Missed chances cost Jesuit in Holy War loss, but no regrets for Crusaders: ‘I love everyone on this team, and it’s been a really fun ride’

By Alex Tam | Photos by Dan Brood 

BEAVERTON — When Jesuit reflects on its nail-biting but ultimately heartbreaking state quarterfinal defeat to two-time reigning state champion Central Catholic, its players and coaches will pinpoint several key moments that got away. 

Those chances could’ve easily turned the tide in Jesuit’s favor, and the talk would’ve been about the Crusaders earning their fourth consecutive semifinal berth.

Instead, there was a feeling of a bit of grief — but yet pride in knowing they were oh-so close to knocking off a program that many believed would contend for a third straight state championship.

“I can’t believe it’s over,” senior Garrett Speer said. “Obviously, the goal is to play on Thanksgiving, but you could point your fingers at this play, that play, whatever play. There were so many mistakes that we made and you want it back, but you can’t get them back. So, we just have to live with that, and move on with life.”

What were those plays that eventually led to Central Catholic’s 23-20 victory on Friday night at Jesuit High School?

● Two turnovers in the red zone, including an interception and a fumble, midway through the second quarter.

● A punt return to Central Catholic’s 1-yard line that was called back because of a block in the back penalty in the third quarter.

● With Jesuit clinging to a three-point lead in the fourth quarter and the Rams facing a 4th-and-13 play, Central Catholic quarterback Cru Newman did what he’d done all game. He ran for 21 yards to keep the drive alive and eventually threw a go-ahead touchdown pass.

Jesuit coach Ken Potter acknowledged the chances his team had to take control of the game.

“We had opportunities that we didn’t cash in on,” Potter said. “And that’s a sad time for the kids who don’t get to play another year after this year. I’m sad for my seniors, and the kids played hard.

“(Central Catholic) made some nice plays in situations they had to. We had a couple times where we didn’t make a play, and that makes it tough.”

Arguably the biggest decision for the Crusaders came on their final play after using a 15-play, 63-yard drive to reach Central Catholic’s 17-yard line.

Facing 4th-and-11 in the final minute, Jesuit had two options to think about: Go for the field goal and the tie for overtime, or risk it all by playing for the go-ahead score late.

The Crusaders took the latter but couldn’t convert with two straight incompletions to end the game.

Potter said the decision came down to seeing the kicking game not converting a PAT to begin the fourth quarter.

Jesuit also saw its 46-yard field goal attempt go wide left in the second quarter, which would have given the Crusaders the lead.

Despite all of that, they hung around and even led Central Catholic on two occasions.

In the second quarter, junior wide receiver Jace Burton hauled in a 26-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jacob Hutchinson for a 14-7 lead with 8:50 to go in the half.

The lead didn’t last long as Central Catholic answered with junior Cade Gehlen’s 68-yard touchdown run to tie the score 12 seconds later.

In the fourth quarter, Speer helped give Jesuit a 20-17 lead with a 12-yard touchdown scamper with 10:30 left. But the Crusaders’ defense could not hold the Rams’ offense in check, allowing Newman to escape the pocket several times before finishing with 115 rushing yards on 14 carries for the game. He completed 13 of 24 pass attempts for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Central Catholic grabbed the lead for good on Newman’s 15-yard strike to sophomore Zhaiel Smith with 7:55 remaining.

“That’s the game of football,” senior center Roice Cleeland said. “That happens. We’re going to kick ourselves in the foot a couple times with some penalties, like the punt return we had with the block in the back. Just self-inflicted wounds that unfortunately was reflected in the score and that didn’t help us win the game.”

Added Speer: “We definitely missed a tackle; there were so many things you can point your fingers at. You hate to say it, you hate to go into the offseason saying what if? But sometimes that’s all you can do.”

Jesuit senior Payton Roth muscled his way to 166 yards on 29 carries, and Speer added 57 yards on 10 carries.

There’s a rich history between these programs. In the past 10 years, the teams have met three other times in the playoffs, with Central Catholic winning all of them. The Rams knocked off Jesuit in the semifinals last season, and they beat the Crusaders in the quarterfinals in 2016 and for the state championship in 2013.

Dubbed the Holy War, Jesuit still leads the all-time series 23-18-1.

“Last year, I didn’t understand it as much as I did because it was brand new,” Cleeland said. “We came out, me personally, with a lot of fight, but that’s what makes this game of football really fun. It’s rivalries. No one would want to come out and watch if it was two random teams. This is the Holy War, and everyone in Oregon knows what it is.”

Jesuit finishes the season 9-2, earning a state quarterfinal berth for the 14th consecutive postseason. A big storyline heading into next season will be Potter approaching first place on the all-time Oregon coaches wins list. In his 36th season as a head coach, Potter has compiled 345 wins — seven shy of the leader in Oregon high school football, Dewey Sullivan with 352.

Jesuit graduates 27 seniors from its roster and will look to reload next season. But for now, it’s about celebrating what they accomplished.

“It really sucks we couldn’t win this game and go two more and really show the state of Oregon who we really are,” Cleeland said. “But I don’t regret anything that we’ve done. I love everyone on this team, and it’s been a really fun ride.
“What I’m going to take away from this team is the perseverance that helped us win games, help us succeed in the future, and us battling back against all the adversity from Westview to Sunset to Mountainside. We might be down on the social media standpoint, but we just blocked it out and did our thing.”

Jesuit senior lineman Sylus Wallace took a positive outlook on the year.

“It’s certainly not the way we wanted to end it, but I don’t have any regrets,” he said. “It was a fun season, and we all worked hard for it. They were a good team, so I’m not really mad about it. I feel like we had a couple shots, but we just made a couple mistakes and those mistakes costed us.”