Ring Season? To reach their goal, Tualatin Timberwolves need one more win against a familiar foe — mighty Central Catholic

“It’s going to be tough, but I don’t think I’d want to roll in with any other group than this group”

It was back on Dec. 4, 2021. 

A drained, emotional AJ Noland, then a Tualatin sophomore, walked out of the tunnel located at the bottom of Hillsboro Stadium with a solemn look on his face and maybe some tears still lingering in his eyes.

Noland and his Timberwolves teammates left it all on the Hillsboro Stadium turf that day, but they came up short, falling 44-14 to Central Catholic in the Class 6A state championship football game.

Fast forward to this past Friday.

Noland, now a Tualatin senior and a standout receiver/defensive back, was standing on that very same Hillsboro Stadium turf. Only this time, he was surrounded by a jovial group of family, friends and teammates. And, this time, he had a big, bright smile. 

That’s because Noland and the Timberwolves get another shot at the crown. They earned that by battling their way to a 42-23 win over previously unbeaten Sherwood in a Class 6A state playoff semifinal contest.

With that victory, Tualatin advances to the 2023 state championship game. The opponent? Central Catholic. 

“It means the world to us,” Noland said after the semifinal win over the Bowmen. “I was out on this field, sophomore year, playing against Central Catholic. That year, we lost it. So, I wanted so bad to give our team another shot. That loss was rough. This team, giving me another shot, I’m just so grateful for that.”

Saturday’s championship game, which will be played at Hillsboro Stadium at 12:30 p.m., marks the fourth time Tualatin will be playing in the title tilt. But the Timberwolves are still looking for their first state championship.

If determination, motivation and, yes, a need for vengeance account for anything, Tualatin looks ready to battle and give everything it has to try to win that elusive title.

“It means a lot. I said it from the beginning of the year, we owed it to the city,” Tualatin senior receiver/defensive back Kenen Elder said. “I felt like two years ago, when we had a matchup against Central Catholic, we had a good shot. Last year, we fell short (when the Timberwolves lost to Sheldon in the semifinals). I feel like this is our get-back year.” 

“I’m glad we don’t have to turn in our gear on Monday,” Tualatin senior lineman Reid Dobash said with a laugh. “We’ve been talking about this since February. I’m confident in our team. I feel like we can go head-to-head with anyone. We played well against a great defense (in Sherwood) and put up some points.”

“This just means so much. We kind of fell short last year. We’ve been about this since the preseason, and to see it finally come to fruition feels great,” Tualatin senior tight end/defensive lineman Tyson Hunt said. “It would be great to kind of get that revenge and get that win.”

“It means everything. Obviously, two years ago we fell short. And it looks like we’ll be playing the same Central Catholic team,” Tualatin senior tight end/linebacker Jayden Fortier said. “Yes, sir, no doubt, that will be more motivation. Especially since my sophomore year, I was on the sidelines and didn’t get to play. But now, I’m going to be right here on this field, ready to play them. So, that’s a huge deal. We’ve got vengeance coming, and we’re going to be ready.” 

Fortier certainly looked ready — way more than ready — in Tualatin’s semifinal game with Sherwood, as the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Arizona State commit seemed to be nothing short of spectacular in the victory.

Fortier had touchdown receptions covering 52, 79, 60 and 88 yards, with the 88-yard touchdown reception being an amazing catch-and-run play. Fortier also had a 41-yard catch on a third-and-25 play following a wild scramble by junior quarterback Nolan Keeney, moving the ball to the Sherwood 4-yard line, setting up a touchdown pass to Noland late in the second quarter.

For the game, Fortier finished with six catches for 344 yards and four touchdowns.

“I’m just blessed,” Fortier said modestly. “I have to thank God, most of all. And I also have to thank my teammates and coaches for putting me in a position to do all of these things. I trust my quarterback with my life, and I trust everyone else to make plays. They’re going to go hard for me, and I’m going to go hard for them.”

His team sure seems to appreciate that — and him.

“It was insane,” Hunt said of Fortier’s performance. “He definitely came and showed out. He did his thing. Shout-out to Nolan Keeney, too. Those balls were great.”

“I’ve got just a few words — Gatorade Player of the Year,” Noland said regarding Fortier. “That’s all I’ve got to say. He’s the best player on the field at any given time. He shows it every single week. He shows it at practice, day in and day out.”

“He’s so good. I love him,” Tualatin head coach Dominic Ferraro said of Fortier. “I love all of these guys. I’m biased, but I think he’s the best player in the state. There’s excellent players on Central Catholic. But Jayden, for us, he’s our guy. He’s been great.” 

Ferraro, like his Tualatin players, gets a smile when talking about the Timberwolves earning their chance to play in the championship game.

“I’m just really happy for our guys,” Ferraro said. “They’ve worked hard all offseason. I’m proud of them. A win like this, to me, speaks to more of the brotherhood and just fighting for each other. Everyone is good at this point. You just have to fight for one another, and that’s what we did.”

That said, Tualatin, which improved to 11-1 with the win over Sherwood, could very well be in for the fight of its life in the championship contest against Central Catholic — and the Timberwolves know it.

“It’s going to take all of us. It’s going to have to be a team effort. Central Catholic has a lot of good dudes,” Fortier said.

The Rams sure do.

Central Catholic, led by dynamic dual-threat senior quarterback Cru Newman, improved to 12-0 with its 12-7 win over previously unbeaten and defending state champion West Linn in the other 6A semifinal Friday at Pioneer Memorial Stadium in Oregon City.

Many peopled seemed to look at that semifinal contest as being the premier game of the season for the state. But don’t tell that to Tualatin, which seems to have the attitude that it’s not about to concede anything to anyone.

That said, the Timberwolves say they know they’ll have to step up their game even more in the upcoming state title contest with the Rams.

“We’re going to have to play really hard. Central is a really solid team all around. I’m super excited to be in this position. We deserve it,” Elder said. “It’s going to take a lot, I’m not going to lie. We’re going to have to pound on both sides of the ball. It’s all going to start with our line. We’ve got (senior) Ryder (Jones) back, and that’s really big. He might be our best all-around lineman. We have to be able to throw the ball well on them. They’ve got some really solid DBs. They’ve got a really good QB, who we’ll have to contain.”

“We’re going to have a crazy week of preparation, a crazy week of being focused and locked it,” Keeney said. “It needs to be like this week. We had a great week of practice. We have to step up even more and do even better.”

“It’s going to take everything,” Hunt said. “We’re going to go all-out. Everyone needs to put everything on the line. We’re going to go 110 percent everywhere. They’re a great team, so we’re going to need to play our hearts out and play our best.”

“It’s going to be a good one,” Dobash said. “It’s going to be a battle. Everyone is going to have to do their job. Everyone is going to have to execute.”

“It will take herculean effort,” Ferraro said. “We’re going to have to protect the football, we’re going to have to tackle. We’ll have to be disciplined. It’s the last game of the year, and we know what we’re up against. It’s going to be tough, but I don’t think I’d want to roll in with any other group than this group.”

That group likely will be looked at, by at least some, as the obvious underdog in the upcoming title tilt. But that’s OK with Noland.

“I like being the underdog, honestly. Being the underdog puts a little chip on your shoulder, and you go out there and you’ve got nothing to lose,” he said. “If we win, we shock the world. If we lose, it’s expected. I kind of like that. There’s no stress; you just go out there and play the game you love.”

Noland knows something about being an underdog in a state championship contest. Fortier does as well. They were key players on the Tualatin boys basketball team that upended favored West Linn in the 2023 Class 6A state championship game last March.

“Any time you lose in the state championship, it’s rough. I’ve been on both sides. In basketball, we won; football, we lost,” Noland said. “When you lose that game, after all the work you put into it, that last game is the most important game.”

“It’s kind of the same thing. We have a chip on our shoulder every time we come out here. Sherwood, they’re a very confident team, and they backed it up in the first half. But we came out playing hard, and we did what we do,” Fortier said. “We know what it feels like to win, but we know what it feels like to lose, too. We’re trying to avoid that at all costs, and we’re going to give it our all.”

This season, Tualatin’s all has been impressive, and it’s overcome some adversity. There was a five-and-a-half game stretch when the Timberwolves were without Keeney, who suffered a broken collarbone at Jesuit on Sept. 22. Noland moved to quarterback during that stretch, during which Tualatin suffered its one loss, a 37-0 setback at West Linn. 

The Timberwolves say that adversity has made them stronger.

“We persevered, and look at our situation right now,” Elder said. “We’ve been in tough situations. We played in the hardest league (the Three Rivers). In our nonleague schedule, we played all tough teams. I feel like we learned a lot. We just went out and dominated.”

That domination seemingly has been fueled by motivation and some long-lasting determination.

“You saw it tonight,” Noland said. “They (Sherwood) were pounding us hard. Credit to them, they put it to us in the first half. But we were able to rally as a team, and that’s what’s so special. We don’t leave each other’s side. That’s what it’s going to take if we want to bring that thing home.” 

“When you’re playing for something as big as the state championship, you have to be motivated. It’s something that just has to happen,” Fortier said. “This has been the plan since that sophomore year, when we lost to them in the championship. Last year, we fell short in the semifinals, so we came out with a bigger vengeance this year. We’re going to be ready.”

“Even at the end of last year, the returning guys, maybe a week after the season ended, we started our group chat for the football team,” Hunt said. “The name of the group chat was ‘Ring Season.’ We were ready, and we wanted it. We wanted it since the start.” 

Dan Brood, SBLive Sports