Latest laugh in West Linn-Tualatin rivalry goes to Lions — in a 37-0 laugher: 5 takeaways

“Just put our foot on the gas pedal and hammer them.”

WEST LINN — Two years ago, while West Linn refurbished Gregory Memorial Stadium, the Lions held their Homecoming game at Wilsonville High School against Tualatin.

The result was a 49-14 beatdown administered by the Timberwolves, who doubled down on that victory two months later en route to reaching the 6A state final. 

This year’s West Linn seniors were sophomores that fall, and they had long memories. They welcomed the Timberwolves to Gregory Memorial Stadium for Homecoming on Thursday night and overwhelmed their visitors in a 37-0 victory that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate. 

“They beat us up on our Homecoming two years ago,” said senior Ryan Vandenbrink. “Obviously, we beat them last year, but to come back here and beat them up a little bit on our Homecoming night this year, I’m really happy about that.” 

Seemingly the entire roster chipped in on the beatdown for the Lions, who entered the game ranked No. 2 in the SBLive Oregon Class 6A media poll. Junior quarterback Baird Gilroy threw for 212 yards and four touchdowns, including one to Vandenbrink, who ran for a game-high 73 yards.

Junior Baron Naone had four tackles for loss and two sacks to lead a defensive effort that held the third-ranked Timberwolves to 24 yards of total offense and three first downs.

“I know a lot of my seniors lost their Homecoming game with Tualatin when they were sophomores in disappointing fashion,” Gilroy said. “I wouldn’t say it was a revenge game, but I’m really proud of how we played.”

Photos by Leon Neuschwander

Here are five takeaways from Thursday’s game:

West Linn learns from last week’s slow start, puts away Tualatin early

The Lions (6-0, 2-0 Three Rivers League) trailed 14-11 at Lake Oswego midway through the second quarter last week before coming to life, scoring the game’s final 38 points.

There would be no repeat of that sluggish start Thursday. Compare each team’s first possession:

Tualatin: 1-yard run, 1-yard loss, incomplete pass, punt 

West Linn: 9-yard run, 9-yard pass, 33-yard touchdown pass

Just eight minutes into the game, the Lions led 20-0 and never let up, handing Tualatin its first shutout loss since it fell 10-0 to Sprague in the second round of the 2012 playoffs — a streak of 112 games. 

“We came out strong, which was our plan,” Naone said. “We took it to them in the first half. That was our message coming into this game — just put our foot on the gas pedal and hammer them.”

Timberwolves coach Dominic Ferraro knew the Lions were likely to press them early, especially as Tualatin went into the wind in the opening quarter. He never expected the avalanche that ensued.

“We knew we were going to struggle running the ball, but I figured we could move the sticks a little bit,” Ferraro said. “We were struggling to move the ball and with our timing throwing the football. That was kind of rough, and then you look up, and all of a sudden, it’s 20-0.”

Lions defense contributes to most complete effort of season

West Linn won its season opener against Nelson a month ago by an identical 37-0 score, but the Lions walked off the field that night feeling just OK about their performance.

That wasn’t the case Thursday. Naone and Vandenbrink agreed that in all three phases, the Lions had put forth their best complete effort to date.

“We came out hot on offense, scored right away, and we kept hammering them on defense,” said Vandenbrink, who had two of their 11 tackles for loss. “They couldn’t get anything. We knew that, so we just kept the pedal down. That was the message at halftime. We just keep the foot on the gas pedal, and that’s what we did.”

The Timberwolves were without standout junior quarterback Nolan Keeney, who broke his collarbone in a Week 4 victory at Jesuit.

Senior AJ Noland moved from receiver to quarterback, and he had a solid performance in last week’s come-from-behind win against Lakeridge, but he never stood a chance against a suffocating pass rush that sacked him five times and forced him into a 3-for-14 night.

“I know I’m not a true quarterback back there,” Noland said. “They sent the pressure on me. I took a couple of hits at the start, and the game went by pretty fast after that. So, a lot of credit to them. They didn’t give our offense a chance. I’ve just got to be better.”

Naone said the Lions resolved to shut down the run early.

“We were practicing against that run game all week,” he said. “We knew their every move, and we came out so strong. We need to keep pushing like this.”

Timberwolves coach still has faith in Noland despite struggles vs. Lions

Ferraro knew his offense would undergo a transition period following Keeney’s injury. Thursday’s game underscored how much the Westview transfer’s absence affects their attack.

“Everyone asks me, ‘How’s AJ going to do at quarterback?’” Ferraro said. “And I think AJ’s going to do fine. The thing that I keep telling people is that you take an electric athlete like AJ from receiver, where he can stretch the field, and we just lose a little bit.

“Leading up to the injury, it felt like offensively, we sort of put it all together in that first half against Jesuit. It was kind of a pick your poison, like you want to double-team Jayden (Fortier) out there or double-team Kenen (Elder), then you’re leaving our inside guys open. Or do you want to double-team AJ and focus on him? Then, you’re one-on-one on the outside.”

Ferraro and Noland also know none of their Three Rivers League rivals are going to feel sorry for the Timberwolves — not with how cutthroat the state’s toughest league is.

The road gets no easier next week with a matchup against No. 5 Lake Oswego, which bounced back this week to defeat No. 8 Oregon City 20-12.

“A lot of us have never lost this badly in our lives,” Noland said. “So, definitely, it’s about just learning from it, growing from it. It’s not a good feeling, but we’ve got to go back to the drawing board, watch film, correct our mistakes, head into next week and flush it.”

Thursday’s game a continuation of rivalry that heated up two years ago

Tualatin and West Linn have been TRL competitors since the Timberwolves joined the league in 2014, but it wasn’t until Tualatin’s victory in 2021 that the schools transformed from competitors to rivals.

“I mean, I remember my sophomore year, we beat them up pretty bad in league, and then we played again in the state (playoffs) and beat them up pretty bad again,” Noland said.

It’s not just on the gridiron where the rivalry roars to life. The schools met in the semifinals of the 6A basketball tournament in 2022, with the Timberwolves winning en route to their first state title.

Last winter, they played four times on the basketball court, with the Lions winning the first three before the Timberwolves got their payback when it counted most — earning their second consecutive 6A state championship.

West Linn got a bit of revenge on the baseball diamond, sweeping their three-game TRL series before going on to win a second consecutive state title.

“It’s baseball and basketball and football and every other sport, too,” Vandenbrink said. “It’s really fun to see, you know?”

Both teams have potential to get better when injured stars return

The Timberwolves certainly hope they get another shot at the Lions in the 6A state playoffs.

While West Linn is No. 2 in the media rankings, it’s a solid No. 1 in the OSAA rankings, and Tualatin likely won’t fall too far from its No. 2 spot in the OSAA rankings despite Thursday’s loss.

Thus, any playoff matchup likely wouldn’t come until at least the semifinals, when the Timberwolves remain hopeful Keeney could return for a possible rematch.

“It would, for sure, change some things, not just having him back under center but having me back at wide receiver,” Noland said. “He’s one of the top QBs in the state, if not the top. So, we’d love to have him back. I’ve just got to step it up and try to fill his shoes as best as I can.

“I’m hoping we get another shot at them, and hopefully this time, we can play a little better.”

The Lions also were without one of their top weapons as senior Wiley Donnerberg missed his second consecutive game because of a pulled hamstring suffered in their Week 4 win at Lake Stevens.

He hopes to return for next week’s game at Tigard, and if he does, that adds more explosiveness to an already potent attack.

“We were 100% business this week,” Gilroy said. “That really showed tonight. That’s why our first quarter was so great.”

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West Linn 37, Tualatin 0

Tualatin – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

West Linn – 20 – 10 – 7 – 0 – 37

First quarter

WL — Gabe Howard 33 pass from Baird Gilroy (pass failed), 9:24

WL — Nick Sakys 3 run (Gage Hurych kick), 6:28

WL — Ryan Vandenbrink 12 pass from Gilroy (Hurych kick), 3:57

Second quarter

WL — Gus Donnerberg 22 pass from Gilroy (Hurych kick), 7:56

WL — FG Hurych 35, 0:56

Third quarter

WL — Danny Wideman 15 pass from Gilroy (Hurych kick), 5:47

STATISTICS 

RUSHING—Tualatin: Trent McMillan 4-22, Carson Mullins 4-2, AJ Noland 9-(minus 47). Total 21-(minus 17). West Linn: Vandenbrink 10-73, Cade Johnson 10-47, Sakys 4-19, Viggo Anderson 4-33. Total 33-177.

PASSING—Tualatin: Noland 3-14-0-38, Owen Hagerman 1-2-0-3. West Linn: Gilroy 15-24-0-212.

RECEIVING—Tualatin: Jayden Fortier 1-39. West Linn: Wideman 5-81, Donnerberg 3-40, Hunter Haines 3-39.

DEFENSE—Tualatin: Calvin Evans 8 tackles, 2 for loss, fumble recovery; Logan Lynn 6 tackles, forced fumble; Thomas Ngure 4 tackles, sack. West Linn: Baron Naone 5 tackles, 4 for loss, 2 sacks; Silas Reynolds 2 sacks, pass breakup; Vandenbrink 2 tackles for loss; Donnerberg 3 tackles, sack; Josiah Molden 3 pass breakups. 

FIRST DOWNS—Tualatin 3, West Linn 20. FUMBLES-LOST—Tualatin 0-0, West Linn 2-1. PENALTIES-YARDS—Tualatin 7-47, West Linn 5-40.

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STATEWIDE SCOREBOARD

Week 6 predictions: How did we do?

State leaders: Class 6A | Class 5A | Class 4A

Media polls: Class 6A | Class 5A | Class 4A

Photo by Leon Neuschwander

Leon Neuschwander, SBLive Sports