from senior Beau Erickson. He caught five touchdown passes in the first half to tie the state record – held by 11 players -- and added two more scores in the fourth quarter.

His 359 yards is No. 4 all-time, behind Waldport's Kraig Pruett (456 in 2012), Century's Chance Sparks (391 in 2018) and West Albany's Dustin Monda (362 in 1996).

Erickson also had a big night for the No. 2 Vikings (6-0, 3-0 Special District 2 North). He completed 22 of 35 passes for 502 yards, the 11th time in state history that a quarterback has thrown for more than 500 yards. He fell short of the state record for touchdown passes in a game -- nine, set by Cascade Christian's Seth Knox in 2013.

Siuslaw coach Sam Johnson said Erickson and Thornton have a "super special" connection.

"Braydon grew up with Beau most of his life, being his quarterback," Johnson said. "We do lots of scrambling drills, step-up drills, in practice, and we try to have Beau work the field, but for some reason, there's always a better connection throwing it to Braydon.

"He gets right where Beau wants him to be, right in his eyesight, and Beau knows right where to put it for Braydon. It's awesome to see when they're connecting like that in a game."

Pleasant Hill started the game with single coverage on Thornton, and Erickson hit him for a 74-yard touchdown pass on Siuslaw's first play. The Billies moved a safety over the top of Thornton but he still was able to catch scoring passes of 14, 22, 28, 41, 6 and 38 yards the rest of the game.

Thornton has 47 catches for 1,052 yards and 13 touchdowns for the season.

"I've never seen a kid that can do what he does on the football field consistently," Johnson said. "When you've got kids double- and triple-covering, it seems he always finds a way to get open, still."

Erickson has completed 85 of 137 passes for 1,587 yards and 17 touchdowns with three interceptions.