In a close quarterfinal matchup last Friday night between the Jesuit Crusaders and the West Salem Titans, Jesuit pulled off a tight 21-20 win over the Titans to advance to the semifinals of the football playoffs.
The Titans opened the scoring in the second quarter, when Koen Campos broke free for a 21-yard touchdown run, giving West Salem an early 7-0 lead. Jesuit answered quickly as quarterback Treynor Cleeland found wide receiver Grant Valley for a 31-yard touchdown pass, equaling the score at 7-7.
West Salem regained the upper hand before halftime with a hard-fought drive that ended in another touchdown, however, a bad snap on the extra point attempt left the score 13-7 heading into the half. Early in the third quarter, a muffed snap on a Jesuit punt set the Titans up with perfect field position at the Crusaders’ 3-yard line. West Salem capitalized with a short touchdown run to put them up 20-7.
Down by 13 points, the Crusaders began to find their way back. Cleeland connected with Valley once again for a 20-yard touchdown pass, narrowing the score to 20-14. The Crusaders’ defense then came up with a big stop, forcing the Titans to attempt a field goal. As the ball was snapped, Grant Valley burst off the edge, diving in to block the kick. The sideline blew up as the Crusaders now had a chance to win this game.
With the ball once again, Cleeland dropped back and found Jack Tuenge on a short pass—but Tuenge had bigger plans. With explosive speed and great field vision, he weaved through defenders, sprinting 87 yards to the end zone in one of the biggest plays of the night. Parker Heydet’s clutch extra point gave Jesuit its first lead of the game, 21-20.
With time winding down, West Salem made one last push to retake the lead, but sophomore Kyle Goodwin sealed the Crusaders’ victory by breaking up a fourth-down pass in the last minutes.
Jesuit now advances to face North Medford in the semifinals this Friday, November 22, at Willamette High School in Eugene. After their strong win, the Crusaders will look to keep playing in what will be another great game.
