COTTAGE GROVE — Roseburg High School’s home opener for the football season will have to wait a few more weeks, but the Indians will manage after securing a 23-7 win over Summit  on Saturday at Cottage Grove High School in the season-opener for both teams.

The game was scheduled to be played at Finlay Field on Friday, but poor air quality forced a move to Don King Field in Cottage Grove on Saturday night.

The change in venue didn’t seem to matter to Roseburg, as the Indians piled up over 370 yards of offense for their first season-opening win since 2019.

“It’s a great way to start off the season and I’d like to keep it going that way,” Roseburg running back Cayden Eckel said.

The sophomore made his first start at the varsity level and finished with over 150 yards on the ground and two important touchdowns.

Eckel’s 10-yard score in the second quarter gave Roseburg (1-0) its first lead of the game. The slippery back tacked on the game-clincher in the fourth quarter from 13-yards out.

“My o-line did a great job, we had a lot of fun,” Eckel said. “It was a lot of fun to battle in the trenches.”

Summit (0-1) started the game with a bang. A bad snap went right into the hands of linebacker Jack Clemans and he sprinted ahead of the Indians for a 60-yard scoop-and-score.

That would be the only touchdown of the night for the Storm, which struggled with drive-killing penalties and had two turnovers.

Roseburg answered the defensive touchdown by going 75 yards on the next drive, capped by a 10-yard score by senior Dominic Tatone.

Colton Marsters took over at quarterback for Roseburg this season and went 13-for-16 and 147 yards through the air. He also added 53 yards on the ground.

Roseburg is scheduled to play on the road the next two weeks and will finally get to play at Finlay Field in week 4 against McMinnville.

Up next, the Indians will travel to Bend to face Mountain View (1-0) on Friday at 7 p.m.

Summit;7;0;0;0;—;7

Roseburg;7;9;0;7;—;23

First quarter

S — Clemans 60 fumble return (McKee kick)

R — Tatone 10 run (Jones kick)

Second quarter

R — Eckel 10 run (Jones kick)

R — Safety, McKee kicked out of end zone

Fourth quarter

R — Eckel 13 run (Jones kick)