Ken Potter of Jesuit earns win No. 352, tying Oregon record: ‘He’s a legend’

Potter equals longtime Dayton coach Dewey Sullivan atop the state wins list

Ken Potter's 352nd victory came nearly 37 years to the day of his first. / Photo by Rene Ferran

There was a bit of symmetry to Jesuit coach Ken Potter tying the Oregon state record for high school football wins Friday night.

It was almost 37 years to the day — Sept. 11, 1987, to be exact — that Potter earned his first victory, 44-7 at Aloha. 

Four state championships and 438 games later, the Crusaders earned him win No. 352, holding off Tigard 42-21 as Trey Cleeland overcame three interceptions to throw for 261 yards and three touchdowns, and senior Dominic Locati ran for a career-high 104 yards and a clinching 4-yard touchdown with 5:48 to play.

There was no big celebration befitting Potter’s accomplishment — matching the 352 wins Dewey Sullivan amassed in 42 seasons at Dayton from 1965-2006 — just a short announcement over the public address system as the teams shook hands at midfield, followed by a quick exchange with fellow 300-game winner Craig Ruecker (a former rival at Glencoe and Tigard), and finally a brief huddle and postgame prayer with his players as they held a banner emblazoned with 352 WINS in bold letters.

Potter can break the record at home next week against Oregon City. / Photo by Rene Ferran

“You know, Coach Potter doesn’t really talk about his wins,” said senior Grant Valley, who had two interceptions and caught an 86-yard touchdown pass. “He’s very humble. But we knew. In the back of our minds, it was there. We just had to play our hearts out for him.”

When Potter was asked how he felt about achieving the record, he replied simply, “Relieved.”

Then, he expounded on how the Crusaders bounced back from last week’s 54-19 defeat at Tualatin in their opener.

“We played much better tonight than we did last week, and I think that’s what it’s all about — improvement,” said Potter, who is 352-87 two weeks into his 38th season at the Southwest Portland school. 

“I’ll play for the scoreboard, but also for the fact that you just want to get better. And I think that’s what’s happened in my 38 years working with kids. Just keep getting better, and everything else will take care of itself.”

It’s a mantra he has pounded into his players since that opening night at Aloha, when he took over a Jesuit program coming off a 4-5 season that hadn’t qualified for the playoffs in the previous six years.

“I remember that first game, too,” he said. “I remember our punter getting his punt blocked, and we’re behind 7-0 in my first high school game as a head coach. And I’m like, wow, that’s really good.

“Every team I’ve had is special in its own right, and I love all of them. But you always look at that first one. You know, that team in 1987, they were a special group of men that really helped bring me into being a head coach and being at Jesuit High School.”

Coaches from throughout the state applauded Potter’s record-tying victory.

“I’ve coached for 29 years now, and I’ve not even touched 352 total games,” said Mountain View’s Brian Crum. “He’s a legend — to be that consistent and that great.”

Tualatin coach Dom Ferraro, whose team denied Potter the record a week ago, said, “He’s had so much success, and I’m very happy for him. I think he would tell you his impact goes far beyond the wins and that his focus was always on developing young men and teaching them life lessons through the sport of football.

“I’m very happy for him, and this is a pretty cool accomplishment.”

Wilsonville coach Adam Guenther recalled coaching with Potter at the Les Schwab Bowl and against him when Guenther was an assistant at Glencoe under Ruecker in the 2000s.

“352 wins — there’s not much that you need to say,” Guenther said. “When people think of legendary Oregon high school coaches, his name is now at the top of the list. Congrats to you, Coach. Well deserved and much admired!”

Nelson coach Aaron Hazel added, “Coach Potter has been an open book to any young coach who wanted to help kids grow as people through the game of football. I have appreciated his openness to sharing anything and everything he has. Congrats to him and his family.”

Potter’s first chance to have the record to himself comes next week in the home opener against Oregon City.

“It’ll happen sometime,” he said matter-of-factly. “I hope it’s next week, but there’s no guarantees in life. We’ll just have to keep working, get better, improve and see what happens.”

Jesuit 42, Tigard 21

Jesuit — 7 – 21 – 7 – 7 — 42

Tigard — 0 – 7 – 6 – 8 — 21 

First quarter

J — Jack Tuenge 12 pass from Trey Cleeland (Parker Heydet kick), 10:09

Second quarter

J — Cleeland 8 run (Heydet kick), 11:55

J — Grant Valley 86 pass from Cleeland (Heydet kick), 7:13

T — Trevin Laird 24 run (Evan Garcia kick), 3:13

J — Joe Stimpson 80 kickoff return (Heydet kick), 3:02

Third quarter

T — Owen Wright 7 run (kick failed), 3:20

J — Nick Zervis 32 pass from Cleeland (Heydet kick), 0:22

Fourth quarter

T — Miles Ott 52 interception return (Colt Ness pass from Aris Dimick), 10:41

J — Dominic Locati 4 run (Heydet kick), 5:48

STATISTICS

Rushing—Jesuit, Locati 17-104, Cleeland 6-40, Luke Ortner 5-29, Stimpson 4-24. Total 32-197. Tigard, Laird 12-41, Dimick 10-30, Wright 3-18. Total 27-90.

Passing—Jesuit, Cleeland 11-20-3-261. Tigard, Dimick 8-14-2-47.

Receiving—Jesuit, Grady Keljo 3-45, Valley 2-120, Stimpson 2-39. Tigard, Jaden Cortez 2-15.

Defense—Jesuit, Stimpson 7 tackles; Ben Galluzzo 5 tackles; Valley 2 tackles, 2 interceptions; Nathan Bui 2 sacks; John Ching 4 tackles, 2 for loss. Tigard, Ivan Morales 4 tackles, interception; Ollie Jones 6 tackles; Laird 5 tackles; Ness 2 tackles, interception.

First downs—Jesuit 17, Tigard 9. Penalties-yards—Jesuit 11-90, Tigard 6-35. Fumbles-lost—Jesuit 1-0, Tigard 2-0.

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