Tualatin blasts Nelson, advances to Oregon 6A football semifinals: 5 takeaways
The Tualatin football team knew exactly what it wanted to do.
The Timberwolves wanted to start off fast. They wanted to make a statement on defense. They wanted to control the line of scrimmage, and, most of all, they wanted to make it back to the semifinal round of the Class 6A state playoffs.
Done, done, done and done.
Tualatin achieved all of those goals in a big, big way, turning in a dominant performance in getting a 47-14 win over Nelson in a Class 6A state playoff quarterfinal contest Friday at Tualatin High School.
“We were firing on all cylinders,” said Tualatin senior tight end/linebacker Jayden Fortier, who had two touchdown catches and an interception. “I mean, (Tualatin junior quarterback) Nolan Keeney, he’s a dude. I’ve been saying that since the first game of the year, and even before that, during the summer workouts. And (senior receiver) AJ (Noland), he was on a different level tonight. It’s a team effort, obviously, and we handled our business and we got the win.”
“We didn’t expect a score like that. We came out and did really well,” said Keeney, who threw five touchdown passes. “We just started off strong and never looked back. It was a great way to start the game.”
“It went great. It went to plan,” Tualatin senior lineman Reid Dobash said. “We wanted to come out fast — we came out fast. I’d like to say that our defense pitched a shutout. We came out and punched them in the mouth. It was good.”
Tualatin’s first two possessions ended with Keeney throwing touchdown passes to Noland, including a 64-yard scoring strike.
Keeney also had a 17-yard touchdown pass to senior Matthew Eleweke and a 19-yard scoring pass to Fortier in the first half. Tualatin, which also got a 27-yard touchdown run from senior Tino Russo in the second quarter, jumped out to a 34-0 halftime advantage and never looked back.
“It was great. We did exactly what we came out to do. We came out firing,” Tualatin senior lineman Trace Bell said. “All year, coaches told us to come out and compete. We came out with a lot of energy, and we just played with that. We weren’t going to be denied. We just wanted to come out and absolutely dominate.”
With the victory, its fifth in a row, Tualatin improved to 10-1. The Timberwolves advanced to the semifinal round of the state playoffs, where they’ll meet neighboring Sherwood next Friday.
Here are five takeaways from Friday night’s matchup:
Timberwolves glad to have their quarterback back
Keeney missed the final five and a half games of the regular season after suffering a broken collarbone in a 42-17 win at Jesuit on Sept. 22.
Noland filled in admirably at quarterback in Keeney’s absence, but Tualatin is glad to have the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Keeney back at signal-caller for postseason play.
“He’s phenomenal. That’s the only word I can say,” Fortier said. “The throws he makes, the decisions he makes, the things he does with his legs — I trust him with my life. I know he’s going to hit me in the right spot. He’s going to hit AJ, he’s going to hit Tyson (Hunt), he’s going to hit Kenen (Elder), he’s going to hit all of us. He shares the wealth. He knows he has a big job on his hands, and he takes care of it.”
“It means everything,” Bell said. “Now, we’ve also got AJ back at wide receiver, and our offense is just more explosive with them in there. He’s such a great athlete. He can make plays both running and throwing.”
Keeney returned to action in Tualatin’s 49-3 first-round state playoff win over Roosevelt. In his second game since returning, he continued to show why the Timberwolves are excited to have him back on the field, as he completed 15 of 23 passes for 272 yards and five touchdowns.
“I feel great,” Keeney said. “The collarbone has healed up really well. I’m loving it out here. I’m so glad to be back. It feels amazing.”
Tualatin stays strong up front
The Timberwolves certainly have more than their share of playmakers on offense, with Keeney, Fortier, Noland, Elder, Hunt and running backs Carson Mullins and Russo.
But a big part of their offensive success is because of the strong, determined play of the offensive line.
“The line, it starts with them,” Fortier said. “I have a ton of respect for all of them. They all go to work every day in practice. I see how hard they work.”
“They work so hard. They did amazing,” Keeney said. “I had a great pocket back there tonight — I always do. I trust them with anything. I love those dudes and they work extremely hard. I’m proud of them, and they did really well tonight.”
The Tualatin offense, working behind its solid group of linemen, including junior Tanner Dunn, Bell, junior Aiden Keister, Dobash and junior Luke Schwab, among others, had 430 yards of total offense on 45 plays from scrimmage, with Keeney not getting sacked a single time.
“It was good,” Dobash said. “Going into the season, people were saying that we were going to have question marks up front. So, we just put on our backs the whole year. Coming in, we knew they (Nelson) had a great D-line, so we knew we had to come out and play physical. We’re not the biggest, we’re not the strongest, but we’re going to come out and play physical.”
“I think we have one of the best lines in the state. I think that we have such a tight bond that we can think without speaking, and that really helps us,” Bell said. “We wanted to come out and out-physical them right from the very start. We’ve been hearing all week that they were going to dominate us, and we wanted to prove that wrong.”
Timberwolves proud to deny on defense
While Tualatin can put up some impressive numbers on offense, the Timberwolves also take plenty of pride in their defense.
The Timberwolves gave up just three points in their regular-season finale against rival Tigard. They also allowed Roosevelt just three points in a 49-3 first-round state playoff victory.
In Friday’s quarterfinal tilt, Tualatin jumped out to a 47-0 lead early in the fourth quarter before Nelson got two touchdown passes against Timberwolves reserves.
“The defense played phenomenal. We didn’t give up a score until our JVs were in. I’m so proud of my guys there,” Bell said. “We’re a tight-knit group on defense, too. We came out and competed and battled, and it showed on the scoreboard tonight.”
“It was great. Our defense comes out and does it every day,” Dobash said. “Guys are stepping up and playing great.”
The Tualatin defense was put to the test late in the second quarter. Nelson got a 68-yard pass from junior quarterback Avirey Durdahl to senior receiver Tyler Creswick, moving the ball to the Timberwolves 2-yard line.
Tualatin stopped Durdahl at the 1-yard line on a first-down quarterback sneak. On second down, the Timberwolves forced a fumble, which was recovered by Eleweke with 6.2 seconds before halftime, preserving the first-half shutout.
Also for the Timberwolves defense, Fortier had an interception, and Bell, Dunn and junior Logan Lynn each had a sack.
“We wanted to start on defense, and we came out and got a three-and-out, and we set the tone right away. That set the tone for the rest of the game,” Fortier said. “Nelson, they came in as a physical team, and they’re still a physical team. I’ve got a lot of respect for that program, what they’ve done. But we just flew around tonight. We played fast, we played physical, like we do. We showed them what the Three Rivers League is all about.”
Excited for the semis
With the victory over the Hawks, Tualatin is advancing to the semifinal round of the Class 6A state playoffs for the third consecutive year.
Last year, the Timberwolves saw their season come to an end with a 28-14 loss to Sheldon in a state semifinal at McNary High School. They’re happy they’ve earned another shot to get to the final this year.
“It feels good,” Dobash said. “We’ve been talking about this ever since the Sheldon game ended last year.”
“It means everything,” Bell said. “Last year, we didn’t get the result we wanted. So, all summer, we’ve been talking about how we wanted to get back there — and we’re back.”
Now that they’re there, facing Sherwood doesn’t seem to be an enviable task. After all, the Bowmen are 11-0, and their vaunted defense has eight shutouts, including in the quarterfinals, where Sherwood bested Tigard 43-0.
“It’s going to be a tough battle,” Dobash said. “They’re beating dudes bad, and we’re beating dudes bad. It’s going to be a good game. We’re pretty dynamic on offense, but their defense is really solid. It’s going to come down to who wants it more.”
“We’re excited to compete against them and see where we’re at,” Bell said.
One thing that could benefit the Timberwolves in the showdown is that they picked up that semifinal experience last year.
“Obviously, we’ve been there. We’ve got players who have been there. We’re an experienced group, so I think we’ll be ready for it,” Fortier said. “Sherwood has a physical defense. They don’t allow a lot of points, but we’ll try our best to put up points on the scoreboard and be explosive like we’ve always been.”
For Keeney, who played at Westview last year, it will be his first trip to the state semifinals.
“It feels amazing. Last year, I never thought I’d be in this position, and it’s great to be here, especially coming back from the injury. I love my guys, and I’m so glad we’ve got another week,” he said. “We know they’re a really good team, and they’ve got a really good defense. We’re going to have to execute like we did this week — maybe even better. It’s going to be a really good matchup, and hopefully we can come out with it.”
Hawks still soar high in 2023
While Nelson might have been disappointed with the outcome of Friday’s quarterfinal tilt, the Hawks say they’re still pleased with their 2023 campaign, which saw them go 8-3.
“It was great,” Durdahl said. “We had a rough start against West Linn, but after that, it was wins, and wins, and wins. We got more confidence and got better and better and made it farther than we ever had before as a program.”
“Watching my team dominate was great to watch,” said Creswick, who missed part of the season because of injury.
Nelson’s season included a 48-8 first-round state playoff win over Wells, marking the third-year school’s first postseason victory.
“It meant the world to us,” Durdahl said of the historic win.
“It was great to be a part of it,” Creswick said. “It was great for our whole school.”
Nelson also seemed to show plenty of spirit in Friday’s game. Even though the Hawks were down 47-0 early in the fourth quarter, they kept battling, getting an 8-yard touchdown pass from Durdahl to senior receiver Andre Miller and a 29-yard scoring strike from sophomore Danny Leary to Miller to make the final score 47-14.
“That just shows who we are as a team, who we’ve been all season. This team is going to fight no matter what. We’re together, we’re a family, and we’re never going to stop fighting,” Creswick said. “It was a great season. I’m a transfer here, but I was welcomed into this family. It was so fun, from team dinners, to practice, to games, everyone was together, and everyone was family.”
Durdahl completed 13 of 23 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. Senior Eddy Keomany was the Hawks’ leading rusher with 63 yards on 14 carries. Creswick had four catches for 87 yards.
For the Nelson defense, senior Owen Hunt had two tackles for loss, and junior Dominic Macon, senior Toby Hausmann and junior Matthew Fabyanchuck each had one tackle for loss.
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Tualatin 47, Nelson 14
Nelson - 0 - 0 - 0 - 14 – 14
Tualatin - 14 - 20 - 13 - 0 – 47
First quarter
T – AJ Noland 9 pass from Nolan Keeney (Calvin Evans kick)
T – Noland 64 pass from Keeney (Evans kick)
Second quarter
T – Matthew Eleweke 17 pass from Keeney (Evans kick)
T – Tino Russo 27 run (Evans kick)
T – Jayden Fortier 19 pass from Keeney (pass failed)
Third quarter
T – Fortier 23 pass from Keeney (Evans kick)
T – Kelan Crow 59 pass from Owen Hagerman (pass failed)
Fourth quarter
N – Andre Miller 8 pass from Avirey Durdahl (Tim Hoffman kick)
N – Miller 29 pass from Danny Leary (Hoffman kick)
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Rushing – Nelson, Eddy Keomany 14-63, Alex Leontyuk 2-30, Durdahl 10-23, Charlie Engelgau 1-5, Noah Boria 1-1. Total 28-122. Tualatin, Russo 3-35, Keeney 2-32, Carson Mullins 11-26, Crow 1-5, Cole Hachmeister 4-1. Total 21-99.
Passing – Nelson, Durdahl 13-23-1, 165; Leary 2-2-0, 37. Tualatin, Keeney15-23-0, 272; Hagerman 1-1-0, 59.
Receiving – Nelson, Tyler Creswick 4-87, Sam Lewis 3-51, Miller 3-46, Eli Stevenson 2-13, Boria 1-3, Jaxon Larson 1-2, Keomany 1-0. Tualatin, Noland 5-100, Fortier 5-99, Tyson Hunt 2-30, Kenen Elder 2-26, Crow 1-59, Eleweke 1-17.
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