Central Catholic wins at Lakeridge, earns semifinal date with No. 1 Lake Oswego: 5 takeaways

The defending champion Rams pull away in the second half for a 40-17 victory over the Pacers

Kainoa Hayes had two sacks in Central Catholic's quarterfinal win at Lakeridge. / Photo by Dan Brood

LAKE OSWEGO – A lot of hard work.

A lot of motivation.

Put it together, and the Central Catholic football team wasn’t about to be denied.

The Rams, after leading by five points at halftime, pulled away in the second half to get an impressive 40-17 win over Lakeridge in a Class 6A Open quarterfinal playoff game Friday at Lakeridge High School.

“It was huge. To be honest, we’ve worked so hard for this all year. We started in the summer, working for this. It’s a beautiful example of how a team should work together,” said Central Catholic junior tight end/linebacker Andreas Nicolaidis, who had a touchdown catch. “It’s pretty unbelievable how we work so hard as a family. It’s more than just a team. We’re a family. We have so much love going around, from our water boys to our ball boys to all the team members, our seniors, our freshmen — it’s amazing.”

“We really proved ourselves tonight,” said Rams junior running back Tyson Davis, who scored four touchdowns. “We’ve been going against the Mt. Hood (Conference) teams and Ida B. Wells (in a first-round playoff win), and I feel like no one really respected us. But tonight, we came out and got the job done, 40-17. Now I think people will really look at us like a top-tier team.”

Fifth-seeded Central Catholic improved to 11-0. The Rams advance to the semifinal round of the Open playoffs, where they’ll face unbeaten and top-seeded Lake Oswego.

“This is a big thing for us,” said Central Catholic senior defensive lineman Kainoa Hayes, who had two sacks. “We need this momentum going into next week.”

Fourth-seeded Lakeridge finished its season 7-3, with the losses coming to Lake Oswego, West Linn and Central Catholic, who are all still alive in the Class 6A Open bracket.

“We lost, and it’s a pretty sad feeling, especially as a quarterback,” said Lakeridge junior Drew Weiler, who threw for a touchdown and ran for a score. “You always feel like there’s more you could have done. I wish I could have got it done for my seniors.”

Here are five takeaways from Friday night’s matchup:

Rams roll in the second half

A back-and-forth first half ended with Central Catholic holding a 19-14 lead at the break. But it was a fired-up Rams squad that took the field for the second half.

“The second half was big for us,” Hayes said. “We knew the first half was just giving them the first punch, and the second half was just drawing them out and taking them to a place where they don’t want to go.”

Central Catholic gained momentum right before the first half ended, when junior quarterback Robbie Long threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Nicolaidis with four seconds left in the second quarter, giving the Rams their 19-14 advantage.

“That was great. I’ve got a great connection with Robbie Long,” Nicolaidis said. “He threw a great ball, on my outside shoulder. I was able to go up and get it.”

Central Catholic wasted little time building on that momentum in the third quarter.

“We went to the locker room feeling like we had to turn it up,” Davis said. “The defense needed to get a stop, and we needed to get on the board quick, and that’s what we did.”

After the Central Catholic defense forced a three-and-out to start the third quarter, the Rams’ offense put together a 10-play, 50-yard drive that was capped with Davis scoring on a 1-yard run behind a block by senior lineman Zac Stascausky.

Senior lineman Zac Stascausky was one of the stars for Central Catholic in the Rams' quarterfinal win over Lakeridge. / Photo by Dan Brood

Davis had another touchdown run in the second half for the Rams, who also got a 42-yard touchdown run by junior Cole Thomas in the fourth quarter. The Central Catholic defense limited Lakeridge to three points in the second half.

“It was great,” Nicolaidis said. “That’s where we really picked things up. Coach (Charlie) Landgraf was able to tell us what we should be doing right, what we need to work on and what we messed up on. So, in that second half, it was when we locked things in, then we bonded, and we got steamrolling again.”

Running game plus defense equals victory

For Central Catholic, the formula seemed simple enough — just run the ball well and step up on defense.

Done and done.

The Rams’ running game, operating behind an offensive line group that included Stascausky, sophomore Xander Mishkin, freshman PJ Tautu, senior John McGregor and senior Liam Madigan, produced 221 yards on 36 carries.

Davis was the biggest benefactor, running for 157 yards on 28 carries.

“I felt pretty good tonight,” Davis said. “My shoulder was banged up last week, but I really felt great tonight. The O-line had a great game. They couldn’t stop us. Running behind Zac made it simple tonight, and Andreas had some good blocks.”

Andreas Nicolaidis (left) had some key blocks for Tyson Davis, who rushed for 157 yards on 28 carries. / Photo by Dan Brood

“It all started with the running game,” Nicolaidis said. “Our O-line, they’ve been fantastic all year. From everyone, like Zac Stascausky, who committed to Washington, to our tight end group. I have to give credit to myself and Seager Milholen. We all worked so hard at the blocking techniques. We’ve been working hard all year.”

“We can’t say enough good things about the O-linemen,” Hayes said. “They work their (butts) off every day. They put their heads down every day and work. What they did tonight was unbelievable.”

The Central Catholic defense also came up big.

Junior James Wade had an interception, senior Ty Newberry had a forced fumble and fumble recovery, and senior Brevin Pike, senior D’Marieon Gates and Thomas each had a tackle for loss. And then there was Hayes, who had a tackle for loss to go with his two sacks as he caused havoc in the backfield all night.

“For me, I knew that it all started with the D-line and the O-line,” Hayes said. “Coming into the game, I knew I had to take over and just do my thing.”

“The defense got some great stops,” Davis said. “That’s what it came down to.”

Rams ready for Lake Oswego challenge

Even as Central Catholic was celebrating its impressive victory at Lakeridge, the Rams players knew a daunting challenge awaited them.

That challenge will be going up against top-seeded Lake Oswego, which moved to 10-0 by rolling to a 35-0 quarterfinal win over Mountainside.

The Rams say they’re looking forward to the challenge.

“We’re so excited,” Nicolaidis said. “We’re not thinking about them yet. We’re going to learn what we need to from film, and then we’re going to get after them. We’ll be ready.”

“We’re looking forward to it. We’re ready for it,” Hayes said. “We just want to put our heads down and work. They’re an obstacle to get through to where we want to go.”

“It’s going to be a big game,” Davis said. “I think it’s going to be a close one, but we’ll get the job done.”

So, what is it going to take for Central Catholic to get the job done against the imposing Lakers?

“We’ve got the talent and the physicality,” Nicolaidis said. “We’re going to have to take care of what’s going on in our heads. That’s all it’s going to take.”

“We just have to execute on every level,” Hayes said. “We have to be firing on every cylinder. There’s no margin for error.”

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work this week,” Davis said. “Obviously, it’s going to take a lot of prep. Our running game needs to be there, our defense needs to be there. Everyone needs to fire off on all cylinders for us to get the win.”

Weiler steps up, and he looks to get better

While Lakeridge came up short in Friday’s quarterfinal, Weiler seemed to do everything he could to try to help the Pacers get the victory.

He completed 22 of 29 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown, and he scrambled 15 yards for another score.

“My first playoff game and a chance to get to the semis, which Lakeridge hasn’t done in years,” Weiler said. “In front of the home crowd, I just wanted to bring that energy for everyone. We got it going in the first half, but we couldn’t build off of that. There were some mistakes that I made that I’ll look back on and get ready for next year.”

In his first playoff start, Lakeridge quarterback Drew Weiler threw for 238 yards and accounted for two touchdowns. / Photo by Dan Brood

That said, coming off his first year as a starting quarterback, there might not be a limit to what Weiler can accomplish in the future — especially if hard work and humility play a factor.

“I thought I had a decent first season,” Weiler said. “I have to give a lot of credit to my O-line for always blocking for me, and to my receivers for making the catches, and the running backs for making the plays, and Coach Spencer (Phillips) for calling the plays. I’ll just try to build off of everything I did this year and try to become a better player and better leader for the team next year.”

He has a believer in senior receiver Zyon Floyd, who caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Weiler.

“He’s my guy,” Floyd said. “He keeps getting better and better. It’s his first year starting, so there’s some good things coming for Drew. I think he’s going to be all-state.”

Good season, bright future

While there was disappointment for Lakeridge, there also was plenty of pride for a successful season.

“We worked very hard all season,” Floyd said. “It was a good season. We came out short, but I know we’re better than this.”

The Pacers had plenty of bright moments, including Floyd’s touchdown.

“It was definitely special, the last one of my high school career,” said Floyd, who finished with 61 yards on three catches.

Junior receiver Turner Tropio had five catches for 65 yards. Junior Ansu Sanoe ran for 38 yards and had five catches. Senior Treyson Eddleman had an interception, senior Shanko Kornachuk had a fumble recovery, and junior Noah Tishendorf had a sack.

Turner Tropio (right), who had five catches for 65 yards Friday, will be among several key players returning next season for Lakeridge. / Photo by Dan Brood

Now, the Pacers say, it’s time to start preparing for next year.

“Probably in a couple of days to get over the loss, we’ll start looking forward to next season,” Weiler said. “We’ve got a ton of good guys coming back. I’m excited for what we’ll do next year. We’ll take tonight and, as much as it sucks right now, this will be good for us. We’ll be ready for next year.”

 “I hope they do well next year, because this team is special,” Floyd said. “This is a brotherhood. This is a family to me. I’ll never forget it.”

Central Catholic 40, Lakeridge 17

Central Catholic 6 - 13 - 7 - 14 – 40

Lakeridge 7 - 7 - 0 - 3 – 17

First quarter

C – Tyson Davis 16 run (kick failed)

L – Drew Weiler 15 run (Adam Farrell kick)

Second quarter

L – Zyon Floyd 37 pass from Weiler (Farrell kick)

C – Davis 3 run (Mario Martinez-Ibarra kick)

C – Andreas Nicolaidis 13 pass from Robbie Long (kick failed)

Third quarter

C – Davis 1 run (Martinez-Ibarra kick)

Fourth quarter

C – Davis 8 run (Martinez-Ibarra kick)

L – Farrell 31 field goal

C – Cole Thomas 42 run (Martinez-Ibarra kick)

Robbie Long will try to quarterback the Rams to a semifinal win over top-seeded Lake Oswego next week. / Photo by Dan Brood

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Rushing – Central Catholic, Davis 28-157, Thomas 3-65, Ty Newman 3-11, Long 2-(-12). Total 36-221. Lakeridge, Ansu Sanoe 12-38, Shanko Kornachuk 7-29, Weiler 9-8.  Total 28-75.

Passing – Central Catholic, Long 12-21-1, 150 yards. Lakeridge, Weiler 22-29-1, 238 yards.

Receiving – Central Catholic, Landon Kelsey 6-87, Nicolaidis 2-13, D’Marieon Gates 2-12, Davis 1-30, Dayvion Curtis 1-8. Lakeridge, Turner Tropio 5-65, Sanoe 5-22, Jaden Tragesser 4-21, Floyd 3-61, David Moore 2-42, Kornachuk 2-21, Sam Pottmeyer 1-6.

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