WILSONVILLE – What appeared to be an intriguing cross-classification football match-up quickly turned into a one-sided affair Friday night at Wilsonville High School.
Lakeridge, ranked fifth in 6A, jumped all over 5A No. 1 Wilsonville, blitzing to 34-0 halftime lead and coasting to a 34-9 win. The Pacers (4-0) dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, dealing the reigning 5A champion Wildcats (3-1) a humbling defeat.
“Our mentality coming in was to dominate their line,” Lakeridge junior defensive lineman Noah Tishendorf said. “We thought that their front line couldn't mess with us. We thought we were bigger, more physical. We thought they couldn't hang with us.
“I think this kind of put us on the map. I think a lot of people didn't think we'd beat them by that much.”
Junior quarterback Drew Weiler completed 10 of 17 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns and Washington-bound junior running back Ansu Sanoe rushed for 97 yards and two scores on 17 carries to lead Lakeridge.
“We wouldn't let the 5A get ahead of us,” Sanoe said. “We understood that this is a championship team with a lot of talent. We knew we had to play our game. When we play our game, we feel like nobody can beat us.”
The Pacers set the tone on the game's first play, an 81-yard touchdown pass from Weiler to junior Marcus Post. By the end of the first quarter, Weiler had passed for 202 yards and Lakeridge led 20-0.
Wilsonville came ready to stop Sanoe, who rushed for 303 yards and seven touchdowns in the first three games, and Weiler made them pay with his arm.
Junior Jaden Tragesser caught five passes for 66 yards, senior Zyon Floyd had two catches for 73 yards, Sanoe turned a swing pass into a 37-yard gain and junior Turner Tropio hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-goal.
“They wanted us to throw the ball, and we're like, 'OK, we'll take it,'” Weiler said. “We scored, and from that point on, we just didn't let up.”
Weiler said the Pacers have the confidence that they “can hang with anyone.”
“I think we proved to ourselves and the teams around the state that we are a top team in the state,” Weiler said. “We know we're going to hang no matter what anyone else thinks. I couldn't be more proud of where we are right now. We're going to keep going in the right direction. We've got a lot more wins to come.”
Lakeridge's active defensive front made life miserable for Wilsonville senior quarterback Mark Wiepert, who spent much of the night on the run.
Wiepert hit his first five passes for 53 yards to lead the Wildcats to the Lakeridge five-yard line on their first drive, but he was intercepted by Post on third-and-goal.
On Wilsonville's next series, Pacers senior Kayce Tinner strip-sacked Wiepert, senior Taiariitua Tovey recovered the ball at the two-yard line, and Sanoe ran for a touchdown on the next play to make it 13-0.
Wiepert, Wilsonville's punter, went to a knee to field a low punt snap on the next series, giving Lakeridge the ball at the Wildcats' 17-yard line. Senior Shanko Kornachuk ran for a five-yard touchdown as the lead grew to 20-0.
Sanoe scored on a 26-yard run and Tropio caught his 11-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to push the lead to 34-0. Lakeridge's domination silenced Wilsonville's usually boisterous home crowd.
“Not the show we wanted to put out for the crowd tonight, and not representative of what I think we can do,” Wildcats coach Adam Guenther said. “You tip your hat to those guys. They are big, and they are a load. We made too many mistakes. You can't make mistakes against good teams, and that was a very good team.”
Wiepert completed 22 of 38 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown, a five-yard strike to sophomore brother Ben Wiepert in the fourth quarter. He finished with 19 rushing yards on 18 carries.
It was a far cry from last week, when Wiepert passed for seven touchdowns in a win over Sunset. The game ended a 13-game winning streak for Wilsonville.
“They're going to have 24 hours to have a little pity party, if that's what they want to do,” Guenther said. “And then this time tomorrow night, it's time to go to work on Central. We'll get better. And I don't know if we'll face another team like that this year. They're a load.”
It was the final nonleague game for both teams. Next week, Wilsonville will play host to unbeaten Central (4-0) in a Special District 2 game and Lakeridge will visit Oregon City (1-3) in its Three Rivers League opener.
The Pacers believe they are prepared to run the TRL gauntlet because they are a more seasoned team that a year ago, when they finished 8-3 overall, 3-2 in league.
“This is the first year we've had no sophomores starting on offense or defense,” Weiler said. “We credit that to a great junior and senior class. We're all very prepared, that's why we're getting the results we are.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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