For state champion West Linn, it all started up front: ‘We’ve got the best O-line in the state’

The linemen were at their best during the 6A Open championship-clinching win over Lake Oswego, not allowing a sack and helping the Lions rush for 257 yards

Ryan Holmes, Tristan Brester and Kalani Ioapo were part of a West Linn offensive line that kept Lions quarterback Baird Gilroy upright throughout Friday's 6A Open state championship game against Lake Oswego. / Photo by Dan Brood

HILLSBORO — Time was starting to run down.

The West Linn football team, holding a 44-30 lead over Lake Oswego in the Class 6A Open championship game Friday at Hillsboro Stadium, had just gotten a defensive stop.

The Lions took possession with 5 minutes and 55 seconds to play. From there, they wanted to close the victory and not let the comeback-minded Lakers get one more possession.

But how?

Well, to some members of the Lions squad, the answer was easy — turn to the offensive line.

“The coaches were telling us that it was up to us, and we took that role,” senior lineman Ryan Holmes said.

“We were up to that challenge,” senior lineman Jake Normoyle said. “We work on those situations every day in practice. We’ve been repping it. It was nothing new. We just had to go out there and make the plays.”

“Most definitely, we wanted to do that,” junior lineman Kalani Ioapo said. “We asked Coach (Jon) Eagle for that last drive to ‘put it on our shoulders, let’s go, we’re going to get that championship.’”

That’s exactly what they did.

Behind the powerful offensive line, which also included senior Connor Stuart and senior Tristan Brester, West Linn made sure Lake Oswego didn’t get the ball again. The Lions finished with nine consecutive running plays, gaining three first downs, to run out the clock and finish the 44-30 victory.

“It felt great,” Ioapo said. “It still feels great. I’m just at a loss for words.”

It probably shouldn’t be a surprise the West Linn linemen were up to that pressure-packed challenge, as they shined for the Lions all season.

The group is led by the 6-foot-5, 315-pound Normoyle, a tackle, a team captain and an Oregon State commit who as a sophomore started for the 2022 West Linn squad which won the Class 6A state championship. This year, he was tabbed the Three Rivers League offensive lineman of the year.

“This means so much,” Normoyle said of going out as a champion. “We’ve all been playing together since fourth or fifth grade. These are my brothers right here. I’d go to war for them.”

“I’ve been playing with Jake my whole life,” said Holmes (6-2, 260), a guard who also played on the 2022 state championship squad. “The line is just a family at this point.”

Holmes, Ioapo (6-4, 325) at guard and Brester (6-1, 260) at center joined Normoyle on the all-Three Rivers League first team. Stuart (6-6, 265), a tackle, was a second-team all-league pick.

The group excelled all season, with, they say, maybe the exception of one game — the first matchup with Lake Oswego, a regular-season contest the Lakers won 21-17 on Oct. 18.

But the West Linn linemen say they turned that setback into a positive.

“I think that we learned from the first time we played LO,” Ioapo said. “We couldn’t get any movement that day. It was just a mindset switch. I think we really changed our tempo today. We believed in ourselves, and we executed.”

“Last game (against Lake Oswego), we felt we got a little bit stuffed,” Normoyle said. “So, we just had the mentality to ‘keep pounding the rock,’ and no matter how tired we got, we were going to keep up the intensity, and it paid off.”

It certainly did.

The West Linn linemen might have been at their very best in the championship contest.

Not only did the Lions rush for 257 yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries, but West Linn senior quarterback Baird Gilroy wasn’t sacked. The West Linn linemen didn’t allow a single tackle for loss.

“We looked amazing,” Holmes said with a big smile. “We put in the work in practice and get stronger in the weight room every day, and it shows up.”

Some very appreciative teammates agree.

“They dominated, for sure,” Gilroy said. “They took the game to LO, and I think that was a really important piece to our success today.”

“The offensive line was amazing today,” senior running back Hudson Hardy said. “We’ve got the best O-line in the state. You have to give the credit to them, because it all starts up front.”

“We have the best line in the state, for sure,” senior receiver Danny Wideman said. “(Junior running back) Viggo (Anderson) hides behind them so well. Our linemen, they’re some dogs. We’ve a lot of seniors up there, and they’re really good.”

And those really good lineman, while tired from their hard work, were definitely energized enough to celebrate after the championship victory.

“It means the world,” Holmes said. “Losing in the semifinals last year and losing to these guys earlier in the season gave us so much motivation for this game. We were so inspired. We pushed each other every day at practice, and it led to this.”

“It means everything,” Ioapo said. “When we woke up at 6 a.m. every morning just to come work out with each other, it all pays off in the end. And just to be out here one last time with the seniors, it just means the world.”

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