Let’s be honest.
Expectations for the Lake Oswego football are sky-high in 2024.
The Lakers entered their season opener — a non-league home game against South Medford on Friday, Aug. 30 — as the state’s fourth-ranked team and LO wanted to prove itself right from the opening kick.
Lake Oswego did just that, scoring on each of its first four drives and racking up a 33-point lead before coasting home to win 33-7 at Lake Oswego High School.
“I think we just went out and did what we had to do to get the win,” said Lake Oswego junior running back LaMarcus “Bam” Bell, who led all rushers with 16 carries for 130 yards and three touchdowns. “We just did what we needed to do.”
“It was really a collective team effort tonight,” said Laker junior linebacker Liam Tobin, who helped limit South Medford to 195 yards in total offense and a single score that came in the game’s final two minutes. “Everyone stepped up to do their jobs.”
“I think, especially for a first game, we played pretty sound football as far as offense and defense go,” said LO senior wide receiver Liam Davis, who led all receivers with two catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. “There were a couple hiccups here and there … but those are things we can work out.”
“We marched the ball up and down the field,” added Laker junior quarterback Hudson Kurland, a transfer from Sunset who completed 7 of 8 passes for 148 yards and one TD. “There were a couple penalties, but we came right back and we kept scoring. We scored on every drive but one.”
With the win, the Lakers improved to 1-0 on the season, while the Panthers fell to 0-1. Next up, Lake Oswego will continue its non-league schedule with a game at Sunset at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6.
The Lakers proved themselves right from the outset on Friday, forcing a three-and-out on the Panthers’ first series, then racing 60 yards in just four plays to take a 7-0 lead. Bell and his offensive line did most of the work there, carrying three times for 49 yards, including a 15-yard jaunt over the right tackle for the score.
The Lakers were back in possession of the football 2 minutes, 29 seconds later and, once again, they needed just four plays to score. Kurland set the pace this time, hitting two straight passes for 57 yards, including a 41-yard strike over the middle to Davis for the score.
Already ahead 14-0, the Lakers re-took possession when sophomore Summit Cvitash picked off a throw from South Medford junior QB Makana Brown at the end of the first quarter.
From there, Kurland connected with senior Baron Kurland — his cousin — for 44 yards, and Bell did the rest. He rushed six times for 32 yards and scored from three yards out to make it 20-0 two minutes into the second quarter.
The LO “D” stuffed South Medford again on its ensuing series, with Laker senior linebacker Oliver Macy pressuring Brown into a third-down throw that Tobin defended to force a punt.
After that, the Lakers drove 61 yards in 10 plays to score again, a series that saw Hudson Kurland complete two throws for 29 yards and junior running back Justin Craigwell carry four times for 26 yards. Craigwell then capped the series with a 2-yard TD dive that boosted his team’s lead to 27-0 at the half.
The Lakers’ offense got stopped, finally, at the start of the third quarter, but the LO defense answered with an interception by sophomore Cole Callahan that set up Lake Oswego’s final score.
LO drove 81 yards in just 4:04 to push in front 33-0, with Bell rushing six times for 44 yards, including a seven-yard burst off right tackle to score with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Lakers substituted freely the rest of the way, with South Medford’s TD coming on a 50-yard run by junior Kellen Lefebvre with 1:29 left in the game.
“We have confidence in all our guys, wherever they're lined up,” Davis said. “We have a whole lot of talented athletes that can play numerous different positions and we have a lot of faith that whoever's out there is going to make the play.”
“In future weeks, we are going to be dangerous and we are going to beast out on defense,” Tobin added. “We’ll control the things that we can control. That's the penalties and everything.”
Lake Oswego
Team Stats
First Downs – 20
Rushing – 35-204
Passing - 7-8-0, 148 yards
Total Yards - 352 yards
Fumbles/Lost – 0-0
Punts – 2-42.5
Penalties – 9-120
Individual Stats
Rushing – LaMarcus Bell 16-130, Justin Craigwell 5-35, Jalen Bauman 2-22, Hudson Kurland 7-14, Mai’ King West 2-4, Mac Ryan 3-(-1).
Passing – Kurland 7-8-0, 148 yards.
Receiving - Liam Davis 2-58, Baron Kurland 1-44, Carson Schwindt 2-23, Jalen Bauman 1-16, No. 41-7.
South Medford
Team Stats
First Downs – 15
Rushing – 38-138
Passing - 4-15-2, 57 yards
Total Yards - 195 yards
Fumbles/Lost – 0-0
Punts – 4-30.3
Penalties – 8-90
Individual Stats
Rushing – Kellen Lefebvre 5-66, Bridger Foss 4-23, Makana Brown 11-21, Kameron Rague 8-18, Wes Boyd 4-13, Ajani Ingram 1-8, No. 1 1-4, Tanner Scheid 2-8, Team 2-(-24).
Passing – Brown 3-12-2, 37 yards; Scheid 1-2-0, 20 yards; Foss, 0-1-0, 0 yards.
Receiving - Michael Duclos 1-20, Rague 1-15, Foss 1-13, Dasan Jackson 1-9.
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