The Lakers lead 42-0 after three quarters, move to 3-1 overall
There’s been some highs — and some lows — in the Lake Oswego football team’s 2022 season, but the facts don’t lie.
Heading into the start of Three Rivers League play, the Lakers are 3-1 overall, ranked ninth by the OSAA and — they hope — ready to be part of the conversation in the TRL.
They took the latest step in their journey when they whacked McMinnville 42-12 at McMinnville High School on Friday, Sept. 23.
“It was good to get back on track with league right around the corner now,” said Lake Oswego coach Steve Coury. “We got another win and another team under our belts and all of those things where our kids got better. That’s all we are looking for week to week.”
With the win, the Lakers bounced back from their lone loss and improved to 3-1 overall. McMinnville, meanwhile, saw its two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 2-2 overall. Next up, the Lakers will open Three Rivers League play with a game against No. 3 West Linn (3-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at West Linn High School.
“West Linn, they’re a really good football team, no question about it,” Coury said. “They’ve got all the parts and there’s no weaknesses. And the scariest part is when you’ve got a really good, talented, athletic, physical, strong group of kids and they’re very well coached. That’s a lethal combination — good players and good coaching.”
Regardless of the outcome of Friday’s game, Coury and the Lakers are determined to grow from it.
“The reality for us is it’s just going to give us a really good comparison for where we are,” he said. “They’re one of the better teams, maybe the best team, in the state. We’re trying to climb ladder and get a good judgment on where we are and where we’ve got to go from here. We’ll find out how far we are away from being one of those teams down the road somewhere.”
The Lakers were pretty darned good against McMinnville, grabbing a 7-0 first-quarter lead against the Grizzlies, boosting their margin to 28-0 at the half and 42-0 after three before the Grizzlies scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Senior running back Calvin Macy got things started with a four-yard scoring run in the first quarter, then blew up with three unanswered TDs in the second. That stretch started with a trick play that saw senior wide receiver Stevie Mooney throw a 52-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Ethan Park.
Next, sophomore quarterback Liam Davis connected with junior wide receiver Conor Croteau for a 20-yard score. And finally, Davis capped another LO drive with an eight-yard scoring run to give the Lakers a four-score edge at the half.
Davis scored on the ground again in the third quarter, this time on a four-yard run, while junior running back Zavier Russell added LO final score on a six-yard run.
For the game, the Lakers rushed for 216 yards, with Davis carrying seven times for 91 yards and Macy 10 times for another 81. Davis, getting his first significant time at quarterback this year, also completed seven of 10 throws for 78 yards. Park led LO receivers with one catch for 52 yards, while senior wide receiver Owen West made three catches for 31 yards.
Defensively, the Lakers held the Grizzlies to 84 yards on the ground and 187 yards in total offense. Junior defensive back Colin Best finished with three tackles, junior linebacker Tobia Tagliabue added four tackles (three solo), sophomore Lusiano Lopez had five tackles (two solo) and one sack, and senior defensive back Jack Knapp had four stops (two solo).
“The defensive group, the front guys, got a little better during the week,” Coury said. “We’re trying to work on specific things with them, a couple of those guys being young guys … that haven’t played a lot so I think the front guys were good.
“It was really just a good overall defensive deal. We got a couple turnovers so it was just a good effort all the way around.”
You can see the complete offensive stats from this game by clicking here.
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