After destroying the Beaverton Beavers 63-27 in their Metro home opener, the football team seeks to continue their Metro league dominance. This Friday, October 17th, the Crusaders are on the road and will face the Mountainside Mavericks.
Last year, Jesuit struggled against Mountainside, losing 35-58 on Cronin. The Mavericks dominated the game by scoring on every offensive drive and successfully recovering two onside kicks. This loss was the first time the football team has ever lost to Mountainside. Following the win, the Mavericks went on to win the Metro league title.
Senior captain Quinn Wicklow mentioned the significance of beating the Mavericks this Friday.
“This is a big game for us because we know that the Metro League title is most likely going to the winner of this game. Last year they beat us for the first time in history and showed a lot of disrespect towards our program. This is our chance to earn back respect and take back the Metro League title,” said Wicklow.
Good news for the Crusaders, as key defensive players are returning to the team after being out for weeks with lower leg injuries. These players include Defensive Ends John Ching and Owen Vance, as well as Linebacker Jacob Gorman.
Ching spoke for all of the injured players that are returning this week.
“It feels good to be able to play football again. We’ve been doing rehab together and getting back in the swing of things. It’s been weeks since we last played and we’re all excited to play this Friday,” said Ching.
Jesuit has been waiting to play Mountainside since the start of the summer. The senior team captains came up with a phrase to keep the team motivated throughout the season.
“During the summer, we made wristbands that say Currahee, meaning we stand alone. The wristbands also say “10/17/25” which is the date we play Mountainside. That has been the phrase keeping us going because we want to show Mountainside and the whole state that Jesuit football truly does stand alone,” said Senior Drew Layfield.
Jesuit’s offense needs to continue dominating the run game in order to gain momentum throughout the game. Running back Luke Ortner has been dominating the Metro league, running for 375 yards against Beaverton last week. The defense also needs to contain the edges against Mountainside, as the Mavericks are known for their outside runs.
Jesuit will travel to Mountainside to face off against the Mavericks this Friday, October 17th at 7:00pm.
