Central Catholic fights off defending champion West Linn in semifinal thriller: 5 takeaways from Rams' win

“They’d never faced a team like us, and it showed”

René Ferrán | Nov 18, 2023

If football is — as the great Vince Lombardi said — a game of inches, Central Catholic took advantage of every inch it could get Friday night in its OSAA Class 6A state semifinal against defending champion West Linn.

Three plays that came down to just a few inches made the difference for the Rams in their 12-7 victory at Pioneer Memorial Stadium in Oregon City that propelled them to their third state championship game in the past four OSAA-sanctioned postseasons and eighth overall.

A year ago, the Lions (11-1) humbled Central Catholic 49-17 to bring its hopes of becoming a three-time consecutive champion crashing down.

This time, it was the Rams (12-0) who brought an end to West Linn’s title defense and earned a chance to face Tualatin in a rematch of the 2021 final that Central Catholic won 44-14.

“We all remember how we felt last year after what happened to us,” senior safety Cade Gehlen said. “We just wanted to make a statement tonight and get a little revenge.”

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The last of those three game-changing plays came with the Rams facing third-and-6 from the Lions 45-yard line with 1:11 remaining. Senior quarterback Cru Newman threw a pass that Hudson Reink batted straight in the air.

Newman was first to react, snatching the ball from the air and plowing through traffic to earn a game-clinching first down, with the nose of the ball inching past the down marker at full stretch.

“I don’t want an incomplete pass there because that’s like another timeout for them,” Newman said. “I was just kind of reacting, not thinking. They would have gotten the ball back, and who knows what would have happened. So, I just had to make a play.”

It’s the type of play Rams coach Steve Pyne has seen from his senior leader for four years.

“He’s just such an aware athlete,” Pyne said. “He just has such a sense about him, and to be able to catch that thing and keep that drive alive for us, that was a big deal.”

Photos by Taylor Balkom

Here are five takeaways for Central Catholic from Friday’s victory:

Defense seized the day in matchup of two high-scoring offenses

The focus of many fans entering Friday’s game was on the teams’ potent offenses. The Rams entered Pioneer Stadium with 6A’s top scoring offense at 48.5 points per game, with the Lions sitting third at 41.4.

But it was their defenses — ranked Nos. 2 and 3 in points allowed — that stole the show. Central Catholic put up 350 total yards but scored just one touchdown and a field goal as West Linn held three times in the red zone.

The Rams, who had allowed just 7.4 points per game, proved even stingier, giving up 236 yards against arguably the best offense they’ve faced all season.

“I think we showed everyone in the state that we have the best defense in the state,” said Gehlen, whose third-quarter interception thwarted a promising drive. “We held the fort down against them. I’m just really proud of our guys. I couldn’t be more proud.”

6:44 3rd: Central Catholic 3, West Linn 0.

Case Gehlen gets the INT for CC. Rams ball on their own 12. #opreps pic.twitter.com/f4fKwhDpyF
— Alex Tam 譚汶材 (@alexctam) November 18, 2023

Added Newman: “Our defense was the reason we were in it. Same with special teams. They balled out. I’m just so proud of them and the way they stayed with it the whole game. The offense was struggling, and they set the tone.”

The key was a secondary that kept Lions wideouts Danny Wideman, Hunter Haines and Wiley Donnerberg mostly in check. Haines caught West Linn’s only touchdown on a 68-yard crossing route with 4:51 to play, but he finished with just two receptions.

Wideman had four catches for 28 yards, and Donnerberg had one catch for nine yards. Tight end Gus Donnerberg led the Lions with eight catches for 96 yards.

Rams senior Timmy Mitchell said their strategy focused on “just staying in their face and being aggressive, because we knew they hadn’t played a team as aggressive as us. So, we knew if we stayed in their face, putting that pressure on them, we’d put them in a spot where they’re just lost.

“They haven’t been down a lot this year, so they haven’t been in that situation where they have to play catch-up. So, we put them in a brutal spot that they really couldn’t get out of.”

Special teams plays turn momentum in Central Catholic’s favor

The first critical play came early in the fourth quarter with Central Catholic clinging to a 3-0 lead courtesy of Zeke Van’t Hof’s 34-yard field goal on its opening drive of the second half.

Senior Sam Schuver, who punted just nine times in the Rams’ first 11 games, was on for the fourth time in this game. He scooped up a one-hop snap and sent a low line drive that hit around the 10-yard line. Instead of bounding to the end zone, it suddenly veered left, going out of bounds inside the Lions 1.

One play later, senior linebacker Jeremiah Katsuta blitzed up the middle and caught Cade Johnson in the end zone for a safety.

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“For not having to punt all year, man, Sam turned out to be the big difference tonight,” Pyne said. “Every time we punted, we flipped the field, and that was one of our goals.”

D’Marieon Gates returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards to the Lions 41 to set up the Rams’ only touchdown drive — an eight-play grinder, all on the ground, capped by Newman plowing in from the 1.

“We stuck to it,” said Newman, who ran for a game-high 102 yards on 25 carries and was 13 of 25 for 167 yards. “We said we’re going to do our 1-11 this drive, and that’s what we did. We pounded the rock and got into the end zone.”

Controversy on onside kick eventually leads to game-clinching play

The next matter-of-inches play that went in Central Catholic’s favor might be the most controversial of the night, and it followed Haines’ touchdown that closed the Lions’ deficit to 12-7 with plenty of time still on the clock.

They chose to attempt an onside kick, and it appeared successful as Gus Donnerberg twice batted the ball from would-be receivers before Nick Sakys recovered for the Lions inside the Rams 30.

After a long discussion, the officials ruled that Donnerberg touched the ball prior to it traveling the required 10 yards. The illegal touching penalty gave Central Catholic the ball just inside West Linn’s half of the field.

@SBLiveOR judge for yourself whether the onside kick had traveled 10 yards in the @ccramfootball v @westlinn_fb playoff game #opreps pic.twitter.com/qbncBYTMVR
— RJF XVII (@XVIIpdx) November 18, 2023

“We thought he touched it early,” Pyne said. “We had multiple guys who said he touched it early. That’s what our sideline guys saw. I mean, I don’t know the last time I’ve talked an official into a call. So, I think that’s what he saw.”

Still, the Rams couldn’t put away the game just yet. A holding penalty — they had 10 penalties in the game, costing them 100 yards — eventually led to a punt that gave West Linn another chance from its 23-yard line with 3:18 to play.

The Lions got one first down before facing a fourth-and-1 right at midfield. They handed the ball to Ryan Vandenbrink, but junior Zac Stascausky — the stalwart left offensive tackle who plays defense primarily in short-yardage situations — got penetration and stopped the Lions senior in the backfield with 1:35 left.

“I’m obviously more of an offensive guy putting everything on the line,” Stascausky said. “But when they call my name for defense, they’re putting me against whoever their guy is and do what I do, mess stuff up and let other guys come free. And this time, it was me who came free.

“Everybody gave it their all the whole game, and at the end, we had the energy. They’d never faced a team like us, and it showed. They couldn’t handle it. This game didn’t come down to who trained harder this week. It came down to who trained harder in the summer, coming to workouts every day. Everybody overlooked us, but we worked harder. We outworked them. We earned it.”

‘This one feels like our championship run’ – Rams return to final

Central Catholic returns to the state final for the sixth time under Pyne. The Rams won back-to-back titles in 2013-14, then again in 2019 and 2021, with the COVID spring season between those two championships.

Newman, Gehlen and Mitchell were freshmen during that COVID season, with Newman taking over the starting job at quarterback during that six-game stretch, then earning the first of his Mt. Hood Conference offensive player of the year awards in leading the Rams to the 2021 title.

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He chalked up last year’s semifinal loss to the Lions to “we just weren’t that good last year, and they were really good. And I’m not saying they weren’t good again this year. We just got better. It was pretty even this year.”

For Newman, returning to the final as a senior means a chance to play “with a lot of my buddies and people who I’ve grown up with for four years. This one feels like our championship run. So, that’s what we were aiming for, and we’re making it happen.”

Gehlen sees a lot of similarities between this year’s team and the 2021 edition.

“There’s just a bunch of grittiness,” he said. “We’ll never give up.”

Initial thoughts on Tualatin: ‘Just hold the fort down again’

Newman was genuinely surprised when he learned the team he’d face in next week’s final would be the Timberwolves, against whom he threw for 243 yards and a touchdown in the 2021 championship game victory.

“We’ll start watching film tomorrow,” he said. “I haven’t seen anything about them, but we’ll be ready, for sure.”

Mitchell and Gehlen are aware of the task they’ll face next week trying to stop Tualatin’s high-octane passing offense that overwhelmed Sherwood in a 42-23 semifinal win at Hillsboro Stadium.

“We just need to take it one play at a time, focus on our job, and just hold the fort down again,” Gehlen said.

a Central Catholic West Linn 6A Oregon football semifinal November 17 2023 Taylor Balkom 4

Timberwolves junior quarterback Nolan Keeney threw for a school-record 408 yards and six touchdowns Friday, and senior Jayden Fortier moved to eighth on the state’s all-time single-game list with 324 receiving yards on six catches (four for touchdowns).

Fortier and fellow seniors AJ Noland and Kenen Elder form one of the state’s most formidable receiving corps, and the Rams duo knows they’ll have their hands full next weekend.

“I feel like we have the best defense in the state, as proved against obviously the best offense,” Mitchell said. “I feel like they can’t stop us, and it showed. I plan on doing the same thing (next week) — and even better.”