LAKE OSWEGO – For all the glittering numbers that West Linn's offense has put up this season, it was the defense that carried the No. 1 Lions to their most important win of the year Friday night at No. 4 Lakeridge.
West Linn repeatedly came up with key stops to post its third consecutive shutout and fourth in five games, stifling the explosive Pacers 13-0 as the unbeaten teams clashed in a 6A Three Rivers League football game.
The Lions (6-0, 2-0) had six sacks and squelched two Lakeridge fourth-quarter drives with interceptions in the end zone by sophomores Shane Peters and Josiah Molden. They held Washington-bound junior running back Ansu Sanoe to 26 yards on 15 carries, refusing to allow him to get past the first wave of tacklers.
“Just trusting your teammates,” senior linebacker Hudson Hardy said of the defense. “One of the big points of our defense is RP – relentless pursuit – everyone getting to the ball, so even if you do mess up, your brothers are right there.”
West Linn and Lakeridge entered averaging 44.0 and 38.8 points per game, respectively, but both teams had difficulty sustaining drives. The Pacers finished with a 245-231 edge in total yards, but the only points came from two touchdown passes by Lions senior Baird Gilroy.
“Great defensive struggle,” West Linn coach Jon Eagle said. “Great game plans by each staff, I thought. Some penalties, some mistakes, but that's caused by two great defenses going after it.”
The Pacers took consolation in going toe-to-toe with the Lions.
“I think we learned that our defense is like the best in the state,” Lakeridge junior defensive lineman Noah Tishendorf said. “We can compete with anyone. That's supposed to be the best offensive front in the state, and we held our own.”
Lakeridge reached the West Linn 18- and 22-yard lines in the first half and the West Linn 7, 19 and 11 in the second half but could not produce points. One drive ended with a missed 38-yard field goal attempt, two ended on downs and two were foiled by interceptions.
“That's something our defense can do,” West Linn senior receiver Danny Wideman said. “Teams can drive on us, but it's really hard to score. It's hard to get points on our defense.”
Wideman was the catalyst as West Linn broke a scoreless tie on its final drive of the first half. He hauled in a 42-yard pass from Gilroy to the Lakeridge 8, and on third-and-goal, he made a sliding catch in the end zone for a six-yard touchdown pass from Gilroy.
It was a desperately needed breakthrough for the Lions, who led 7-0 at half. Up to that point, the Pacers had held them to 79 yards on their first four possessions.
“Their defensive front really did a great job, and caused some problems for us and really got us off our regular rhythm,” Eagle said. “You've got to get your playmakers the ball, which is what we decided to do. We've got to get Danny the ball somehow, some way. And we went at them from there.”
Wideman had five catches for 52 yards and one score, giving him 46 catches for 704 yards and six touchdowns for the season.
“I was just trying to make a play,” Wideman said. “Our offense was kind of struggling today. But you've got to give some credit to the defense. The Lakeridge defense was really doing their thing.”
West Linn made it 13-0 by driving 81 yards for a touchdown on its first series of the second half. Gilroy began to find a rhythm and connected with senior tight end Baron Naone on a 13-yard scoring pass.
Lakeridge answered with a long drive, but on fourth-and-goal at the West Linn 7, a halfback pass by senior Shanko Kornachuk was intercepted in the end zone by Peters early in the fourth quarter.
The Pacers had two more scoring threats. Junior Silas Reynolds ended the first one by sacking junior quarterback Drew Weiler. Molden intercepted Weiler in the end zone with 1:55 left, sealing the win.
“We were in the red zone more than them, we just didn't execute,” said Tishendorf, who led Lakeridge in rushing with 49 yards on 10 carries. “That's unfortunate. … We're going to do what we can do, and then hopefully we'll see them back in the state championship this year.”
Weiler completed 13 of 24 passes for 162 yards. The Pacers often found themselves in passing situations because the Lions shut down Sanoe, who entered with 453 rushing yards, averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
“We didn't change anything,” Hardy said of preparing for the Pacers. “We've had three shutouts this year, so we just stick to the game plan, run what we do best, and that ends up working every time.”
Gilroy finished 12 of 23 for 140 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, by Pacers junior Obama Shibo. Junior Viggo Anderson rushed for 74 yards on 17 carries.
The Lions play host to No. 2 Lake Oswego (6-0, 2-0) and visit No. 5 Tualatin (5-1, 1-1) in their next two games.
“League play always gets pretty competitive, so it's good to know we can win these games,” Wideman said.
