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TOP STORIESSouthridge tops Lake Oswego for state football title08:21 AM PST on Monday, December 8, 2008CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) -- Kirk Werhane rushed for 125 yards and two scores and No. 7 Southridge rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to bring down top-ranked Lake Oswego, 35-21, in the OSAA Class 6A state football championship game on Saturday at Reser Stadium. Quarterback Kellen Mastrud threw for 150 yards and another touchdown for the Skyhawks (12-2), who finished third in the Metro League during the regular season but steamrolled their way through the first four rounds of the playoffs, winning by an average score of 47-13. "I've never felt this way before," Mastrud said. "I'm going to go celebrate. We've dreamed about this since we were little and now it's here. It's just amazing." As was Southridge's stunning comeback just as it appeared Oregon State-bound (12-1) quarterback Jack Lomax was directing the Lakers to blowout victory. The Skyhawks trailed 14-0 seven seconds into the second quarter following a 15-yard touchdown run by Lomax, who five minutes earlier had capped a 98-yard drive with an 11-yard scoring pass to Micah Hatfield. Then the Southridge defense, which had allowed no more than 21 points in a game all season, tightened up. After D'Cota Fry intercepted a pass by Lomax and returned it 27 yards to the 1-yard line, Matt Tanuvasa rushed in for a score with 9:37 left in the half to spark 28-straight points by the Skyhawks. Late in the second, Southridge recovered a fumble following a 12-yard reception at the Lake Oswego 28-yard line. Two plays later, Werhane rushed 22 yards for the tying score with 2:42 left in the half. Southridge wasn't through. The Skyhawks recovered another Laker fumble at their own 30 and followed with a 70-yard scoring drive, capped by a 32-yard strike from Mastrud to Kalen Powell with nine seconds left in the half. "They had us on the ropes, but our kids, defensively, played their hearts out and were able to make enough plays," Southridge coach Brad Mastrud said. "And we just did enough things right offensively to win the game." Werhane added a 3-yard run on the opening drive of the second half to double up the Lakers, 28-14. "I wasn't concerned when we fell behind," Werhane said. "We just took a while to get going and sometimes that happens to us. But we bounced back and stuck together." Lake Oswego finally found the end zone again at the end of the third quarter on a 17-yard pass from Lomax to Hatfield, but the Skyhawks ensured their victory with a 1-yard scoring run by Mastrud with 40 seconds left in the game. Southridge, which opened in 1999, has only had a varsity football program for nine seasons. This is its first state title. It lost in the 2006 championship game. "This is a culmination of 10 years of love and hard work by our community, by our administration, by my coaching staff... ," Brad Mastrud said. "This is pretty special." For Lake Oswego, it was it third loss in the championship game in the last seven years. The Lakers also lost in 2002 and '04. "We had a great year, it just didn't end like we wanted," Lake Oswego coach Steve Coury said. Lomax completed 32-of-45 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a team-high 48 yards and a score. But the Lakers hurt themselves with 15 penalties for 144 yards and five turnovers. |
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