West Linn has ‘a lot to be proud of’ despite semifinal loss to Central Catholic: 5 takeaways from Lions' loss

“There’s no other team that I would rather have been with. There’s not one player I would’ve swapped for someone else.”

OREGON CITY — West Linn’s magical season that saw the defending Class 6A state champions roll through the regular season undefeated and unchallenged came to an abrupt end Friday night. 

The Lions, seeded No. 1 with dreams of repeating and winning another blue trophy, fell to fourth-seeded Central Catholic 12-7 in an OSAA Class 6A state semifinal at Pioneer Stadium in Oregon City.

“It hurts, it stings a little bit,” West Linn coach Jon Eagle said. “But we’re proud of our kids and the time, effort and energy they put into the season. But you’ve got to tip your hat to the team that won it.” 

Despite the Lions’ uncharacteristic struggles offensively throughout the game, they still gave themselves an opportunity to win when they got the ball back with 3:18 left and needing 78 yards to score a go-ahead touchdown.

But costly mistakes, including dropped passes and penalties, proved to be too much to overcome.

West Linn finishes its season with an 11-1 record, while Central Catholic (12-0) advances to play in the Class 6A state title game against Tualatin.

Photos by Leon Neuschwander

Here are five takeaways for West Linn from Friday’s loss:

West Linn’s offense struggled to get going 

The Lions’ potent offense entered the game nearly unstoppable.

In 11 wins, they averaged 46.7 points per game and scored less than 40 points just twice. In four of their previous five games, the offense tallied at least 50 points, including a season-high 59 last week against Jesuit in the state quarterfinals.

So, what happened?

West Linn punished opponents on the ground all season behind senior running backs Ryan Vandenbrink and Cade Johnson, but the Lions could muster only 21 yards on 15 carries against Central Catholic’s stout defensive front.

The Rams also dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 33 minutes and 32 seconds compared with West Linn’s 13:17.

“They just had great DBs (defensive backs),” senior Hunter Haines said. “They were locking us up on our routes. We couldn’t get our run game going either, had a couple dropped balls. Their defense played a great game. They’re a great team.”

Junior quarterback Baird Gilroy, who was third in the state in passing yards (2,370), completed 13 of 28 attempts for 203 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

And 68 of those yards came on a touchdown pass to Haines with 4:51 left.

“They were a fast team — that’s as simple as that,” said senior tight end Gus Donnerberg, who had a team-high six catches for 72 yards. “Today, they were just faster than us. We were making mistakes, dropping footballs, but that’s just how it goes.”

Eagle said Central Catholic’s speed and talent got to his team. 

“They manned us up,” Eagle said. “We’d seen man coverage all year and it hadn’t been a problem before, and they did a good job. A lot of times when things aren’t going well, it’s what we’re doing wrong instead of what they’re doing right. They had the pick and they put some pressure on our quarterback and did a nice job controlling our run. I thought we hadn’t been able to run the ball like we’re accustomed to.”

Did the Lions recover the onside kick?

After Haines’ long touchdown catch pulled West Linn to within five points, the Lions had all the momentum on their side.

On the ensuing kickoff with 4:51 remaining, West Linn kicker Gage Hurych attempted an onside kick that seemingly was recovered by the Lions inside Central Catholic’s 30-yard line. But after a long discussion among the referees, it was determined West Linn touched the football before the required 10 yards, which gave possession back to Central Catholic.

“(The referees) said that we touched it too soon and that they were a lot closer than I was,” Eagle said. “I’m looking forward to looking at the film because it looked like the ball was way too high to be touched right there, so I was kind of surprised. But they made the call, you have to live with it.”

@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

West Linn’s players also believed they should have had possession and even celebrated briefly when they thought the referees awarded them the ball.

“I was on the sideline, but the ball was over 10 yards,” Haines said. “They told us we had the ball, and then like a second later, they were like, ‘The other team got the ball.’”

West Linn still had a shot to win

Even with all the mistakes, the offensive struggles and the breaks not going their way, the Lions gave themselves one more shot to win.

After the overturned onside kick recovery, West Linn’s defense was again up to the challenge by forcing a three-and-out.

The Lions had the ball with 3:18 left on their 22-yard line, needing a touchdown to take the lead.

Eagle said he was confident entering that final drive.

“We thought we were having some success throwing the ball (at that point),” Eagle said.

After moving the ball to midfield, West Linn took a costly false start penalty and then saw Gilroy get sacked for a loss of three yards. On the final play on fourth-and-2, the Lions’ run up the middle was stopped short with 1:35 remaining, and West Linn could not get the ball back.

“We faced an opponent that you can’t make mistakes (against), like procedural penalties,” Eagle said. “You just can’t do that.”

‘Just sadness’ after their first and only loss

With a lot of emotions and hugs for the final time taking over West Linn’s side of the field after the game, reality was starting to sink in that the Lions’ season is over.

And the feeling was mutual among players and coaches.

“Just sadness,” Haines said. “I feel like I let down my team, my city. I just feel like we had all this hype coming into this game, thinking we’re the best team to come out of Oregon, and at the end of the day, we just didn’t execute and didn’t play our best.

“But we’ve just got to keep our heads up and move on from this. We’ve all grown up together in youth and playing together. We’re just like brothers — we got along so well. We’re a great team together, and I love my seniors. Everyone is a great leader. We had a great season.”

The accomplishments are to be celebrated:

• 11 consecutive wins to begin the season

• 5-0 record in league play to win the Three Rivers title

• Third straight state semifinal appearance

“There’s not a lot of words to say,” Donnerberg said. “There’s no other team that I would rather have been with. There’s not one player I would’ve swapped for someone else.” 

Eagle said his message to the players was about keeping their heads up.

“We just said, you know, the world will point fingers and try to lay blame on what went wrong or who or why,” Eagle said. “There’s a lot to be proud of. It’s a heck of a season, 11 wins, league champs, got to the semis — not everybody can say that. They have a lot to be proud of.”

A bright future for the Lions

The cupboard is not bare for West Linn entering next season.

Gilroy, who led the TRL in passing yards (2,370) and passing touchdowns (24), is only a junior. Wide receiver Danny Wideman was third in the league in receiving yards (646) and second in touchdown receptions (eight).

Junior Baron Naone, a four-star tight end who committed to Oregon State, and freshman cornerback Josiah Molden also could help West Linn build another contender a year from now.

“We have a lot of guys returning, and this team is going to be good next year,” Donnerberg said. “I’m going to keep in touch and watch them. I think they have a good shot to come back and make another run.

“I just hope all these young guys are able to turn this around and focus on next year as soon as possible and get back to the weight room and start working because they can get back here and do it again.” 

BOX SCORE

Our predictions: How did we do?

Semifinals preview: Breaking down each game

6A final regular-season statistical leaders

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