‘I’ve got your back and you’ve got mine.’ Central Catholic offense plays for each other in 2nd half of title tilt, and that approach carries Rams to another state title

“At halftime, there was no pointing fingers or anything like that.”

By René Ferrán| Photos by Taylor Balkom

Central Catholic went to its Hillsboro Stadium locker room for the second consecutive week searching for answers on offense.

And for the second week in a row, the Rams offense kicked into another gear to put away a stubborn opponent.

First, it was archrival Jesuit in a Holy War semifinal, scoring 21 consecutive points to break open a 14-14 tie in an eventual 35-28 win.

Saturday afternoon, it was Tualatin that found itself unable to slow the Rams’ drive to a second consecutive Class 6A state championship. They scored 23 points during a 14-minute stretch to pull away for a 44-14 victory.

“At halftime, there was no pointing fingers or anything like that,” said senior running back Ellis Bynum. “We really just settled down, and it was all, ‘I’ve got your back and you’ve got mine,’ and we went out and played for the man next to us.”

Sophomore quarterback Cru Newman added, “The first half, I think we were trying to force too many things. We went over some things in the locker room, and in the second half, we just turned it up a lot. Our defense made stops, and our offense did what we needed to do. We trusted each other, and that’s why we were successful.”

A lot of that trust went into a young offensive line that started three nonseniors — junior guard Joe Merlino, junior tackle Beau CressAllen and sophomore center Matix Carpenter — beside first-team all-Mt. Hood tackle Garret Cappalonga and second-teamer Myale Jones at guard.

As Saturday’s game wore on, they gradually took control after Tualatin won the battle in the trenches early in the game.

The Rams gained just 35 yards on their first three drives but finished the game with a 445-398 edge in total offense.

“I could say a million things about our offensive line,” said Bynum, who ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns. “They’re incredible and get no recognition, yet without them, the team doesn’t function. They’re the beating heart of this team. I love every single one of them and credit my success to their hard work up front.”

Bynum suffered a Grade 2 sprained MCL during the first practice of fall camp and missed four weeks of action, returning for the Rams’ Week 3 matchup with Tumwater. 

His return brought much-needed balance to the offense, paying dividends in the second half of wins over Clackamas in Week 9 to secure the Mt. Hood Conference title and the final two wins of their playoff run.

Bynum went over 1,000 yards for the season midway through Saturday’s fourth quarter, finishing the season with 1,011 yards and 18 touchdowns.

“I think Ellis is grossly underrated as a football player,” Rams coach Steve Pyne said. “He can play at the next level, and he shows it every week. We made some adjustments at halftime, and we were able to run the football a little bit better and kind of separated ourselves.”

As a result, the Rams capped the first 15-0 season in OSAA history — one of the wins came via forfeit — with Pyne leading them to a fourth state championship in five final appearances since 2013.

“Not in my wildest dreams did I think we’d be able to do what we’ve done over the last eight seasons,” Pyne said. “It’s a pretty good feeling right now.”

Box score

—

—

Preview links:

Tale of the tape: Who has the edge between Central Catholic and Tualatin in the Oregon 6A football final?

Best Friends Bowl: Longtime pals Gavin Jackson of Central Catholic and Malik Ross of Tualatin end their prep careers by going head-to-head for ultimate bragging rights

Watch: Central Catholic coach Steve Pyne discusses Rams’ season, upcoming title game with Tualatin

Watch: Tualatin coach Dan Lever discusses Timberwolves’ season, upcoming title game with Central Catholic

Who will win the 6A football final between Central Catholic and Tualatin? Our predictions …

—

More on Central Catholic:

Central Catholic again the favorite in 6A Oregon football? Attitude, work ethic will tell the story for deep, talented Rams

‘It was Stryder’s night tonight.’ In surprisingly sloppy game between Oregon and Washington champions, Stryder Todd-Fields’ big plays lift Central Catholic over Camas

Clackamas, Central Catholic square off in bid for Mt. Hood summit

No. 1 Central Catholic 38, No. 5 Clackamas 20: Riley Williams, Rams erase any doubts as national audience watches Mt. Hood title bout

Impending Oregon Ducks career far from Emar’rion Winston’s mind as he prepares to lead Central Catholic defense in Holy War 6A semifinal

Central Catholic fights off Jesuit in Holy War semifinal, will face Tualatin for shot at 2nd consecutive 6A title

Central Catholic calls on ‘Independent Contractors’ to help secure victory against Jesuit and ‘The Franchise’

From a 5-foot-2, 100-pound JV2 soccer player to the 6A football final — it’s been quite a journey for Central Catholic’s Asher Wajskol

—

More on Tualatin:

Is Tualatin in store for the best football season in school history? ‘The sky’s the limit’

Tualatin survives epic battle with 5A Silverton — and learns a valuable lesson: ‘When we go 80 percent in practice … it matters’

‘You hold your breath every time he touches the ball.’ Malik ‘Magic’ Ross shines in all 3 phases for top-ranked Tualatin football team

‘There’s nothing we can’t do.’ Tualatin football earns signature victory with blowout of longtime nemesis West Linn

For Cole Prusia and Tualatin, Saturday’s rout of West Linn started with a crushing defeat 7 months earlier

‘Electric, electric, electric.’ Malik Ross scores 5 of his school-record 6 TDs in 2nd quarter as Tualatin leaves Westview in the dust

Tualatin defense silences West Linn again; Timberwolves 1 win from 1st state title in program history

‘They’re the beating heart of the team.’ Tualatin has no shortage of stars, but it’s the offensive line that makes the offense go

—

SBLive Sports has launched a free iPhone and Android app featuring exclusive coverage of Oregon high school sports. You can download the new SBLive iPhone app here, and you can download the new SBLive Android app here.