HAPPY VALLEY – One year after making the state semifinals for the first time, the Nelson football team is going back to the final four.
The third-seeded Hawks were pushed to the limit in a 6A quarterfinal against No. 6 Wells on Friday night, but with the game on the line, they made enough clutch plays to pull out a 44-36 win. Nelson (10-1), knocked out of last year's semifinals by eventual champion Lake Oswego, advances to meet No. 2 West Linn.
“It just feels like it's redemption,” Nelson junior running back Jalen Crichton said. “We have another opportunity to be great. Hopefully, this time we can pull it through.”
The Hawks know what they are facing in West Linn. They won 36-35 on the Lions' field Sept. 25 when senior quarterback Braylon Gaines ran for a two-point conversion with seven seconds left.
“We've just got to go out and show them that we're the better team again,” said Gaines, the Mt. Hood Conference offensive player of the year. “I've seen a couple of things, like we got lucky, they beat themselves. But I think it's all on us. If we want to win that game, we'll go out and win that game.”
Nelson might have to play without Oregon-bound senior receiver Malachi Garlington, who missed his second consecutive playoff game with an undisclosed ailment.
“We're hoping to get him back next week,” Hawks coach Aaron Hazel said. “We're hoping to get some good news.'
Friday night, it took everything the host Hawks had to turn away unbeaten Wells (10-1), which was coming off its first playoff win since 2003 and was bidding to make the semifinals for the first time since 1972. Piling up rushing yards with its patented Guardian-T offense, Wells answered the first five Nelson touchdowns before falling short on its last drive.
“We didn't know it was going to be like that,” Gaines said. “We have one of the best defenses in the state, but it's something that we've never seen before. So on the offensive side, we just knew we had to go out and score every drive. And that's what we did, for the most part.”
Wells senior Kannon Walter ran for a 56-yard touchdown and senior quarterback Jude Nolan ran for a two-point conversion to make it 36-36 with 8:16 left in the game.
Nelson countered with a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took 6:05 off the clock. Senior Kevin Cohen's two-yard touchdown run and Gaines' two-point conversion pass to senior Drew Miller put the Hawks up 46-38 with 2:11 to go.
On their last possession, the Guardians had a first down at the Nelson 43 with 15 seconds left. But on the next play, Nolan was strip-sacked, and after a wild scramble that included a Wells lateral, the Hawks recovered the ball at the 38-yard line two seconds remaining.
It was one of two stops the Nelson defense got all game, the other a red-zone interception by junior Charlie Dunn late in the first half. The Guardians rushed for 419 yards and finished with a 482-462 edge in total yards.
“They pounded us all night,” said Miller, the Mt. Hood defensive player of the year as a linebacker. “They did a good job of converting on third and fourth down. But we ended up getting some big-time stops. We played when we needed to.”
Despite the loss, the Guardians showed that they belonged against one of the state's top teams, making a statement for the Portland Interscholastic League.
“I hope everybody respects us a little more after that,” Nolan said. “We should have won that game. I was really proud of the way my guys came out, just wanting this game and being an aggressive team.
“We came out punching. It was just a couple of mind mistakes. It's a tough way to go out. I'm going to look back on this season as the best time I've ever experienced.”
Nelson rushed for 377 yards, led by Crichton (12 carries, 197 yards, three touchdowns) and Cohen (22 carries, 159 yards, two touchdowns). Gaines completed 6 of 9 passes for 85 yards and one touchdown, a 25-yard strike to senior Wyatt Blevins.
Crichton was electric, scoring on runs of 19, 41 and 73 yards. Once he broke into the clear, the Guardians could not run him down.
“I did feel like I was in a groove,” Crichton said. “Last game I didn't score much, so this game I just put the anger out. I feel like once I reach the second level, it's pretty hard to guard me.”
Nelson led 21-14 at half before Wells started the third quarter by driving for a touchdown and two-point conversion to lead 22-21. The Hawks went up 29-22 and 36-28, but both times the Guardians responded with touchdowns.
Nolan rushed for 121 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries and completed 4 of 7 passes for 63 yards, including a 31-yard score to junior SeAun Davis (three catches, 63 yards). Walter had six carries for 110 yards and junior Lucius Coon had 18 carries for 73 yards.
jerryu@osaa.org
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