Mountainside moved up three spots to No. 7 in the OSAA/OSAAtoday 6A football coaches poll released Tuesday, Sept. 8.

The Mavericks earned 43 points from the statewide panel of coaches after splitting their first two games. They sat at No. 10 in the previous poll and were outside the top 10 entirely in the preseason coaches poll published Aug. 24, when they collected just 17 votes.

The climb came despite a lopsided season-opening loss. No. 3-ranked Tualatin rolled past Mountainside 52-13 on Aug. 28, pulling away after the Mavericks scored first on a 41-yard touchdown run by senior running back Reece Ballew.

Ballew still produced in the loss, carrying 15 times for 104 yards and catching three passes for 94 yards, according to the Hillsboro News-Times. Mountainside bounced back with a 28-17 win over Glencoe on Sept. 4, as reported by KGW.

Two Mavericks also landed on OregonLive's preseason watch lists. OregonLive named Ballew among its 15 contenders for 6A offensive player of the year. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound senior rushed for 522 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore before a shoulder injury cut his junior season short after three games.

He returned in the spring to qualify for the state track meet in the 100 and 200 meters, anchoring the 4x100 relay to a third-place finish with 10.76-second speed in the 100.

In a preseason feature for OregonLive in August, head coach Keanon Lowe called Ballew "an explosive running back with a downhill running style. He is a threat to hit a home run every time he touches the ball."

Senior linebacker Toren Drucker landed on OregonLive's 6A defensive player of the year watch list. Drucker earned all-state honorable mention as a junior with 23 tackles and 6.5 sacks and won MVP honors at a Central Washington camp over the summer.

Sophomore running back Cash Arbow, who scored more than 25 touchdowns as a freshman, adds another dimension to the backfield.

Lake Oswego topped the 6A poll with 167 points and 10 first-place votes, followed by West Linn and Tualatin, according to the Beaverton Valley Times. Previous No. 5 Willamette and No. 9 Jesuit both dropped out after winless starts. The poll does not affect OSAA playoff seedings.

Mountainside travels to West Salem on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m.