Friday Night Lights: Lincoln downs Grant, Cleveland picks up first PIL win since 2022

Things haven't always been easy when it comes to football in Southeast Portland's own Cleveland High School.

In 2021 following COVID, the Warriors only had a JV football squad and have been looking for an identity the past five years.

Well, they might have it found it if the first Friday night of the 2026 season is any indication.

Cleveland picked up a big win over Jefferson, but wasn't alone with Roosevelt going on the road to pick up a huge nonleague win.

We also had Benson making a return to varsity football and Central Catholic in a massive showdown with West Linn.

We've got you covered down below with notes from across Portland's 12 local football squads!

Lincoln 28, Grant 7

Lincoln forced five turnovers and had over 300 yards of rushing to take the PIL showdown between two league favorites.

You can read all about the game and see photos by following the link here.

Cleveland 28, Jefferson 14

For the first time since 2022, Cleveland football has won a game in the PIL, taking out Jefferson on the road 28-14.

The Warriors came up with three interceptions on defense, one apiece from Henry Meade, Ben Mescher and Trek Gibler.

On offense, Steven Rogosin found the end zone twice on the ground and Felix Amistadi joined him with one rushing TD. Sophomore QB Jude Buck found Apollo Johnson for a passing TD as well to round out the scoring.

Not only is it the Warriors first PIL win in four years, it’s also the first time they beat the Democrats since a 33-26 win in 2014.

Cleveland will look to go 2-0 when it hosts McDaniel next week at 7 p.m. Sept. 11 at Marshall High School. Jefferson heads to Southeast to take on Franklin at 7 p.m. Sept. 11.

Wells 47, McDaniel 8

The wing-T remains hard to beat, even with a couple weeks to prepare.

Wells rolled on the road to open the season behind the vaunted offensive system, getting scores from Oliver Carr, Ethan Hoover, Jude Nolan on a rush and a pass to Kannon Walter and Oliver Hamzaoui rushed and caught one TD each.

QB Davonne Granville Jr. was the lone scorer for the Mountain Lions, who will try to recover on the road next week against Cleveland at 7 p.m. Sept. 11 at Marshall High School.

Wells will try to make it 2-0 at home next week taking on Roosevelt at 7 p.m. Sept. 11.

Roosevelt 22, Sunset 21

Down 13-0 at halftime, Roosevelt recovered in the second half to pick up the nonleague win over Sunset, a team that the reigning PIL champion lost to last year by a score of 42-6.

Naheem Campbell and Jayon Duckett each caught TD passes from QB Marlan McCowan, and the QB rushed in one score and also had two two-point conversions.

Those scores were just enough to sneak by the Apollos and set the Riders on a great path for 2026 and try to defend the PIL title.

It’s another big game next week when Roosevelt is on the road again, this time playing Wells at 7 p.m. Sept. 11.

Franklin 35, Benson 0

Benson returned to varsity football for the first time since 2018, but Franklin didn’t take it easy on them in the 35-0 Lightning win at Marshall.

Finnegan McTaggart led the way on the ground with two rushing touchdowns while LaQuante James and Levi Rountree each chipped in one rushing TD. Nick Pylant recovered a fumble and returned it for a score as well.

Franklin moves to 1-0 and is back home next week to host Jefferson at 7 p.m. Sept. 11. Benson heads to Grant next at 6 p.m. Sept. 11.

West Linn 45, Central Catholic 20

Central Catholic played it close with West Linn in the first half, but a touchdown right before halftime to put the Lions up 24-14 broke things open in the eventual 45-20 West Linn win.

The Rams got on the board first when Kody Grant hit Kaden Bozovich for a 57-yard TD. West Linn scored the next 10 before Jeneral Lewis returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a TD and a 14-10 Rams lead.

West Linn scored the next 21 points though to go up 31-14 halfway through the third quarter. The Rams tried to claw back with a 21-yard TD pass from Grant to Jamear Shambry, but West Linn scored again to start the fourth and an INT from Josiah Molden on the next Rams possession spelled the end.

Things don’t get much easier for Central Catholic as it stays on the road next week to play the defending 6A champions in Lake Oswego, who moved to 2-0 with a win over Casteel (AZ) on Friday. The rematch of the 6A state title game from last year is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 11.

St. Helens 50, David Douglas 6

La Salle Prep 23, Parkrose 8

Standings

PIL

T1. Cleveland 1-0, 1-0 overall

T1. Franklin 1-0, 1-0 overall

T1. Lincoln 1-0, 1-0 overall

T1. Wells 1-0, 1-0 overall

5. Roosevelt 0-0, 1-0 overall

T6. Benson 0-1, 0-1 overall

T6. Grant 0-1, 0-1 overall

T6. Jefferson 0-1, 0-1 overall

T6. McDaniel 0-1, 0-1 overall