Lonnie Burt led the Jesuit offense yet again, tallying 164 yards of total offense and a touchdown as the Crusaders defeated Mountainside 31-14 on the road last Friday to claim their tenth consecutive Metro league title.
Entering the game, Jesuit stood at number 18 in the OSAA rankings and Mountainside ranked 14. With not only the Metro trophy on the line, the game held huge playoff implications for both teams. As the Crusaders were on the outside looking into the Oregon state playoffs they were on the verge of missing the playoffs and instead, compete in the Columbia cup bracket.
This was a must win game for the Crusaders.
On the coin toss, Jesuit elected to defer, and on their first defensive drive, forced a quick three and out. The Crusaders then followed with a slow offensive start, also punting after just three plays.
It was Jesuit’s senior running back Julius Christensen who got the party started for the Crusaders with a two yard rushing touchdown following a 28 yard rush from Burt. Mountainside soon regained possession and tied the game at seven after another two yard rush, this time it was Mountainside’s Alex Ingalls.
The Crusaders confidently entered the locker room holding a 17-7 lead after a four yard touchdown pass from quarterback Treynor Cleeland to senior receiver Jace Burton. Cleeland (4-16) ended the game with 130 passing yards and two touchdown passes on only four completions. He would also chip in with 61 rushing yards on 7 carries.
Soon after the Burton touchdown, senior kicker Kadyn Butcher sent a 31 yard field goal through the uprights.
The sSecond half started slow for both teams, until a 74 yard bomb from Cleeland to senior Elias Johnson for a touchdown with 2:21 left in the third quarter. The Crusaders entered the fourth quarter with a 24-7 lead and just 12 minutes away from Mmetro dominance.
After a key fourth down stop from the stout Crusaders defense to start the fourth quarter, The Jesuit offense marched back onto the field with the ball on their own 29 yard line. Burt would soon put the game away with a 28 yard rushing touchdown. Jesuit now led 31-7.
The Mavericks were able to put together a promising drive as time ran out and were able to get on the board one final time with a three yard run from Cade Mitchell. Although a nice drive by Mountainside, it was too little too late, and the Crusaders continued their metro dominance defeating the Mavericks 31-14, increasing their win streak to five and remaining undefeated in league play(5-0).
