Jesuit holds off Westview in Metro League thriller

The Wildcats come up just barely short on a two-point conversion with 27 seconds left to play

By Dan Brood

The Beaverton Valley Times, Oct 9, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

BEAVERTON — Not much separated Jesuit and Westview in Friday’s Metro League football showdown.

In fact, it might have been only a matter of inches.

Literally.

Jesuit, stopping Westview senior quarterback Colin Forman inches — or maybe even a single inch — short of the goal line on a potential go-ahead two-point conversion run with just 27 seconds to play in the game, came away with a 24-23 win in a thrilling league opener played at Jesuit High School.

“Football is a game of inches,” said Jesuit senior tight end/defensive lineman Jacob Wark, who was part of a pile of Crusaders who stopped Forman just short of the end zone on the two-point conversion play. “That was a great match-up. They played hard, we played hard. There was a lot of heart out there.”

No. 2-ranked Jesuit upped its season record to 4-1 with the nail-biting victory.

“That was a crazy, crazy game,” said Jesuit senior running back Keanon Lowe, who had a 30-yard touchdown reception in the contest. “We were so fortunate to get the win.”

No. 6-ranked Westview, which rallied from a 24-10 fourth-quarter deficit to nearly come away with the victory, moved to 3-2 on the season.

“This was so close — you can’t even imagine,” Westview junior quarterback Philip Belding said. “We had our chances. We kept our emotions and made no mistakes. We played a great game, and it looked like we had it, but we didn’t get the call.”

Westview did get off to a strong start in Friday’s showdown. The Wildcats, in the first possession of the game, marched 81 yards in 16 plays, capping the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by senior running back Hayes Garrity to take a 7-0 lead with 5 minutes and 44 seconds left in the first quarter.

While Westview methodically moved down the field to get its initial score, Jesuit answered back in ultra-quick fashion.

The Crusaders, in their first possession, moved 65 yards in just two plays to get the tying touchdown — coming on a 30-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jeff Elorriaga to Lowe.

Jesuit started to take over from there. A 15-yard pass from Elorriaga to Wark set up a 1-yard TD run by junior running back Jordan Talley, giving the Crusaders a 14-7 lead three seconds into the second quarter.

Westview trimmed the lead to 14-10 when senior Matt Tyner converted a 23-yard field goal with 2:50 left in the second quarter.

But, again, Jesuit answered back. Lowe returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the Westview 45-yard line. From there, Elorriaga completed an 18-yard pass to Wark, and, on third-and 15 from the Wildcat 19-yard line, Elorriaga threw a quick pass over the middle to Talley, who sprinted to the end zone to give the Crusaders a 21-10 lead with 30 seconds left before halftime.

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit