‘All about team effort.’ Metro League crown still belongs to Jesuit after Crusaders hand Mountainside its 1st loss
By Alex Tam | Photos by Dan Brood
PORTLAND — There’s no doubting who the Metro League football title goes through year after year.
For the past decade, the top of the standings has always included one team: the Jesuit Crusaders.
And that won’t change this season.
No. 4 Jesuit took command and overpowered upstart No. 5 Mountainside, 40-10, in a battle of the Metro’s top two teams Friday night at Jesuit High School.
“It’s just a testament to our coaches and their legacy and putting us in the right places to succeed,” Jesuit junior quarterback Jacob Hutchinson said. “Obviously, the game couldn’t be played without 22 guys — 11 on offense, 11 on defense — but that’s what embodies our team. It’s all about team effort. It’s not a one-person show.”
With the victory, the Crusaders (7-1 overall, 4-0 Metro) clinched at least a share of the league title with one game remaining — next week at home against Beaverton. They have won outright or shared the league championship every year since 2012, not counting the shortened COVID season of 2020-21.
Over this decade of dominance in the Metro, Jesuit has compiled a 58-2 league record in the past 10 seasons.
“It’s part of the standard that Jesuit sets for ourselves,” senior running back Payton Roth said. “We always lock in in the Metro and we try to live up to that standard and expectation we have. There’s definitely some pressure that comes with it, but I think it definitely makes us better in the long run.”
Roth continued his standout senior campaign, taking advantage of Jesuit’s “Franchise” offensive line en route to 19 carries for 196 yards and three touchdowns — all coming in the first half before resting the entire second half. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound running back ran for 10.3 yards per carry, and he leads Class 6A with 1,631 rushing yards this season.
His touchdown runs of 4, 80 and 6 yards were the Crusaders’ first scores of the game for a 21-0 lead with 7:06 left in the first half.
“It seems like our O-line gets challenged verbally every week (with others) saying we’re not the best in the state,” Hutchinson said. “And they go in and prove it that they’re the best in the state. I wouldn’t want to be behind any other line. They give me plenty of time, open up giant holes. Payton is the best running back I’ve ever played with and he just hit some big holes.”
Hutchinson proved Jesuit’s passing attack can’t be overlooked with the postseason looming. He was efficient, completing 12 of 18 pass attempts for 215 yards and two touchdowns.
Hutchinson’s scores came in the final minute of the second quarter. On the first, he found junior wide receiver Jace Burton streaking down the left side for a 35-yard touchdown with 55 seconds left.
After the Crusaders forced a three-and-out, Hutchinson connected with senior Garrett Speer on a screen pass that saw Speer spin and break several tackles to reach the end zone from 40 yards with 22 seconds to go.
Jesuit coach Ken Potter said it’s crucial for his team to throw the ball successfully to keep opposing teams honest if they are to go on a deep playoff run.
“We have to be able to spread it out a little bit and have times to be able to play catch and take advantage of it,” Potter said. “(We have to) force teams not to have nine guys in the box and say, ‘You can’t run it when we can’t throw it.’ That makes it real hard for our line to block those guys, although our line has done a good job of whatever you throw at them.”
Mountainside (7-1, 3-1) struggled moving the ball, totaling 77 yards for the game, including 24 yards in the first half. The Mavericks entered the game averaging 31.8 points per contest.
Most of their offense came in the fourth quarter on an eight-play, 60-yard drive capped by freshman Sam Vyhlidal’s three-yard run with 4:55 to go for Mountainside’s lone touchdown.
Junior quarterback Alex Ingalls was held in check, completing 2 of 9 pass attempts for 10 yards and an interception. The Mavericks had opportunities early with strong field position at midfield for their first three drives but could not capitalize.
Senior kicker Holden Phillips scored Mountainside’s other three points on a 37-yard field goal in the second quarter.
“We’re disappointed; there was a lot on the line,” Mountainside coach John Mannion said. “We felt coming in, we felt we were ready to play with these guys, but they controlled the play. It was not for lack of effort, just more of a matter of they’re great up front. Good backs, their quarterback had a great night. We just didn’t have a lot of answers for them. Credit to them — a league title for them again.
“We had a good offense throughout the year. We tried to continue with that, but they made it hard to move. We’ll keep going. We’ve got a game next Friday and look forward to ripping it up and go again.”
For the Crusaders, they hope to stay healthy before the 16-team championship playoff begins in two weeks. Jesuit has lost two returning starters to injuries, including senior safety Nick Ferrero with a leg injury suffered early in the season. In last week’s win over Sunset, the team lost senior fullback and defensive lineman Noah Staley, a returning all-state honorable mention, for the season because of a knee injury.
Despite those losses, the goal remains the same — contending for a state championship. Potter said he’s happy with the improvement and progress his players have made every week.
He noted his program splits every season into three phases. The first is preseason and the nonleague games, where the coaching staff learns about the team and figures out the pieces to the puzzle to put players in the right positions. The second is utilizing what they’ve learned in hopes of winning a league title. The third includes the playoffs and seeing how far they can go.
“You should be dialed in because you have time to get the right guys in the right positions, and it’s important to win (league),” Potter said. “That’s the goal every year, and then it’s the playoffs. When we get there, we hope we’re talented enough and hard enough working and healthy enough to make a run.”
Notes: Burton led Jesuit’s receiving corps with five catches for 58 yards. Speer totaled 90 yards (45 rushing and 45 receiving), and Lonnie Burt added three catches for 48 yards. … Since a 31-20 loss to West Linn on Sept. 15, Jesuit has won five games in a row and outscored opponents 242-45. … Mountainside finishes the regular season at home against Aloha next Friday.
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Jesuit 40, Mountainside 10
Mountainside – 0 – 3 – 0 – 7 — 10
Jesuit – 14 – 20 – 0 – 6 — 40
First quarter
5:32 J - Payton Roth 4 run (Kadyn Butcher PAT)
2:32 J - Roth 80 run (Butcher PAT)
Second quarter
7:06 J - Roth 6 run (Butcher PAT)
3:33 M - Holden Phillips 37 field goal
:55 J - Jace Burton 35 pass from Jacob Hutchinson (Butcher PAT)
:22 J - Garrett Speer 40 pass from Hutchinson (PAT no good)
Fourth quarter
11:55 J - Hutchinson 1 run (2-pt conversion no good)
4:55 M - Sam Vyhlidal 3 run (Phillips PAT)
STATISTICS
Passing: Mountainside - Alex Ingalls 2-9, 10, INT; Jesuit - Jacob Hutchinson 12-18, 215, 2 TDs
Rushing: Mountainside - Sam Vyhlidal 7-64, TD, AaronRey Simpson 9-10, Elym Young 5-1; Jesuit - Payton Roth 19-196, 3 TDs, Hutchinson 1-1, TD, Garrett Speer 7-45, Thatcher Killian 3-3, Lonnie Burt 1-1
Receiving: Mountainside - Simpson 1-10, Brayden Boe 1-0; Jesuit - Jace Burton 5-58, TD, Speer 2-45, TD, Burt 3-48, Grant Valley 1-41, Patrick Kelley 1-24
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