HILLSBORO – For the first three quarters Friday night, the end zone seemed like a distant mirage for No. 3 Central Catholic and No. 7 Lakeridge as the teams went scoreless in a 6A nonleague football game at Hillsboro Stadium.
Finally, after a wild fourth-quarter flurry, it was host Central Catholic (3-1) emerging with 14-13 victory.
Rams senior Cole Thomas returned a kickoff 78 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 3:02 remaining, and Central Catholic's stifling defense did the rest, not allowing the Pacers (2-2) a first down on their final two series.
Thomas received the kickoff and faked a handoff to senior teammate Tayton Promma-Harris that redirected the defense. Thomas then sliced through the flat-footed Pacers, across the field and into the clear.
“I told our other returner, 'If I feel right, I'm going to flip it to you and we're going to reverse it, and you're going to take it all the way,'” Thomas said. “I get the ball, I go to reverse, and the whole defense is going that way, like they saw it coming. So when I saw that, I just faked the toss, and just hit the gap.”
The heady play was typical of Thomas, a safety and team leader.
“I think he's the best football player in the state,” Rams coach Charlie Landgraf said. “We've been saying that for forever. He can do it all. Really happy for Cole in that moment. But that's who Cole is every day of the week.”
Lakeridge broke the scoreless tie when senior Turner Tropio returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown with 10:58 left. Tropio scooped up the ball after senior Jacen Wilber stripped it from Rams senior Killian Sombe and raced up the sideline.
Central Catholic tied it 7-7 on the next series when senior quarterback Robbie Long connected with junior Talon Sosky for a 44-yard touchdown pass. Sosky caught the ball over the middle, spun out of a tackle, kept his balance and won a sprint to the goal line.
“I saw my read and I saw Talon on the dig route,” said Long, who completed 20 of 34 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown with one interception. “Trusted him, trusted my arm, let it go. It's Week 4 now, so our chemistry is getting there. It's going to be scary the next couple weeks, for sure.”
The 6-foot-4 Sosky, who led Rams receivers with seven catches for 89 yards, is emerging as a weapon after transferring this year from Ridgefield, Wash.
“I think he's finally kind of settling into our system, what we're doing,” Landgraf said. “Great size, great ball skills. You saw some yards after the catch tonight.”
After Sosky's score, Lakeridge regained the lead on a seven-yard touchdown pass from senior Drew Weiler to senior Marcus Post with 3:16 left. But penalties pushed the Pacers back on the extra-point attempt, and senior Sam Schecter's try from 30 yards fell short, keeping the lead at 13-7.
That's when Thomas came through with the play of the night, followed by a successful extra point by junior Mario Martinez-Ibarra.
“Shout out to Cole Thomas. He's a baller,” Long said.
Thomas' play rescued the Rams from what would have been a stinging defeat. Central Catholic knocked Lakeridge out of the 6A quarterfinals the last two seasons, winning 42-6 in 2023 and 40-17 last year.
“The plan going in was to score a few more points,” Landgraf said. “But sometimes that's just how the game goes. Credit to our defense. … We found a way to make plays when we needed to.”
Thomas also had a stellar night on defense, setting the tone on the game's first series when he stopped Lakeridge senior running back Ansu Sanoe for a six-yard loss. He helped the Rams hold the Pacers to 61 rushing yards and 196 total yards.
Thomas enjoyed the defensive struggle.
“It was amazing,” he said. “I'm a defensive guy, so on defense, we're getting action the whole time. I know our offense is going to pick it up, but this is a team sport. This is both sides of the ball. I feel confident in our defense to shut them down and let our offense work.”
Central Catholic finished with 253 total yards. Senior receiver Dayvion Curtis added two catches for 46 yards in his return after missing two games with an ankle injury. Sombe had 55 yards on 17 carries.
For Lakeridge, Weiler completed 15 of 30 passes for 135 yards. Post had five catches for 50 yards and Tropio had four catches for 37 yards. Junior Colby Owen rushed for 56 yards on 17 carries. The Washington-bound Sanoe, who sat out last week's win over Sandy after aggravating a shoulder injury, had six carries for minus-2 yards.
The Pacers were hopeful to get some payback against the Rams, but it slipped away from them.
“I just think two plays didn't go our way,” senior defensive lineman Noah Tishendorf said. “And we didn't play a full game, like special teams, offense, defense. I don't think there's ever been a worry about who we can compete with in the state. The whole locker room, we all think we can play with anyone. I think now it's just executing.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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