Oregon Class 6A Final Set as Two Non-League Teams Crash Title Game for First Time in State History

Central Catholic and Lake Oswego stun defending champ West Linn to force a rare rematch, while Summit and Silverton advance to a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in Class 5A

Central Catholic advanced to the Class 6A state championship game, upsetting top seed West Linn on Friday night. / Dan Brood

For the first time since the OSAA expanded the high school football playoffs to include teams that didn’t win a league championship, two non-league winners have advanced to play for the title in Oregon’s largest classification.

Two Runner-Ups Earn Historic Title Shot

No. 5 seed Central Catholic, runner-up in the Mt. Hood Conference, toppled defending Class 6A state champion West Linn, 21-14, in one semifinal Friday night, while No. 3 seed Lake Oswego — runner-up to West Linn in the Three Rivers League — knocked out Nelson, 31-12, in the other.

Rams Defense Stuns Defending Champion West Linn

The result is a rematch of a Week 2 matchup won by the Lakers 21-0 as they look to finish the deal a year after falling to West Linn in the state final.

The championship game is set for 12:30 p.m. on Black Friday at Hillsboro Stadium.

What Central Catholic Must Fix in the Rematch

“I feel like they didn’t do anything special that really killed us,” said Central Catholic senior edge rusher Donnie Vercher III of the Lakers. “Their running game is really good, but I think a big thing for us is to get our offensive momentum back, and I feel like we did that this week. And our defense has just got to have a better mindset going into that game.”

If the Rams defense maintains the mindset it had against the Lions, who were ranked No. 2 in the most recent High School On SI Northwest Region rankings, it will set the team up to win a sixth state championship in the past dozen years.

West Linn (11-1) amassed 327 total yards, which is over 100 total yards less than its season average of 429.1 per game. Moreover, it was held to a season-low in points, with Central Catholic (10-2) putting together a goal-line stand in the final minute after the Lions drove for a potential game-tying touchdown.

A Final-Minute Goal-Line Stand Seals the Upset

West Linn had first-and-goal from the 6, but after Vercher stopped Sloan Baker on a quarterback keeper inches from the end zone on third down, the fourth-down snap sailed over Baker’s head, with Asa Lundberg picking up the loose ball at the 25-yard line and racing upfield as the Rams sideline celebrated.

“We just didn’t want to give up the explosive play,” said Rams coach Charlie Landgraf. “We knew Baker was a great quarterback, and we had to be able to stop the big plays with his feet. He was able to get some tonight, but our defense all year has been bend, don’t break, and you saw that tonight.”

Lake Oswego Dominates Nelson in the Other Semifinal

In the other semifinal, the Lakers (11-1) jumped out to a 21-0 lead just nine minutes into the contest and held off the Hawks (11-1), who were making their first semifinal appearance in the history of the 5-year-old program.

Senior RB LaMarcus Bell ran for a game-high 156 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries, while Washington State-bound QB Hudson Kurland added 148 yards and a touchdown on the ground as Lake Oswego’s lead grew to 31-0 on Hudson Gasperson’s 32-yard field goal with 8:46 left in the third quarter.

Class 5A Championship Game Features Top Two Seeds

Top seed Summit and No. 2 seed Silverton will meet in next Friday’s Class 5A championship game at Hillsboro Stadium after each pulled away in their semifinal contests.

The Storm (12-0) put away Churchill 28-14 by scoring three consecutive touchdowns in the second half to erase a 12-7 halftime deficit and end the 13-seed’s Cinderella run to the semifinals. Senior Jude Anderson scored all four touchdowns for Summit and finished with 171 yards on 35 carries, while LB Dylan Hughes made a game-high 17 tackles.

Meanwhile, the Foxes (11-1) finally shook free of Mountain View (10-2) with two second-half touchdowns, expanding a 21-14 halftime lead to 35-14 en route to a 35-21 victory. Five different Silverton players found the end zone, with senior QB Chase Dominguez throwing for one touchdown and running for another to deny the Cougars a third consecutive trip to the state finals.