‘This game was personal.’ No. 7 Mountainside outlasts Jordan Fisher, No. 9 Westview in 2OT, runs record to 5-0
By René Ferrán | Photo by Soobum Im
A Friday night that saw Jordan Fisher become Westview’s all-time leading rusher ended with Mountainside celebrating as if it had won a Metro League championship.
No, it was only the league opener for both teams, but the emotional roller coaster finally ended with the Mavericks extending the program’s best start in its five-year history with a 31-30 double-overtime victory in Northwest Portland.
Brayden Boe hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Alex Ingalls in the back-left corner of the end zone, with Holden Phillips tacking on the extra point that improved Mountainside to 5-0.
“This game was personal,” said senior lineman Kevin Cassidy, who finished with seven tackles (two for loss) and a sack. “I was telling everyone that we were making a statement tonight. We were the first team in school history to be 4-0, and now we’re 5-0, and we’re going to be 6-0 the next game (against Sunset).
“So, this game was as important as it could be. That was the biggest game of our season.”
Fisher ran for 259 yards and four touchdowns, including a 96-yarder late in the first quarter that gave him the record. He ran for the tying score with 24 seconds left in regulation and a go-ahead 25-yard run in the second overtime period.
He has 2,648 career yards, breaking Stephen Clayton’s 23-year-old school record, and has 989 yards in five games this season.
“It means a lot to break the record tonight,” Fisher said. “My O-linemen, I’ve been playing with them for a long time, and they’ve blocked for me in practice every day and at every game. They just gave it up, so I’m proud of them.”
His 9-yard burst that tied the score at 24-24 looked like it would be the fairy-tale ending to the night. Instead, Sol Sagiao broke through to block the ensuing point-after attempt, allowing the Mavericks to force overtime for the first time since their 2019 second-round playoff win over No. 1 seed Tigard. Westview hadn’t been to overtime since Week 1 of the 2011 season.
After neither team scored in the first overtime period, the Wildcats struck quickly in Round 2. Fisher broke free around left end, bouncing off a blocker before finding the edge for the go-ahead score.
This time, the Wildcats went for two, but Fisher got tripped up inches short of the goal line to keep the lead at 30-24.
The Mavericks took advantage of that opening on the ensuing possession. Elym Young converted on fourth-and-3, burrowing for a 4-yard run that set up Boe’s touchdown. Boe juggled the ball but secured it while dragging his foot as the defender knocked him through the back of the end zone.
“They were pressing up, so we checked the play, and it was a beautiful pass by Alex,” said Boe, who finished with five catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns. “It’s huge to go all the way into overtime and then battle it out like that and come out with the win. Just huge.”
Wildcats coach Ryan Atkinson rued the missed opportunities to pull out a critical victory after a challenging nonleague schedule left them 1-3 entering Metro League play.
“That’s the beauty of this game — it comes down to inches and details,” he said. “Give Mountainside full credit. Their kicking game was on point, and ours wasn’t.
“But it was a heck of a high school football game. It was fun to watch and crazy to coach. But when kids fight and scrap like that, I told the kids, that’s the effort we want. We want to go through that experience. I’m just proud of our kids.”
Fisher added, “Coach tried to get us a tough schedule for games like this, games that we knew were going to be close, the crowd is going to be loud, and big players gotta make big plays. We knew it was going to be tough, but we were ready for it.”
The Wildcats clung to an 18-17 lead when Mountainside got the ball back with 2:22 left in the third quarter. The Mavericks went on a 17-play, 87-yard drive that chewed nine minutes off the clock to retake the lead at 24-18 on a 13-yard pass from Ingalls to Phillips.
During the drive, the Mavericks faced fourth-and-1 from the Wildcats 13 — well within Phillips’ field-goal range. Coach John Mannion rolled the dice, however, and freshman Sam Vyhlidal gained seven yards to keep the drive going.
Three plays later, Phillips snared a pass while tapping a toe just inside the left sideline before falling out of bounds to put Mountainside ahead.
“It was kind of the flow of the game,” Mannion said of his decision. “We kicked one earlier, and we had a lot of confidence in Holden. It was just a feel thing. When it was 18-14, we wanted to get the three points, and then, it was just kind of back and forth after that.
“That was a heavily contested game from the beginning, and we’re very happy and grateful to come out on top.”
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Mountainside 31, Westview 30 (2OT)
Mountainside – 7 – 7 – 3 – 7 – 0 – 7 — 31
Westview - 12 – 6 – 0 – 6 – 0 – 6 — 30
First quarter
W — Victory Orikannu 19 pass from Nolan Keeney (kick failed), 6:07
M — Jared Lang 7 run (Holden Phillips kick), 1:46
W — Jordan Fisher 96 run (run failed), 1:21
Second quarter
W — Fisher 6 run (pass failed), 3:30
M — Brayden Boe 35 pass from Alex Ingalls (Phillips kick), 0:57
Third quarter
M — FG Phillips 40, 3:26
Fourth quarter
M — Phillips 13 pass from Ingalls (Phillips kick), 5:10
W — Fisher 9 run (kick blocked), 0:24
Second overtime
W — Fisher 25 run (run failed)
M — Boe 14 pass from Ingalls (Phillips kick)
STATISTICS
RUSHING—Mountainside: Elym Young 13-43, Lang 10-41, Sam Vyhlidal 6-15. Total 36-74. Westview: Fisher 28-259, Keeney 5-(minus 1). Team 35-252.
PASSING—Mountainside: Ingalls 15-28-0-180. Westview: Keeney 17-24-1-166.
RECEIVING—Mountainside: Boe 5-87, Sam Pimentel 4-19, Kellen Hicks 2-36. Westview: Jaydon McBreen 7-83, Orikannu 4-45, Xander Millard 3-17.
DEFENSE—Mountainside: Kevin Cassidy 7 tackles, 2 for loss, sack; Hicks 7 tackles; Lang 6 tackles; Jonathan Berrien 3 tackles, 2 for loss; Daniel Savenko 2 tackles, interception. Westview: Gunner Jorgenson 8 tackles, 4 for loss, 2 sacks, forced fumble; Campbell Sager 5 tackles, 3 for loss, sack; Kaden Huppin 3 tackles, 2 pass breakups; Millard 5 tackles; McBreen 5 tackles.
FIRST DOWNS—Mountainside 15, Westview 15. PENALTIES-YARDS—Mountainside 4-20, Westview 4-24. FUMBLES-LOST—Mountainside 1-0, Westview 0-0.
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