‘All about heart!’ Wilsonville outlasts nemesis Thurston in OT in thrilling opener between 5A superpowers

“Thurston got us in the semifinals, and we kind of paid a tribute to them. We promised we’d get them back.”

By René Ferrán | Photos by Leon Neuschwander 

SPRINGFIELD — Kallen Gutridge played a bit role for Wilsonville last November when, for the third consecutive postseason, the Wildcats saw their season end at the hands of their newest rival.

Then a sophomore defensive back, he had three tackles during their 34-14 loss to Thurston in the Class 5A semifinals.

So, when the junior saw the Wildcats would open this season making the two-hour trip down Interstate 5 to face the Colts in the programs’ first regular-season meeting, he joined his teammates in drawing a circle around Friday’s date on the calendar.

Probably a few circles. In thick, black marker. 

And after leading Wilsonville to a 22-point lead Friday, only to watch Thurston rally to force overtime and then take the lead on Connor Nevin’s 35-yard field goal in the extra session, Gutridge took it upon himself to ensure the Wildcats would avenge that loss 10 months earlier.

The left-hander, making his first career start at quarterback, took the shotgun snap, followed Dylan Nance’s lead block around left end and squeezed inside the pylon for the winning touchdown to lift the Wildcats to a 38-35 victory.

“Really, I just thought about all my teammates from last year,” Gutridge said of what went through his mind as he crossed the goal line. “You know, Thurston got us in the semifinals, and we kind of paid a tribute to them. We promised we’d get them back.”

Gutridge’s score brought a sudden end to a thrilling season opener that saw Wilsonville, No. 3 in SBLive Oregon’s preseason 5A rankings, build a big lead, only to have No. 5 Thurston roar back to tie the score at 32-32 with 11:10 remaining on Noah Blair’s third touchdown of the night — a 24-yard pass to Kodi Wardlaw. 

The Colts appeared poised to win the game in regulation, getting to the Wilsonville 29-yard line with 30 seconds left, but Mark Wiepert stepped in front of a crossing route and intercepted a pass, returning it 54 yards to the Colts 25 with 8.1 seconds remaining.

In overtime, Nevin doinked his field-goal try off the left upright but through to give the Colts their first lead.

On the Wildcats sideline, Gutridge turned to coach Adam Guenther and said, “OK, let’s go win it.”

Four plays later, Guenther saw the Colts overload the box and called for a quarterback keeper, with Gutridge picking which side to run it.

“He saw the side he wanted and snuck it in by that much,” Guenther said, holding his fingers an inch apart.

“When it comes down to it, it was all about heart,” Gutridge said. “Our guys just competed. I couldn’t be more proud of the team.”

In the opposite end zone, the Colts gathered, defeated but not down by any means.

“You know, it’s disappointing, but it’s just Week 1,” said junior Walker Bonar, who caught 10 passes for 128 yards. “We have so much we can improve on, but we came back and battled in the second half. No one has more heart than us.”

Thurston coach Justin Starck called his team’s never-say-die attitude in the second half “a foundational thing. All the mistakes we made tonight are fixable. But if they didn’t play with courage and heart, that’s hard to fix, and they did that. So, they’re going to compete. We can build on that.”

Thurston also had a new starter at quarterback, and Blair, a sophomore, grew into the game after a rocky beginning.

On his third varsity play, Mason Seal rocked him just as he cocked his arm to pass, with the ball popping into the air and right into Ryder McElroy’s hands. The Wildcats junior romped 30 yards to the end zone, giving the visitors a 7-0 lead less than 90 seconds in.

Blair finished 23 of 31 for 278 yards and three touchdowns, showing a deft touch on screen passes that blunted a Wildcats pass rush that still managed four sacks.

“How about being out there against Wilsonville in your first game ever, a team that brings a tremendous amount of pressure, linebackers in your face the whole time?” Starck said. “That’s a lot of adversity for him to face. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Gutridge struggled in the passing game in the second half, missing on his final 12 passes, but ran for 81 yards — most coming on designed runs.

“He did great,” said senior Cooper Hiday, who caught six passes for 100 yards and scored three first-half touchdowns. “He had a great touchdown at the end there, but he also made some good reads, good throws. He’s my best friend, and I’m really proud of him. We’re going to just keep working and keep getting better.”

Hiday’s first score came on a 7-yard slant pass from Gutridge to cap a short drive midway through the first quarter.

After Thurston closed the gap to 13-10 late in the second quarter, Hiday quickly answered with a 37-yard touchdown on a reverse. After a three-and-out, Gutridge lofted his best pass of the night, hitting Hiday in stride down the right sideline for a 74-yard score to push the lead to 26-10 going to halftime.

The Wildcats took the second-half kickoff and put together their best drive of the game, going 79 yards in nine plays, with Wiepert taking an option pitch and running 11 yards to put them ahead 32-10 with 8:37 left in the third.

That’s when the Colts began their comeback. They needed six plays to score on the ensuing possession on a 19-yard run by Will Dau. Three minutes later, Dau found the end zone again on a 10-yard screen pass from Blair.

“You’ve got to keep your foot on the gas against a team like this,” Guenther said. “They’re too good. They’re too well-coached. Their kids play too hard. And you know they’re not going to quit.”

Thurston forced another three-and-out and was back in the end zone early in the fourth quarter when Wardlaw raced past his defender and hauled in Blair’s pass just before reaching the end zone.

“We’ve got some guys,” Bonar said. “This game is a wake-up call, showing us how much better we can be.”

The Wildcats were able to blunt the host’s momentum just enough to survive and get to overtime.

“I mean, there’s really not a better feeling in the world than this,” Hiday said. “We’ve worked since November for this. To play them first, the team who we went down to last year, it’s just an unbelievable feeling.”

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Wilsonville 38, Thurston 35 (OT)

Wilsonville – 13 – 13 – 6 – 0 – 6 — 38

Thurston – 0 – 10 – 14 – 8 – 3 — 35

First quarter

W — Ryder McElroy 30 fumble return (Cooper Hiday kick), 10:32

W — Hiday 7 pass from Kallen Gutridge (kick failed), 6:16

Second quarter

T — FG Connor Nevin 28, 11:55

T — Luke Newell 10 pass from Noah Blair (Nevin kick), 3:40

W — Hiday 37 run (Hiday kick), 3:04

W — Hiday 74 pass from Gutridge (kick failed), 1:19

Third quarter

W — Mark Wiepert 11 run (kick failed), 8:37

T — Will Dau 19 run (Nevin kick), 5:28

T — Dau 10 pass from Blair (Nevin kick), 2:22

Fourth quarter

T — Kodi Wardlaw 24 pass from Blair (Vaun Halstead pass from Blair), 11:20

Overtime

T — FG Nevin 35

W — Gutridge 6 run (no PAT)

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2022 SEASON PREVIEW

STATISTICS

RUSHING—Wilsonville: Wiepert 12-90, Gutridge 12-81. Total 26-220. Thurston: Darien Witham 17-104, Blair 10-(minus 9), Halstead 8-35. Total 37-155.

PASSING—Wilsonville: Gutridge 7-24-0-110, Wiepert 0-1-0-0. Thurston: Blair 23-31-1-278. 

RECEIVING—Wilsonville: Hiday 6-100. Thurston: Walker Bonar 10-128, Newell 4-67, Wardlaw 3-28.

DEFENSE—Wilsonville: Wiepert 11 tackles, interception; McElroy 7 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 fumble recoveries; Gavin Waddell 6 tackles, 2 sacks; Mason Seal 4 tackles, 2 for loss, sack, forced fumble; Dylan Nance 7 tackles, sack, forced fumble. Thurston: Halstead 6 tackles; Witham 6 tackles; Dau 3 tackles, 2 pass breakups; Corren Hester 3 tackles, fumble recovery.

FIRST DOWNS—Wilsonville 15, Thurston 18. FUMBLES-LOST—Wilsonville 1-1, Thurston 4-2. PENALTIES-YARDS—Wilsonville 13-98, Thurston 7-55.