Treynor Cleeland threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns in his playoff debut, while battling the flu, to help Jesuit defeat rival Lake Oswego in a 34-28 first round shootout at Cronin Field on Friday, November 3..
The win books a second round rematch with top-seeded West Linn and puts head coach Ken Potter just two wins short of the all- time win record in Oregon state high school football history.
Cleeland was backed by the Crusaders’ three headed monster of Lonnie Burt, Elias Johnson and Jace Burton.
Burt handled the bulk of the Crusader rushing attack posing 30 carries for 186 yards and a touchdown.
Burton, who has been battling with injuries for the majority of the season, had his breakout game tallying 7 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown. Burton, however, suffered an ankle injury in the first half, and was unable to play for the rest of the game.
Johnson showed dominance yet again on special teams, exploding for a 93 yard kickoff return to the house, while also adding another touchdown on a 31 yard reception.
Jesuit built a 17 point lead early in the second half after recovering an impressive Kadyn Butcher onside kick to start the third quarter, then the 93-yard kickoff return touchdown by senior Elias Johnson to put the Crusaders ahead 31-14 with 7:34 in the third quarter.
However, Lake Oswego would not go away after a touchdown from sophomore running back Lamarcus Bell with 3:58 in the third quarter and a 40 yard bomb from quarterback Max Brauner to receiver Matt Layne with 8:22 in the fourth quarter.
Down 34-28, The Lakers had the ball at midfield with just over a minute left in regulation and a chance to score for the win. After a designed blitz from linebacker Julius Christensen put pressure on Brauner, defensive back Matt Eilers intercepted Brauner to finally put the game away and send the Crusaders to the second round.
The game started with an early Jesuit interception that gave the Lakers a short field, the Jesuit 20 yard line. The stout Crusader defense would come up with an early stop after Lake Oswego elected to go for it on fourth down. From there, the majority of the first quarter would go scoreless until the 19 yard rushing touchdown from Burt.
To start the second quarter Brauner found Conor Croteau for a 10 yard Lake Oswego touchdown to tie the score 7-7. From there, the Crusaders would quickly answer with Cleeland to Burton for a 43 yard touchdown to put the game at 14-7. Kadyn Butcher added to the Jesuit lead, making the score 17-7 in lieu of a 38 yard field goal. Butcher’s field goal with 4:56 left in the half would be the final score before both teams entered the locker room.
Leading 17-7 at the half, Jesuit had to kick off to start the third quarter but shocked the Lakers with an onside kick that was seemingly perfectly designed and recovered by the Crusaders to create some quick momentum to start the half.
The Crusaders would capitalize on the Butcher onside kick with the 31 yard receiving touchdown from Johnson, extending the lead to 24-7.
The Lakers would soon respond to the Crusaders momentum with a 54 yard score from Bell putting the game at 24-14. The impressive touchdown from Bell was immediately followed by the game changing kick return from Johnson that put the Crusaders ahead 31-14.
Although the Lakers would fight until the bitter end, the Jesuit offense proved to be too much for them to handle and the Crusaders would be victorious 34-28.
After starting the season with a brutal 0-4 start, the Crusaders are now on a six game winning streak, putting their overall record at 6-4.
What is next for the Potter led Jesuit?
After the impressive win against Lake Oswego, Potter is now faced with an entirely new beast, the undefeated and number one seed West Linn Lions. The Lions are the defending OSAA state champions and have proven to be dominant, outscoring their opponents 455-105.
In the previous meeting against the Lions, the Crusaders were outmatched 43-14 and seemed to have gotten beaten in all facets of the game. Burt was impressive with 99 yards and two touchdowns, but the Crusaders were never able to completely find their rhythm on the offensive side.
On the defensive side, the Crusaders allowed 396 of total offense and an average of 8.4 yards per game.
Now, with 7 games being played since these two teams last faced each other, the Crusaders have gotten better each week and have peaked at the most crucial part of the season. Cleeland has grown more comfortable and the young Jesuit offensive have learned to play with each other creating more time in the pocket for Cleeland and bigger gaps for Burt.
The Lions have arguably the most talented offense in the Pacific Northwest with division one talent all over the field. Idaho commit, tight end Gus Donnerberg, has been a problem for every team that has faced the Lions posing as a matchup nightmare with his 6’4 frame and wide receiver like speed.
Donnerberg was recently named Three Rivers League offensive player of the year. Keep an eye out for Johnson to cover Donnerberg as corner or possibly Burt to take on the defensive responsibility as a linebacker.
Donnerberg isn’t the only threat that the Lions have in their pocket. Senior Hunter Haines who was named Three Rivers League defensive player of the year has been dangerous on special teams as a retuner and also as a wide receiver.
Running back Ryan Vandenbrink, who is signed to play baseball at Oregon State, is another tremendous athlete who is hard to take down on first contact.
Junior wide receiver Danny Wideman is a huge threat in the slot who exploded for two touchdowns against the Crusaders in their last matchup. Keep an eye out for Burton to take on the task of containing Wideman.
With both teams playing their best football, anything could happen in a playoff game. The Lions look to continue their run at back to back titles and the Crusaders look to knock off the number one seed.
There will be no shortage of premier talent on both sides of the ball with a plethora of college level players. Two experienced coaching staffs. Elite level players. Playoff football.
The Jesuit Crusaders will travel to West Linn high school to take on the Lions, on November 10 at 7:00.
