HAPPY VALLEY – An injury to a senior created an opportunity for Nelson sophomore running back Jalen Chricton-Dale, and he took full advantage of it with a breakout performance Friday night.
Chricton-Dale, pressed into duty when senior starter Corbin Croslin missed his second game in a row with a sore hamstring, provided the spark in the second half as the No. 6 Hawks broke away from a halftime tie and held on to defeat No. 9 Mountainside 42-35 in a 6A nonleague football game.
Chricton-Dale put the host Hawks (3-1) ahead to stay by scoring on an electric 35-yard screen pass in the third quarter, followed that with a three-yard touchdown run and set up the next score with a 67-yard catch. For the game, he rushed for 55 yards on 10 carries, caught three passes for 118 yards and had two kickoff returns into Mountainside territory.
“He's amazing. He's one of those guys,” Nelson senior quarterback Danny Leary said. “He's a crazy athlete. He can compete on the highest level. He played a little bit in the past couple games, and he's kind of shown what he can do. But he really showed out tonight. I'm really grateful to have him on my team.”
With Crosslin out, Chricton-Dale and hard-running junior Kevin Cohen picked up the slack. And with Cohen also seeing more time at linebacker Friday to fill in for standout senior Tanner Brand – out for the season after suffering a broken tibia in last week's win over Newberg – the Hawks needed to get something from Chricton-Dale.
“He's lightning in a bottle,” Nelson coach Aaron Hazel said. “He's got that burst. He's got that second gear.”
Chricton-Dale provided a glimpse of his athleticism on the touchdown catch. He wowed the crowd by stutter-stepping between defenders, then turning on the jets up the sideline.
“I knew that we needed a touchdown, so I was really trying my hardest, and thankfully, it happened,” he said of the play. “I most definitely needed this game because I had a lot of doubt on myself from a few practices. It was kind of rough getting in. But thankfully, I came out here and did my thing.”
Leary also stood out, completing 18 of 27 passes for 272 yards and four touchdowns. He connected with Chricton-Dale, senior receiver Brody Austin (five catches, 69 yards), senior tight end Ian Nix and junior receiver Malachi Garlington for scores of 35, 10, 6 and 27 yards, respectively.
Chricton-Dale's 67-yard catch set up a four-yard touchdown run by Cohen as Nelson restored its lead to 42-28 with 10:58 remaining. But Mountainside (1-2), behind dual-threat senior quarterback Cade Mitchell, would not go down without a fight.
Mitchell scored on a one-yard dive to make it 42-35 with 2:19 left, and senior Andrew Ramtel recovered the ensuing onside kick for Mountainside. The Mavericks appeared ready to score when they had a first down at the Nelson 12-yard line with 40 seconds left.
But the Hawks' defense stood up. On fourth-and-10, Mitchell passed into the flat to senior running back Jordan Hicks. Junior linebacker Asa Kirkland grabbed and spun Hicks, who was brought down at the 11-yard line by a horde of tacklers, led by Nix.
For Nelson, it's the second win this season over a team ranked in the top 10 of the OSAAtoday 6A coaches poll. The Hawks beat No. 7 Lakeridge 26-21 in their season opener.
“This is a great confidence-builder for the rest of the season,” Leary said. “I think we're going to keep getting high-quality wins as the season goes on. We're proving that we're top dogs and we can compete at the highest level of Oregon state football.”
Mountainside had a 418-367 edge in total yards. Mitchell completed 24 of 45 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns, one each to senior Sean Gerigk (11 catches, 92 yards) and junior Toren Drucker. Senior Kai Franco had five catches for 93 yards and Hicks had 10 carries for 92 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown.
The Mavericks – who passed on 45 of their 69 plays – were missing two starting offensive linemen due to injuries and had another playing on a sore ankle.
“That hurt us a little bit tonight, but we can't make excuses, we've got to get the job done,” Mitchell said. “We have a lot of stuff we can clean up, but overall as a team, I think this is the hardest we've ever battled. I don't think we ever folded. I think self-inflicted wounds hurt us this game.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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