The Tualatin football team opened Three Rivers League play with a loss on the road against Lake Oswego on Oct. 4.
It was a marquee matchup in Lake Oswego, as both teams cruised through their non-league play to set up the matchup between 4-0 teams ranked in the top five in various state rankings.
The Lakers jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and pulled away every time Tualatin tried to get back into the game, ultimately winning 45-31.
“We didn’t play as well as we could’ve tonight,” Tualatin Head Coach Dominic Ferraro said. “We didn’t tackle well or play as well on offense.”
Tualatin took the opening kickoff but couldn’t move the ball and punted it away. Lake Oswego marched downfield mostly on the ground with one big pass play to move the ball near the goal line. Junior quarterback Hudson Kurland punched it in for Lake Oswego’s first score.
That was pretty much how the game went the rest of the way. Lake Oswego moved the ball with ease, especially in the running game. Kurland rushed for three scores, but the real damage was done by Lake Oswego’s star running back, junior LaMarcus Bell.
Bell rushed for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns of his own. Throughout the game, it looked as though Tualatin was going to bring him down for limited damage, but Bell either broke the tackle or cut and reversed his direction to escape the Timberwolves.
On the Lakers’ second possession, a sack by Trenton Hertzog and a Lakers penalty set up a third-and-24 from Lake Oswego’s own 24-yard line. Lake Oswego handed off to Bell who rushed up the middle, cut outside, and out-ran the defense for a 76-yard score.
Throughout the game, Tualatin’s defense would get a few stops, setting up third- and fourth-down attempts for Lake Oswego. The Lakers continually found ways to keep their drives going, oftentimes thanks to Bell or Kurland keeping it and rushing for the first down.
“We just couldn’t get off the field,” Ferraro said. ‘It can be demoralizing. It impacted the score, but it did not impact the way our kids played. They kept scratching and clawing.”
Tualatin’s first scoring drive came trailing 14-0 in the second quarter when quarterback Nolan Keeney and the offense were able to make a few plays. The biggest came on a perfectly-placed lob pass down the sideline to Zhaiel Smith, who leapt over a defender and pulled down the pass to bring Tualatin to the 13-yard line.
Tualatin stalled on the next couple of plays, but Keeney connected on a pass to Calvin Evans on a fourth-and-three from the 8-yard-line to set up a first-and-goal from the one. Sophomore Cole Hachmeister punched it in from there.
Nothing came easy for what had been one of the state’s top offenses prior to this game. Tualatin came into the game averaging nearly 60 points a game in the season’s first four games.
Lake Oswego was able to pressure Keeney throughout the night, forcing the quarterback out of the pocket quite a bit. On some of those plays, Keeney was able to avoid defenders and rush for a few yards or extend the play and find a receiver. Other times, he was sacked or brought down for no loss.
“He made some big plays for us, but also made some plays that hurt us trying to scramble and do too much,” Ferraro said. “That’s what we told him, that he doesn’t have to be the superhero on every single play. You’ve just got to make the routine plays routinely.”
Keeney ended the night with one touchdown pass, a strike to junior Calen Simonelic that went for more than 40 yards to make it 21-14 in favor of Lake Oswego in the second quarter.
Lake Oswego returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, but the score was called back for a penalty. Tualatin seemed to have all the momentum right before the half, forcing Lake Oswego into a third-and-long deep in its own territory. Senior Logan Sunnell batted down a pass, and another penalty gave Lake Oswego a fourth-and-23 from its own 1-yard line. A bad snap went out of the end zone for a safety, making it 21-16 Lake Oswego with 2:07 to go in the half.
Tualatin trailed by five at the half, which was the closest the Timberwolves would get to Lake Oswego in the second half. Trailing 28-16, Hertzog lined up under center and ran in a score from the 1-yard-line to bring Tualatin within five again in the third quarter.
Things aren’t going to get easier for Tualatin now that league play has started. Three Rivers League is widely regarded as the toughest league in the state. Ferraro and Keeney are confident Tualatin can bounce back after the loss.
“This isn’t the end of our season,” Keeney said. “We’ve got to recover from this. We have to. I’m really proud of the way we played and fought from being down early. There’s always a playoff game ahead of us with the talent in our league.”
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