For Tualatin, what-if finish doesn’t diminish another special season: ‘I love my guys forever’

“We were something special, man. There’s no one else I’d rather be here with.”

Author:
Alex Tam
Updated:
Nov 25, 2023 1:24 AM EST
Original:
Nov 24, 2023

HILLSBORO — The halftime score showed Tualatin still had a chance. Only seven points separated the Timberwolves and Central Catholic at the break of the Class 6A state championship game.

But deep down, Tualatin knew it had an even more extreme uphill battle on its hands.

The final score might indicate the Rams winning in a big way, 49-21, on Friday afternoon at Hillsboro Stadium, but for one-and-a-half quarters, the Timberwolves proved they belonged, going toe to toe and blow for blow with the eventual state champion.

“I think people saw what this team was like when we’re at full strength,” Tualatin second-year coach Dominic Ferraro said.

Injuries decimated the Timberwolves’ hopes of earning the elusive first football state championship in school history, and it all came within a matter of minutes.

But nothing short-changes Tualatin’s accomplishments from another impressive season.

The Timberwolves finished with an 11-2 record, capping an incredible three-year run that included two state title game appearances (2021, 2023) and another semifinal berth in 2022.

“We had all the momentum, and nobody expected us to be close this game,” Tualatin senior Jayden Fortier said. “We were going stride for stride with them, 21-21. I think if we stayed healthy the whole game, the championship is ours.”

a Central Catholic Tualatin 6A Oregon football final November 22 2023 Leon Neuschwander 33

The first blow came to senior quarterback Nolan Keeney, who rehabbed from a broken collarbone injury suffered in a Week 4 win over Jesuit in time to return for the postseason.

Keeney said he felt something wrong around his collar after he got tackled early in the first quarter. He stayed in the game, throwing touchdown passes to Fortier and AJ Noland in an electric opening 12 minutes that ended with the score tied 14-14.

On the third play of the second quarter, Keeney was sacked in the backfield and felt his injury worsen.

“I got tackled on probably the fifth or sixth play of the game, and I knew I felt it kind of adjusted out of alignment,” Keeney said. “The next time, I got sacked and I could feel something was definitely wrong. I can’t really move my arm right now. I’m about to go get an X-ray, but it’s really unfortunate the way it has to end.”

Then came the second blow. Fortier, a two-way star as a tight end and linebacker, left the game two plays after Keeney’s departure following a seven-yard run out of the Wildcat formation on fourth down to keep alive a Timberwolves drive. Fortier limped to the sideline, where trainers attached an ice pack to his knee, and he did not return.

“One play just changes your whole career,” Fortier said. “The play before that, third-and-4, I told Coach to give me the ball. It ended up being fourth-and-1, and then that happens. I bounced the ball to the outside, got the first down, kept the drive going. I think everything’s going good and then one wrong plant and game is over.”

After losing two of their best players in a matter of minutes, the Timberwolves immediately went into scramble mode, looking to figure out how to fill two huge holes in their game plan.

“I’ve got to give credit to my coaching staff because we immediately went into, ‘What do we do now?’” Ferraro said. “Who has to go in? Who has to go here? Who’s the backup? There really wasn’t a lot of time. At that point, we just had to keep moving forward. Adversity strikes all the time and you’ve just got to keep going. That’s what we did. We tried our best.”

a Central Catholic Tualatin 6A Oregon football final November 22 2023 Leon Neuschwander 17

Noland, the backup quarterback who replaced Keeney for all five Three Rivers League games, said it was tough mentally to rally.

“It’s hard to keep your spirits the same way when you lose two guys that are that important to the team, not only for the skill they have, but the leadership they bring,” Noland said. “So, you try to keep your heads up.

“I’m proud of these guys, but at the end of the day, that’s a hell of a good Central Catholic squad, and we’re only going to have a chance to beat them with a full squad.”

While Tualatin did score on the drive with Noland’s 17-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Kenen Elder for a 21-14 lead with 6:56 left in the first half, the players and coaches knew sustaining the momentum was going to be difficult.

Central Catholic did not allow the Timberwolves to score again the rest of the way.

“(The Rams) scored quick before halftime and then they got the ball back, and the flood gates opened,” Fortier said. “We tried to make some adjustments, but obviously, I’m not there and Nolan’s not playing quarterback. We just didn’t have enough today and that’s OK.”

Fortier did his best to support his teammates, joining every on-field huddle whether it was on offense, defense or special teams, to help keep everyone engaged.

“I’m a leader on this team, and the people look up to me,” Fortier said. “So, even if I’m not playing, I still have a role on this team and I still have to do my job, being a positive influence and trying to hype everybody up. Obviously, the score didn’t go our way today, but I love my guys forever.”

Fortier and Keeney stood together on the sideline for the rest of the first half, discussing how they felt and their emotions after reality set in.

“A lot of tears were shed,” Fortier said. “This was our goal since he came here (after Keeney transferred from Westview). I told him if you want to win a state championship, come here. And I just told him I’m sorry for letting him down. I gave it my all, but sometimes that’s not enough.”

Keeney, who completed 11 of 14 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns, said with the way the game was going, they “could’ve shocked the world.”

“We were something special, man,” Keeney said. “There’s no one else I’d rather be here with, and it’s just unfortunate the way it has to end for us.”

a Central Catholic Tualatin 6A Oregon football final November 22 2023 Leon Neuschwander 5

While Central Catholic put the game out of reach after halftime and scored 35 unanswered points, the Timberwolves never quit. It’s a testament to the program built over the past few years, previously under Dan Lever and continuing under Ferraro.

The Timberwolves’ only other defeat this season came to No. 1 West Linn, and despite Keeney missing half the season, they earned huge league wins over Lake Oswego and Lakeridge. Tualatin also rolled through the first three rounds of the playoffs, beating Roosevelt, Nelson and Sherwood.

Friday marked the program’s fourth state title game appearance (2007, 2010, 2021 and 2023).

“The adversity we had to fight through this year, losing our guys and then losing them again in the championship game, you learn about yourself,” Noland said. “You learn a lot about the team. I think when I look back when I’m older and other guys look back when they’re older, they’re going to think about how they fought and how they bounced back from situations like that because things like this are going to happen in real life.”

Ferraro said he’s “extremely proud” of his team for fighting to reach this point.

“They’ve grown tremendously,” he said. “Adversity strikes and how you respond to it is the definition of who you are. I thought we continued to fight, continued to play. …

“I told them this is my first trip to the state championship in my 18 years in coaching, and I wouldn’t have rather done it with another group. I just love them and am so proud of them.”

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