No. 1 Lake Oswego rolls past Grant 41-7

By Matthew Sherman

The Lake Oswego Review, Nov 19, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Vern Uyetake / Lake Oswego Review

Lake Oswego's Tyson Coleman goes airborne for a couple extra yards against Grant defenders. Coleman scored three touchdowns for the Lakers in their 41-7 win over the Generals.

It couldn't have been a worse opening 15 minutes of play for the Grant Generals on Friday. Not only were they trailing Lake Oswego 21-0 having just turned the ball over for the third time in three drives but PIL player of the year Kenneth Acker was being carried off the field on a stretcher as well.

Preliminary indications were that Acker tore his ACL. He would be carted back to the sidelines after halftime in a brace and on crutches.

In the game, the Lakers weren't tested, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions. Tyson Coleman scored first on a 17-yard touchdown run and, after Micah Hatfield made an interception on Grant's first offensive play, he would score Lake Oswego's second touchdown on a 16-yard pass from Jack Lomax.

The Lakers would make it 21-0 when Lomax's pass intended for Will Storey was deflected and bounced into the hands of Brad Halberg for an 11-yard touchdown.

Then, early in the second quarter, Grant tried some trickery by calling a halfback pass. Acker was the intended receiver and the ball was picked off by Storey. Acker landed awkwardly on the play which caused the injury.

When play resumed, Acker's older brother Karl picked off a Lomax pass and took over at quarterback.

One possession later, following a Lomax fumble, Karl Acker completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jerrell Young for Grant's lone score of the night.

After a brief lull, the Lakers got back on track one minute before the half on a four-yard touchdown run by Coleman.

Lake Oswego would ultimately force six turnovers including two second-half interceptions by Brian Zinsmeister.

Coleman scored his third touchdown of the night late in the third quarter on a six-yard run and finished a stellar outing early in the fourth period on a four-yard touchdown jaunt.

The top-ranked and undefeated Lakers knocked Grant out of the playoffs for the second straight year and will host Sheldon next week. The Irish topped Lake Oswego in the playoffs last year when they blocked a late extra point that would have tied the game.

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