By MIKE WEBER/for OSAAtoday
Second-seeded West Linn advanced to the 6A Open football final with a 28-21 semifinal win over No. 3 Sheldon on Friday at Willamette University in Salem.
The Lions (10-1) will meet No. 1 Lake Oswego (11-0) in an all-Three Rivers League championship game. Lake Oswego advanced to the final with a 33-24 win over No. 5 Central Catholic. The contest will be a rematch of a Oct. 18 game that the Lakers won 21-17 at West Linn.
The Lions, guided by third-year coach Jon Eagle, reached the final for the second time in three years and the fourth time in school history. The Lions won the title in 2022 and in 2016.
"It was a lot of fun, and it was just a great high school football game," said Eagle. "It was definitely an exciting game between two really good teams. We're pretty excited for our kids, and we're glad to have an opportunity to go back and play in the finals again.”
Sheldon (10-1) suffered its first loss of the season.
"We had a great season, but tonight was our night, but it doesn't take away from the very successful year that we had and what we accomplished," first-year Sheldon coach Tyler Martell said. "There is four really, really good teams in the semi's and we were one of them. West Linn is a good football team, they're well coached and they did a great job to get the win."
Friday's game was tied three times. The Irish scored on their first possession on a nine-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Kelsen Sperry (11-for-21, 186 yards passing).
The Lions responded on their ensuing possession with an 80-yard scoring drive, capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Baird Gilroy (33-for-44, 335 yards passing, three touchdowns) to senior receiver Baron Naone (seven catches, 54 yards receiving).
"Our offensive line deserves a lot of credit, because we couldn't do much with out them," said Eagle. "Baird threw some very timely passes and he made a lot of third down conversions. All of our receivers made a lot of catches which were key plays. We shut out a pretty good team in the second half. Our defensive coordinator Anthony Newman put together an very good game plan and the kids just executed it very well."
Sheldon (10-1), the highest scoring 6A team with a 48.5 points per game average, displayed a quick strike offense on their ensuing possession.
The Irish scored on their first play after getting the kickoff from West Linn. Sperry threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Brody Thomas to lead 14-7.
West Linn's 5-foot-8, 160 pound junior running back Viggo Anderson (24 carries, 152 yards rushing) returned the ensuring kickoff to the Sheldon 28-yard line. A seven-play drive was capped by a two-yard TD run by senior Hudson Hardy (six carries, 30 yards rushing) to help the Lions knot it 14-14.
Both teams had another scoring drive to knot it again for the third time in the game. The Lions took their first lead of the contest at 21-14, capping an 80-yard drive with Gilroy's touchdown pass to senior receiver Danny Wideman (13 catches, 153 yards receiving).
The Irish again responded with a quick score when senior running back Jyce Jones scored on a 97-yard kickoff return, knotting it at 21, which was also the halftime score.
The Lions displayed a rock solid defense in the second half, while holding the Irish offense to a goose egg on the scoreboard. West Linn took a 28-21 lead late in the third quarter on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Gilroy to Wideman.
"It's exciting to be in the championship. The venue is great and we love playing in Hillsboro, which is an exciting environment," said Eagle. "Not everybody gets to practice on Thanksgiving, so it's going to be a pretty fun week."
For the Irish, the contest marked the final game of their football career for a large group of 27 seniors. The Irish reached the semis for the second time in three years and it was their first time since 2022.
"We have a really special group of seniors, so it was a tough loss for them, but I'm really proud of them for helping have a great season," said Martell. "I'm really thankful to have that group of guys and they did everything that I asked them to do this year. It's really a tribute to the seniors and I can't say enough about them, because they put their heart and soul into the team this year. It's hard for kids whenever there's a coaching change, but it didn't bother them much and they just went out and practiced hard every day and they trusted in everything the coaching staff asked them to do."
The Lions outgained the Irish 503-245.
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