LAKE OSWEGO – No. 5 Lake Oswego seized its opportunity to make an early statement in 6A Three Rivers League football Friday night.
Behind a career night from junior running back LaMarcus Bell, the host Lakers jumped on No. 2 Tualatin in the first quarter and held the Timberwolves at bay the rest of the way for an impressive 45-31 win in the league opener for both teams.
Bell rushed for 247 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries and the Lake Oswego defense held up its end, sacking Tualatin senior quarterback Nolan Keeney five times and holding the highest-scoring offense in 6A well below its 59.8-point average.
Playing in a league that has three teams ranked higher than them in the OSAAtoday 6A coaches poll – No. 1 West Linn (5-0), No. 2 Tualatin (4-1) and No. 4 Lakeridge (5-0) – the Lakers (5-0) were hungry to show what they can do.
“We were talking about it all week … we have to show them, that's not how it is,” Bell said. “LO's back, yes sir. We knew they were a good team, but we knew we were better.”
Lake Oswego's offense scored touchdowns on six of its first seven possessions, not counting a kneel-down at the end of the first half. The Lakers amassed 448 total yards, including 285 rushing.
Lake Oswego junior quarterback Hudson Kurland ran for 45 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries and completed 8 of 12 passes for 163 yards. Senior Liam Davis had three catches for 61 yards, senior Jake Drakalovich had two catches for 50 yards and senior Baron Kurland, the quarterback's cousin, hauled in a 48-yard grab.
“We showed out,” Hudson Kurland said. “We showed them we were one of the best teams in the state, if not the best team in the state. I think so.”
The Lakers had the upper hand from the start.
“We knew we go up early, they'd fall,” Bell said. “That's how we were thinking. We were like, 'We go up early, this team, 60 points a game, they're not used to a good team.' So we go up early, we know, they're in trouble.”
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Bell was sensational. He had the play of the game, a 76-yard touchdown run up the middle of the defense on a third-and-24 that gave the Lakers a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.
“He's special,” Lake Oswego coach Steve Coury said. “What is really special about him is he's very physical. He's a physical runner. You're not going to tackle him very easily. And then he gets in the open field and he can run. He's fast.”
Bell, who has rushed for 665 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, seems to have a laser focus on the end zone.
“Yeah, I see it, for sure. Always in my vision,” Bell said. “No matter what, we could be down 100 yards, it's in my vision every time.”
Hudson Kurland, a transfer from Sunset, continues to evolve as a dual threat. He showed his arm strength by throwing accurately down field while on the run.
“He's really, really good, and he's still just coming on,” Coury said of the 6-4, 195-pound Kurland. “He hasn't played enough to really be that experienced guy. I keep seeing him getting better every week.”
Tualatin played uphill all night. The Timberwolves got to within 21-16 late in the second quarter and 28-23 in the middle of the third quarter, but their defense was unable to stop the Lakers.
“We just couldn't get off the field,” Tualatin coach Dom Ferraro said. “It can be demoralizing. … They must have been 90 percent on third and fourth down.”
The BYU-bound Keeney, who threw 14 touchdown passes in the first four games, struggled to find a rhythm. The Lakers had a steady pass rush and their secondary kept the Timberwolves from making home-run plays.
Keeney completed 18 of 31 passes for 312 yards and one touchdown, a 42-yard strike to junior Calen Simonelic in the second quarter. Keeney had 12 rushing yards on 13 carries as he took several big losses on sacks. Junior linebacker Justin Craigwell had 2.5 of Lake Oswego's five sacks.
Coury said his team made a “great defensive effort” in limiting Keeney.
“I was really proud of our defense, holding those guys down,” Coury said. “We kept moving him and sacked him a few times, which is hard to do. We're fast on defense. We've got some fast kids. He's a hell of a player.”
It was a frustrating night for Keeney, who often scrambled all over the field before running out of time.
“They've got a really good D-line,” Keeney said. “A lot of credit to their defense. But a lot of times it was me running around for no reason, or running around when I shouldn't have been. … I can take a lot of the blame, and flush it, and move on to next week.”
Bell scored on a 16-yard run on the first series of the third quarter to make it 28-16. Kurland and Bell had touchdown runs of 11 and 18 yards, respectively, in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 42-23. Junior Hudson Gasperson booted a 23-yard field goal for a 45-31 lead with 2:34 left.
Tualatin finished with 368 yards. Senior Zhaiel Smith had 10 catches for 174 yards and Simonelic had four catches for 102 yards and one touchdown. The Timberwolves had three short touchdown runs, two by junior Trenton Hertzog and one by sophomore Cole Hachmeister.
The Timberwolves left shaking their heads.
“Just disappointed for the kids,” Ferraro said. “We played really hard. We made a bunch of mistakes. Give credit to Lake Oswego. They're a really, really good football team. But I think we are, too. I don't think we played as well as we could have tonight.”
