Wilsonville's two-year reign over 5A football came perilously close to ending Friday in a first-round game against visiting Ridgeview.
In fact, the seventh-seeded Wildcats were in such a tight spot midway through the fourth quarter that coach Adam Guenther decided to go for it on fourth-and-9 from his own 10-yard line, trailing by four points.
“We weren't stopping them,” Guenther said of the No. 10 Ravens. “I'd rather have our fate in our own hands. I trusted my guys. I'd rather give them a shot than let them try to run out the clock.”
The gamble paid off as senior running back Roman Kealoha turned a short pass into a 20-yard gain. That play led to the go-ahead touchdown, a nine-yard run by Kealoha, as Wilsonville took a 45-42 lead with three minutes remaining.
Ridgeview crossed into Wilsonville territory on its final possession, but a fourth-down pass fell incomplete, and the Wildcats kneeled out the final 1:30 to seal the win.
The victory was a testament to Wilsonville's championship DNA. Guenther praised his players for their resilience.
“They had a few opportunities to turn tail and give in, but they just kept fighting,” Guenther said. “When our defense wasn't at its best, our offense stepped up. I'm glad we have the ability to put up points like we can, but if we want to go further, we've got to step up on both sides of the ball.”
Junior quarterback Trevor Glos completed 23 of 33 passes for 440 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions. He threw scoring strikes of 43 and 66 yards to senior Luke Carli, 64 yards to senior Keona Tam and three yards to junior Luke Brainard.
Kealoha had 16 carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns and Tam returned a kickoff for a score for the Wildcats (9-1), who survived despite missing four extra-point attempts.
Guenther was impressed by the Ravens (7-3), whose only previous losses came against No. 1 Summit and No. 3 Mountain View.
“They played incredible. Our defense couldn't stop them,” Guenther said. “They weren't a No. 10 seed, I can tell you that.”
Wilsonville advances to the quarterfinals to play at No. 2 Silverton (9-1). To win a third consecutive title, the Wildcats potentially would have to go through Silverton, Mountain View and Summit.
“We've got to run the gauntlet if we're going to do it this year,” Guenther said.
Churchill stuns Lebanon
Entering the 5A playoffs, perhaps no team was riding a bigger wave of momentum than fourth-seeded Lebanon, which repeatedly came through in the clutch to capture the title in the highly competitive Mid-Willamette Conference.
But No. 13 Churchill, the third-place team from the Midwestern League, went on the road to stun the Warriors 21-8 on Friday night, opening a 21-0 lead before giving up a late touchdown.
“We played with great energy,” Churchill coach Layne Coffin said. “It was probably our best overall performance of the year. Our defense played extremely well. They were able to contain a couple of high-powered kids. We were pretty physical in the trenches.”
Lukas Babbitt, a 6-0, 226-pound senior running back, rushed for 182 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries and sophomore Ryder Nagel added 70 yards on 12 carries for the Lancers (7-3), who threw only two passes, completing one.
Lebanon (8-2), which had scored at least 30 points in each of its previous six games, could not solve Churchill's defense.
“Our defense played outstanding,” Coffin said. “A lot of guys played their best game.”
Senior defensive end Charlie Dexter and sophomore linebacker Finnley Currington were forces up front, and the secondary – led by seniors Mikey Johnson, TJ Wright, Asa Krebs and Lucas Gansen – shut down Lebanon's dangerous passing attack, which features senior dual-threat quarterback Brison Edwards.
The 6-5, 220-pound Dexter has been dominant this season.
“He's the real deal. He's one of the top two or three players I've been around in high school,” Coffin said. “He just has this length and great hands. He doesn't see the trees. He can strike and go in a hurry.”
Since a 27-16 loss to Thurston on Oct. 17, Churchill's defense has locked down, shutting out South Eugene and Eagle Point heading into Friday's game.
“That game was a soul-searcher,” Coffin said. “We've been trying to manage players better, get them in the right spots. Hopefully, those things are helping us play different.”
Now the Lancers get another crack at No. 5 Thurston (10-1), the Midwestern champion, in the quarterfinals.
Coming of age
With only four seniors in the lineup, young Grants Pass could have faced a baptism by fire Friday when it took a four-plus-hour bus ride to play Pacific Conference champion Sherwood in a 6A first-round game.
But the No. 11 Cavemen (7-3) were up to the task, never trailing in a 35-32 victory over the No. 6 Bowmen (7-3). It was their first win in the top 6A bracket since 2015.
“It's been a process all season long, watching the kids grow and learn how to get off a bus, handle adversity and play with composure,” Grants Pass first-year coach Matt Kennedy said. “To me, it was a culmination of a lot of conversations and practice habits, coming to bear when it mattered the most.”
Junior quarterback Jordan Rossetta completed 13 of 21 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns, all to junior Brevik Hill, who had eight catches for 133 yards.
“He's been lights-out for us,” Kennedy said of Hill.
Hill caught two touchdown passes in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead, and after Sherwood answered to tie 14-14, junior Cameron Holland returned the ensuing kickoff for a score to make it 21-14.
Sherwood got within 28-26 in the third quarter, but Grants Pass stopped a two-point conversion attempt to preserve the lead. Junior Treyton Powers scored on a 10-yard run for a 35-26 lead with eight minutes left, and the Cavemen closed it out, recovering an onside kick with about one minute to go.
Up next for the Cavemen is a quarterfinal at No. 3 Lake Oswego.
“The opportunity is all you can ask for,” Kennedy said. “Our theme will be something about playing with house money, at this point. We're just going to let it rip and see what happens.”
It will be the team's seventh road trip of at least four hours this season, and third in a row.
“We're getting used to what it's like sitting on the bus for five hours,” Kennedy said.
'Hungry' Kennedy advances
After making four consecutive state championship games, including a 2A title in 2018, Kennedy exited the playoffs in the first round the last two years.
So the Trojans – who moved up to 3A in 2022 and finished as state runners-up – took great satisfaction in extending their season Friday with a 28-19 home win over Santiam Christian, the same team that bounced them in the first round last year.
“We've been hungry for one,” Kennedy coach Joe Panuke said. “We've been talking about it since summer with weights, that we're not going to lose in the first round this year. Playing up in 3A is a little tougher competition, and our goal this year was at the very least to not lose in the first round.”
Senior Brody Panuke, the coach's son, passed for 164 yards and two touchdowns, a 70-yarder to senior Landon Kline and a 30-yarder to senior Colby Rich on screen passes. Rich also ran for two touchdowns.
No. 7 Kennedy (7-2) led No. 10 Santiam Christian (7-3) wire to wire. The Trojans took a 21-19 advantage into halftime and held the Eagles scoreless the rest of the way, padding their lead with an eight-yard touchdown run by Rich.
Kline had two interceptions and junior Stephen Handran had one, setting up Kennedy's first touchdown. Kennedy's defense smothered the Eagles' running game.
“They had to throw it more than they're used to throwing it,” Joe Panuke said. “The offense did just enough to get the job done.”
A 42-21 first-round loss at Santiam Christian last year helped provide extra motivation.
“A little redemption. That was fun,” Joe Panuke said. “It was special to stay at home and do it on our field, because typically we've been leaving and getting on turf in the first round. We're like, 'Let's stay home, play it on our own field, even though it's going to be wet and muddy.'”
The Trojans will meet No. 2 Banks, their Special District 1 rival, in the quarterfinals. They lost at Banks 42-7 on Oct. 10.
“We felt like that game should've been closer,” Joe Panuke said. “We didn't play our best game. Things kind of got away from us. We feel that if we can execute and do what we do, we can make it a ballgame.”
Luebkert ties career mark
Beaverton senior receiver Oliver Luebkert continued his assault on the state record book Friday by catching 10 passes for 114 yards and three touchdowns as the Beavers won 35-15 at North Salem in a 6A Columbia Cup quarterfinal.
Luebkert now has 51 career touchdown catches, tying him for the most all-time with Marist Catholic's Taylor Walcott (2008-11). Luebkert has 1,635 receiving yards this season, raising his career total to 3,161, No. 6 all-time. Central Catholic's Silas Starr (2017-19) owns the record at 3,315.
The Eastern Washington-bound Luebkert also is closing in on single-season records.
With 27 touchdown catches this year, he is tied for second with Central's Dane Oliver (1998) and Cottage Grove's Alex Toureen (2010), one behind Beaverton's Jesse Levin, who had 28 in 1997.
Luebkert's 103 receptions this season is tied for third with West Linn's Connor Berggren (2015). Cottage Grove's Brad Bonds (2013) holds the record at 110 and Levin (1997) is second at 107.
Luebkert could play two more games this season. Up next for Beaverton (6-4) is a semifinal at Sandy (6-4).
Tualatin's Keeney impresses
No. 9 Tualatin's 34-33 overtime loss at No. 8 Jesuit in a 6A first-round game was a tough pill to swallow for the Timberwolves, but one of the bright spots for them was the play of sophomore quarterback Lincoln Keeney.
Keeney, the brother of former all-state Tualatin quarterback Nolan Keeney, rallied the team from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter in emergency duty after senior starter Owen Hagerman left the game with a leg injury.
The 6-4, 190-pound Keeney entered the game and made an immediate impact. He threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior Calen Simonelic, lofting the ball nicely over defenders into the end zone, and followed with a two-point conversion pass to senior tight end Cole Newton to make it 27-24 with 5:27 left.
When the Timberwolves got the ball back, he completed three passes for 29 yards to set up the game-tying, 38-yard field goal by senior Trent Dearborn.
He finished 5 of 8 for 59 yards and one touchdown, showing command and poise. He has played mostly JV this season, but has thrown a handful of touchdown passes in varsity mop-up duty.
“Lincoln's a sophomore and he's got a lot of growing to do, but man, what a performance when he came in,” Tualatin coach Dom Ferraro said. “Sometimes you look at him in practice and you're like, 'I don't know if he's ready yet.' But he's done this in pretty much every varsity game.”
The Timberwolves appear in good shape at quarterback next year. They have Keeney and junior Carter Powers, who took over the starting job this season before being sidelined with an injury suffered Oct. 17 against Lakeridge.
Douglas surprises
Douglas, the No. 13 seed in 3A, matched Churchill for the lowest seed to win in the opening round of the championship brackets, where the higher seeds went 38-10.
Douglas (6-4) surprised by knocking off previously undefeated Dayton 21-18 for its first playoff win since 2011. The Trojans will play in the quarterfinals at No. 12 Gervais, which upset No. 5 Siuslaw 48-28.
Dayton (9-1) led Douglas 18-7 in the second half before the Trojans rallied, pulling ahead 21-18 on a touchdown catch by senior Reese Willis with 4:24 left in the game.
“We knew we could beat this team,” Douglas coach Nick Garcia told the Roseburg News-Review. “We played tough on defense. Everybody did their jobs and rallied to the ball. Both teams had a hard time holding on to the football, but we stuck to our game plan.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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