Putnam the lone undefeated team in 5A football through 8 weeks: ‘It feels good to be a Kingsman’

By Dave Ball 

MILWAUKIE — The wins just keep coming for the Putnam football team, which remained the only undefeated team in Class 5A after Friday’s 34-19 home win over Canby.

“When we were seventh- and eighth-graders we went 0-8. We are the same group now and we are 8-0,” Putnam quarterback Konnor Bickford said. 

“It’s been amazing. Every game is a big one. We’ll celebrate tonight, then it’s on to next week.” 

This time, ‘next week’ means a showdown at No. 2-ranked Wilsonville for the Northwest Oregon Conference crown. It also marks a chance to match Putnam’s 1986 squad — the program’s most recent team to go undefeated through the regular season. 

“The way our schedule came together, it’s been ramping up and getting us a little more battle-tested each week,” Putnam coach Tim Jacobs said.

The Kingsmen never trailed Friday against Canby, although the visiting Cougars scored on their opening drive of the second half to cut the margin to two points.

The game would not stay close for long.

The next play from scrimmage saw Bickford fire a quick throw to the sideline, where Tyler Creswick hauled it in, side-stepped a tackler and was gone 59 yards for the touchdown and a 28-19 lead.

“It was a 5-yard out-route, but I knew if I beat that one guy, there was no one else left — I had an open run down the sideline,” Creswick said.

Putnam put the game away on its next possession with Creswick and James Bauman each breaking off long runs to set up workhorse running back Jaxon Doyle for a 1-yard plunge over the goal line.

With a comfortable lead, Putnam fed Doyle a steady diet of carries that moved the chains and drained the clock in the fourth quarter.

The Kingsmen had their flashy big-play attack on stage in the first half with Bickford running out of room near the sideline and throwing across his body to find Bauman, who dodged a tackle and zipped 65 yards to the end zone.

“Canby has a great defense, but we are one of the fastest teams out there,” Bickford said. “No one has been able to stop our offense so far.”

With time running out in the first half, the Kingsmen weren’t content to simply head to the locker room. Instead, Bickford fired a deep ball down the sideline that hit Bauman in stride for a 72-yard score and a 21-13 lead at the break.

“We just took a shot to see if we could come up with something,” Bauman said. “It was a great throw by Konnor — everything was perfect and the crowd was hyped.

“It feels good to be a Kingsman tonight.”

Bickford finished 12 of 15 for 300 yards and four touchdowns with Creswick and Bauman each finding the end zone twice.

“A lot of guys came back from COVID and were gung-ho for football,” Jacobs said. “They really found a love for the sport and invested the time to get better.”

Putnam sits No. 3 in the OSAA rankings, putting the Kingsmen in solid position for a home game when the playoffs begin in two weeks. Still, the team is looking for a measure of respect after being overlooked for a spot in the state’s top-10 media poll until this final week of the season.

“Even though we are unbeaten, we are still pretty low on the charts,” linebacker Oaklund Selfors said. “We are super excited for the games ahead.”

“This year has been perfect. Everyone is locked in,” Creswick said. “Our focus is up. We are bringing a playoff intensity every day of the week.”

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Putnam 34, Canby 19

Canby — 6 — 7 — 6 — 0 — 19

Putnam — 7 — 14 — 13 — 0 — 34

First quarter

PUT — Tyler Creswick 15 pass from Konnor Bickford (Chase McDonald kick), 3:19

CNB — Treyson Wakefield recovers fumble in end zone (kick missed), 1:23

Second quarter

PUT — James Bauman 65 pass from Bickford (McDonald kick), 10:38

CNB — Parker Ackerman 18 run (Seth Squire kick), 8:02

PUT — Bauman 72 pass from Bickford (McDonald kick), 1:08

Third quarter

CNB — Tyler Konold 1 run (kick missed), 6:17 

PUT — Creswick 59 pass from Bickford (Hailey Patlan kick), 5:59 

PUT — Jaxon Doyle 1 run (kick blocked), 2:16