Bellevue falls 48-27 to Central Catholic in clash between Northwest football powers: 5 takeaways from Wolverines' loss

“We started out hot and scored, and then somewhere along the line, we just kept making little mistakes.”

HILLSBORO — There would be no need for last-second heroics this season for the Central Catholic football team against Bellevue. 

Last year’s meeting between two of the Northwest’s premier programs came down to a field goal on the final play for the Rams to pull out a 24-23 victory up north. 

On Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium, the Rams jumped on the Wolverines in the second quarter, scoring 28 points in 9½ minutes and never letting up in a 48-27 victory in the season opener for both teams.

Senior quarterback Cru Newman, a two-time Mt. Hood Conference offensive player of the year, kicked off his season with a banner performance, completing 18 of 22 passes for 343 yards and five touchdowns — including two each to a couple of summer transfers, juniors Landon Kelsey and D’Marieon Gates. 

“We knew this was going to be a shootout,” Newman said. “But we’re deep. We’d have guys tapping their helmets, and I wasn’t worried, because I knew we had another guy going right in who was just as good. We’ve just got to stay healthy and keep going.”

Photos by Ken Waz  

Here are five takeaways from Saturday afternoon’s matchup:

Bellevue could not build off touchdown on opening drive

The Wolverines, ranked No. 5 in the SBLive Washington preseason Power 50, drew first blood in Saturday’s matchup, taking the opening kickoff and driving 79 yards in 12 plays. The first 11 were runs before Lucas Razore found Michigan commit Hogan Hansen in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown. 

TD @BellevueFB Lucas Razore 7 yds to Hogan Hansen. PAT blocked 6-0 709 1Q #opreps #wapreps pic.twitter.com/m4vmxc3uDg

— Rene Ferran (@ReneJFerranJr) September 2, 2023

Although the Wolverines racked up 452 yards of total offense, they also had three turnovers — including two in the second quarter that Central Catholic quickly cashed in for touchdowns.

The first was a fumble on the second play after the Rams took a 14-6 lead early in the second quarter. One play later, Newman connected with Kelsey on the first of their two touchdowns.

TD @ccramfootball after a Cade Gehlen fumble recovery Rams strike on next play as Kelsey gets behind his cover and takes home a 35yd pass from Newman. PAT good CC 21-6 1101 2Q #opreps #wapreps pic.twitter.com/Gb3bqsW9D9

— Rene Ferran (@ReneJFerranJr) September 2, 2023

Late in the period, Razor overthrew Hansen down the middle, with Timmy Mitchell intercepting the pass. Two plays later, Newman found Pomer Davison for a 33-yard touchdown that pushed the Rams’ lead to 35-13.

“We started out really well,” said senior Carson Rubin, who rushed for a game-high 105 yards and a touchdown. “We started out hot and scored, and then somewhere along the line, we just kept making little mistakes, had a lot of false starts, turning the ball over. Just little things snuck up on us.”

Central Catholic gashes Bellevue for 541 yards of total offense

The Wolverines couldn’t find a way to get Central Catholic off the field and were unable to keep pace with the Rams’ high-powered attack.

Central Catholic amassed 541 yards of total offense and scored on each of its first five possessions, with only halftime stopping the Rams on their final possession of the first half.

Central Catholic took the second-half kickoff and went 72 yards on six plays, with Tyson Davis scoring from 17 yards to give the Rams a 42-20 lead.

TD @ccramfootball Tyson Davis gets in on the fun with a 17yd run. PAT good CC 42-20 1006 3Q #opreps #wapreps pic.twitter.com/RG3IGvaWn1

— Rene Ferran (@ReneJFerranJr) September 2, 2023

“We only had two stops all game on defense, and we should have had more,” said senior linebacker Leo Ryals, who had a game-high 11 tackles. “And our offense wasn’t performing well, so it’s just unfortunate.”

Ryals noted the Wolverines, who didn’t record a sack until late in the fourth quarter, were without a couple of defensive linemen, but he wouldn’t use their absence as an excuse.

“They have a good quarterback and a good O-line, but I think we should definitely have gotten more pressure on them,” Ryals said. “I mean, our defense was miscommunicating and weren’t fully working as a team. They had five passing touchdowns, and they were just wide open. So, we’ve got stuff to fix.”

Former Southwest Washington star shines bright in memory of his father

Southwest Washington football fans might recognize Kelsey’s name. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound junior receiver played for Ridgefield last season, making 12 catches in his first two games before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 3.

Kelsey transferred to Central Catholic over the summer at the urging of his father, Steve, to better his chances of playing in college.

Sadly, Steve passed away suddenly a couple of weeks ago, and Kelsey said he could feel his presence through Saturday’s game. He also welcomed the love and support of his entire family — including cousins, aunts and uncles — and several former Spudders teammates in the stands.

“That helped a lot,” said Kelsey, who finished with four catches for 118 yards. “I’m just happy I could put on a show for them.”

Bellevue gets no rest, faces defending 4A champion Lake Stevens next week

The schedule doesn’t let up for the Wolverines, who play host Friday night to Lake Stevens, the defending Class 4A champion and ranked No. 6 in the preseason state Power 50. The Vikings handled No. 15 Garfield 48-21 in their opener.

“We thought we could come in here and win, but it’s nice to lose and kind of see where we’re at as a team,” Ryals said.

Rubin said practice this week would be about “dialing in on the small things, for sure.”

Coaches get together to provide memory for Rams senior

A touching moment came after Roan Beaupre’s interception with 1:33 remaining gave Central Catholic the ball back to run out the clock.

Rams coach Steve Pyne called timeout after the turnover and came across the field to confer with Wolverines coach Michael Kneip and the officiating crew.

“When I called timeout, (Kneip) was a little surprised,” Pyne said. “He was like, ‘What? What?’ But when I told him what was going on, he was like, ‘OK, yeah, no problem.’”

After two plays ran the clock nearly to zeroes, Pyne sent in senior Daniel Zavage, a developmentally delayed member of the program whom he described as “a fiery kid. He likes to motivate the other players and comes to practice every day and does what he can to contribute in practice.”

Pyne called a running play for Zavage, who burst through the line as the Wolverines stood aside and ran 63 yards to the end zone while the crowd and both sidelines cheered him on.

The touchdown might not have counted on the scoreboard, but Pyne thanked Kneip and the Bellevue staff for allowing Zavage to have his moment.

“It was very gracious of them to agree to that,” Pyne said. “I honestly didn’t think we were going to be in that position to do that at the very end of the game. So, I was very thankful to the Bellevue head coach for letting that happen.”

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CENTRAL CATHOLIC 48, BELLEVUE 27

Bellevue - 6 - 14 - 7 - 0 — 27

Central Catholic - 7 - 28 - 7 - 6 — 48

First quarter

B — Hogan Hansen 7 pass from Lucas Razore (kick blocked), 7:09

CC — Killian Sombe 2 run (Zeke Van’t Hof kick), 5:16

Second quarter

CC — Landon Kelsey 43 pass from Cru Newman (Van’t Hof kick), 11:53

CC — Kelsey 35 pass from Newman (Van’t Hof kick), 11:09

B — Carson Rubin 5 run (Luke Scoma kick), 8:28

CC — D’Marieon Gates 45 pass from Newman (Van’t Hof kick), 5:43

CC — Pomer Davison 33 pass from Newman (Van’t Hof kick), 2:28

B — Jackson Downs 21 run (Scoma kick), 0:52

Third quarter

CC — Tyson Davis 17 run (Van’t Hof kick), 10:06

B — Bryce Smith 12 run (Scoma kick), 5:03

Fourth quarter

CC — Gates 45 pass from Newman (kick failed), 4:38

STATISTICAL LEADERS

RUSHING—Bellevue: Rubin 24-105, Matthew Reed 11-100, Max Jones 6-44, Ryken Moon 6-24. Total 56-340. Central Catholic: Sombe 13-75, Newman 11-69, Davis 4-37. Total 31-198.

PASSING—Bellevue: Razore 5-15-2-112. Central Catholic: Newman 18-22-0-343.

RECEIVING—Bellevue: Moon 2-54, Cal Zimmerman 1-38. Central Catholic: Kelsey 4-118, Gates 2-90, Davis 4-51, Davison 2-39, Zhaiel Smith 3-34.

DEFENSE—Bellevue: Leo Ryals 11 tackles; Smith 6 tackles; Jones 5 tackles; William Musolino 5 tackles. Central Catholic: Cade Gehlen 9 tackles, fumble recovery; Matix Carpenter 9 tackles; Zach Davis 5 tackles; Phoenix-Orion DiCosmo 5 tackles; Roan Beaupre 5 tackles, interception; Timmy Mitchell 4 tackles, interception.

FIRST DOWNS—Bellevue 16, Central Catholic 23. FUMBLES-LOST—Bellevue 2-1, Central Catholic 0-0. PENALTIES-YARDS—Bellevue 7-47, Central Catholic 7-70. 

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