The challenge was huge.
The fifth-ranked Lake Oswego football team, hosting No. 2 Tualatin on Friday, Oct. 4, knew that the challenge was daunting – but the Lakers proved they were ready for it.
Lake Oswego started fast, kept the talented Timberwolves in check throughout the night and walked off with a key 45-31 win at Lake Oswego High School.
The quotes, the standings
“We were talking about it all week … we have to show them,” said Lake Oswego junior running back LaMarcus Bell, who broke free for 253 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries. “We knew they were a good team, but we knew we were better.”
“Our first TRL game, it was great,” said Laker junior quarterback Hudson Kurland, who completed 9 of 13 passes for 155 yards, and ran 13 times for 45 yards and two TDs. “It was a great outcome. I'm happy.”
“It was great,” said LO senior defensive lineman Oliver Macy, who helped the Lakers hold Tualatin – the Timberwolves have reached the Class 6A state championship in two of the past three years – to 57 yards rushing and 368 yards in total offense. “We're super excited about it, but we just have to go one game at a time and focus on the next opponent.”
“It is huge, but we've just got to take it week by week work on ourselves and not get too cocky,” added Lake Oswego senior offensive lineman Noah Uecker, who helped the Lakers rush for 292 yards. “It was a great team win.”
With the win, the No. 4 Lakers’ fifth straight, Lake Oswego improved to 5-0 overall. Next up, the Lakers will play Tigard (0-1 in TRL play, 1-4 overall) at Tigard High School at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11.
No. 2 Tualatin, meanwhile, lost for the first time, saw its four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 0-1 in TRL play and 4-1 overall. Next up, the Wolves host Oregon City (0-1 in TRL play, 1- 4 overall) at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11.
“It was just mistakes. We made a lot of mistakes,” said Tualatin senior wide receiver Zhaiel Smith, who made nine catches for 166 yards in the loss. “We didn't come out with enough energy. They came out with more energy than us. We just started off slow and that gave them the win.”
“I don't think we played our best game in the first half,” added Tualatin junior running back Trenton Hertzog, who scored two TDs on Friday. “When we came out in the second half, we came out pretty strong, but I think we can come out way better than that.”
The plays
The Lakers established themselves early, getting a stop on the Wolves’ first series, then driving 89 yards to score and lead 8-0. Bell – working behind senior Amin Alshaati, junior Jackson Graetz, Uecker, senior Jagar Shean and senior Jaden Moore – carried five times for 33 yards, Kurland hit senior wide receiver Liam Davis for 42 yards and Kurland scored on an 11-yard TD run.
After the LO “D” forced a three-and-out, the Lakers scored again in just three plays, with Bell going up the middle, breaking a tackle and racing 76 yards to score for a 14-0 edge at the end of the first quarter.
Tualatin answered with an 83-yard monster of a drive, with senior quarterback Nolan Keeney hitting five of seven throws for 77 yards – including a 30-yard pickup to junior Cole Newton – and sophomore Cole Hachmeister banging into the end zone from a yard to make it 14-7 with 6:11 remaining in the half.
The Lakers used their big-play ability to push their lead back to two TDs on their next possession, with Kurland hitting senior Baron Kurland for a 48-yard pickup, and on the next play, Hudson Kurland running 12 yards to score.
The Wolves fought back within 21-14 near the end of the half, though, with Keeney connecting with junior Calen Simonelic over the middle for a 39-yard touchdown and a 21-14 deficit.
Then, after the Tualatin “D” forced a punt, Lake Oswego snapped the ball out of the end zone for a safety and a 21-16 deficit at halftime.
LO hardly blinked, though, and drove 68 yards on the first possession of the second half to push ahead 28-16, with Hudson Kurland ripping off a 36-yard run and Bell going 16 yards up the middle to score.
Tualatin – led by Keeney (he went 18 of 31 passing for 311 yards and one TD – got a 75-yard kickoff return from Smith, and four plays later, saw Hertzog go one yard for the score that cut LO’s lead to 28-23.
But Lake Oswego made sure Tualatin got no closer, scoring back-to-back TDs to push ahead 35-23 at the start of the fourth quarter. On the first scoring drive, Hudson Kurland completed his last three throws for 45 yards, Bell picked up 21 yards and Hudson Kurland scored on an 11-yard run.
On the ensuing drive – after a stop by the LO “D” – Bell carried four times for 36 yards, including a 19-yard, tackle-breaking burst up the middle for the touchdown and a 42-23 lead with 6:59 left in the contest.
To their credit, the Wolves kept battling and took their next series 78 yards to score, with Keeney hitting three big throws and Hertzog cashing in from two yards out with 4:39 remaining. Keeney then hit Simonelic for the conversion to close within 42-31.
From there, LO added a 23-yard field goal by Hudson Gasperson to close out their win.
“We knew (that if) we go up early, they'd fall,” Bell said. “That's how we were thinking. We were like, '(If) we go up early, this team … they're not used to a good team.' So we go up early, we know, they're in trouble.”
For their part, the Wolves vowed to learn from their loss and come back better.
“I think we still have a chance,” Smith said. “We needed to respond to adversity. We responded to adversity today, we just didn't respond well enough.”
“We'll see them again in the playoffs,” Hertzog added. “I think we've got a lot to work on and we'll come back better next time.”
Local News
Comments / 0