For No. 1 Central Catholic and No. 4 Clackamas, perhaps the biggest challenge of the past six weeks has been not looking ahead to the seemingly inevitable Mt. Hood Conference football title showdown between the teams.
Both teams enter the regular-season finale Friday night at Hillsboro Stadium at 9-0 overall, 7-0 in the conference. The Rams and Cavaliers haven't been tested in the Mt. Hood, winning conference games by average margins of 49.5 and 42.2 points, respectively.
So Friday's game not only will determine the Mt. Hood champion – and probably a coveted top-four spot in the OSAA 6A power rankings – it will shine a bright light on where the teams stand heading into the playoffs.
“I think we're in a good spot, but geez, I have no idea,” Central Catholic coach Steve Pyne said. “It's hard to measure. I guess we'll find out pretty quickly Friday.”
Clackamas coach James Holan credited his players with staying focused during conference play.
“Our goal every week is go to 1-0. They've really taken that to heart and held themselves accountable,” Holan said. “We would've loved the opportunity to play a stronger schedule, but we just deal with the cards we're dealt.”
If the game didn't have enough meaning on its own, the hype has been cranked up a few notches by ESPNU broadcasting it live to a national television audience. The teams have been going through television production meetings this week.
“Who doesn't want to be on TV?” Holan said. “Being on ESPN, and getting to play in front of that kind of audience, that's special. Couldn't ask for a better stage. I'm happy for our kids. We always want to avoid distractions as coaches, but there's part of me that's excited for it, too.”
The teams have ruled the Mt. Hood in recent seasons. Central Catholic won nine consecutive conference titles from 2008 to 2016. Clackamas moved from the Three Rivers League to the Mt. Hood in 2014 and shared the conference title with the Rams in 2016, then won it outright in 2017 and 2018.
The Rams beat Clackamas 48-7 to regain Mt. Hood supremacy in 2019. Six months ago, they defeated the Cavaliers 14-7 in the COVID-shortened spring season.
As explosive as Central Catholic and Clackamas have been offensively – averaging 49.6 and 44.6 points, respectively – their defenses have been just as impressive. The Cavaliers lead 6A in scoring defense (8.1 points per game) and the Rams are second (10.1). Both teams have recorded three shutouts.
“Something's got to give, right?” Pyne said. “It's either going to be a barn-burner because we're both scoring a lot of points, or it'll be a low-scoring affair because we're both preventing people from scoring.”
The defenses will have their hands full.
Central Catholic sophomore quarterback Cru Newman is 63 of 87 for 1,286 yards and 24 touchdowns, nine each to senior Jordan King and junior Riley Williams, players with multiple FBS offers. Senior Ellis Bynum has rushed for 409 yards and eight scores, averaging 12.4 yards per carry.
“Between Mr. King and Mr. Williams, you've got two of the best guys on the West Coast,” Holan said.
Clackamas junior Blake Baker has passed for 18 touchdowns, eight to senior Miles Williams and seven to senior K.J. Johnson-Gibson. Junior Luke Ash has rushed for 791 yards and 15 touchdowns behind a dominant line that features Boise State-bound senior Kage Casey, a 6-foot-6, 280-pound tackle.
Pyne said that Miles Williams, who counts Oregon State among his scholarship offers, “is pretty explosive and electric. He can do things with the ball in his hands.”
Pyne said the Rams “match up pretty well” up front with Clackamas.
“They're good, don't get me wrong, but we're pretty good, too, up front on both sides of the ball,” Pyne said. “I think it'll be won in the trenches, and who can protect the ball and don't have dumb penalties.”
Clackamas and Central Catholic enter the game at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in the OSAA power rankings. The winner is likely to vault into the top four and guarantee home playoff games through the quarterfinals.
“Obviously, that's where you want to be, in that top four,” Pyne said. “But no one's winning a state championship Friday. You've still got to go through a lot of good teams.”
Holan also reflected on the bigger picture.
“There's a lot of football to play after this game,” Holan said. “It's a big game, but we try not to make it the end of the world. Having the playoffs on the horizon, our best football is ahead of us.”
A look at other top matchups for Week 9:
Friday
Sunset (5-3, 3-2) at 6A No. 7 Jesuit (7-1, 5-0), 7 p.m.: The Crusaders have won seven in a row since opening with a 17-3 loss to West Linn. They own at least a share of the Metro League title and can win it outright by beating the Apollos, who ended a 26-game losing streak to the Crusaders in the spring.
Sherwood (4-4, 4-0) at Liberty (6-2, 4-0), 7 p.m.: Sherwood, which has bounced back from an 0-4 start, meets the Falcons for the 6A Pacific Conference title. Sherwood's last conference title was in 2019 and Liberty's was in 2018. The Bowmen defeated Liberty 62-20 in the spring,
6A No. 5 Lake Oswego (7-1, 3-1) at 6A No. 10 Lakeridge (6-2, 2-2), 7 p.m.: Lake Oswego, which suffered its first loss of the season last week when it fell to West Linn 31-14 at home, collides with the Pacers in the Battle for the Lake rivalry game. Lakeridge hasn't beaten the Lakers since a 20-14 win in 2013.
6A No. 9 West Salem (7-1, 5-0) at Sprague (6-2, 3-2), 7 p.m.: West Salem can complete a perfect run through the Mountain Valley Conference with a win, but the Olympians could throw a wrench into things. The Olympians outscored Churchill and South Salem 107-35 in their last two games.
5A No. 2 Wilsonville (8-0, 6-0) at 5A No. 5 Canby (7-1, 6-0), 7 p.m.: When Canby moved from the 6A Three Rivers League to the Northwest Oregon Conference West division in the spring, the Cougars appeared to be natural rivals for Wilsonville. Now they are meeting the Wildcats for the conference championship.
4A No. 7 Tillamook (6-3, 4-0) at 4A No. 6 Banks (7-1, 4-0), 7 p.m.: The Cheesemakers, who haven't won a league title since sharing one with Philomath in 1999, can end the drought by defeating three-time reigning Cowapa League champion Banks, a team they haven't beaten since 2006. The Braves have won 18 consecutive league games.
4A No. 5 Marist Catholic (7-1, 3-0) at 4A No. 1 Marshfield (10-0, 3-0), 7 p.m.: Two of the state's most prolific offenses square off for the Sky-Em League title. Marshfield (46.6 points per game) and Marist Catholic (45.1) are behind only Cascade (52.8) in 4A scoring. Marist Catholic defeated Marshfield 39-21 in the spring to earn a spot in the 4A Showcase final.
3A No. 7 Dayton (7-1, 4-0) at 3A No. 10 Amity (5-3, 4-0), 7 p.m.: One of the state's great small-school rivalries – between communities 10 miles apart – has extra significance this year as the teams meet to decide the title in the Special District 1 West division. Amity has won four in a row over the Pirates, the last three by a combined score of 141-15.
3A No. 3 Siuslaw (7-0, 4-0) at 3A No. 9 Junction City (5-1, 3-1), 7 p.m.: The Vikings and Tigers, 4A schools playing down one classification, play for the championship of the Special District 2 North division. Junction City downed Siuslaw 48-34 in the spring.
2A No. 9 Gaston (6-1, 3-0) at 2A No. 5 Knappa (6-1, 3-0), 7 p.m.: The Greyhounds clash with the Loggers with the Northwest League title in the balance. Gaston defeated Knappa 14-0 in the spring, when it finished 5-0. In 2019, the Loggers smashed the Greyhounds 54-0 on its way to the league title.
jerryu@osaa.org
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