Kennedy, St. Paul advance to title games; Silverton falls in semifinals
CLASS 5A: THURSTON 44, SILVERTON 14
Silverton’s season came to an end Saturday with a 44-14 loss to defending state champion Thurston in the OSAA Class 5A state semifinals at Autzen Stadium.
Thurston outgained Silverton 264-18 on the ground in the victory, including Wesley Kommer’s 194 yards and four touchdowns.
For the Foxes, Jordan McCarty completed 16 of 28 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Silverton finishes the season with a 10-2 record.
The dream season for the Silverton Foxes came to a close at the hands of the Thurston Colts, 44-14 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
After Thurston went ahead with a touchdown on their first drive, Silverton bounced back and scored one of their own as Jordan McCarty connected with Nathan Kuenzi on a 13-yard touchdown. It capped an 8 play, 80-yard drive for Silverton.
Unfazed, the Colts scored a touchdown on their next drive and then capitalized off a McCarty interception to score what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown.
“We kind of held our own in the beginning, but in the second half they wore us down and let them gash us on some of those big runs," head coach Josh Craig said. “We turned the ball over more than we had all season by a long shot and gave them short fields.”
Grant Buchheit scored a 21-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-14, but Silverton would get no closer as a field goal put Thurston up 24-14 at the half.
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The second half was all Thurston as they controlled the game and forced two more interceptions en route to the 44-14 win.
“Hats off to Thurston, they’re a very good football team,” Craig said. “We had some opportunities to stop them on their downs, but they converted. It’s not good enough, I didn’t call my best game and it starts with me."
Silverton hung tough with them in the first half, but their size proved to be a disadvantage as Thurston controlled the game in the trenches. Wesley Kommer busted out for 196 yards and four touchdowns on the ground and Cade Crist threw for 172 yards and a touchdown.
“We tried to stop their run, but we couldn’t,” senior wide receiver Grant Buchheit said. “I loved playing for Silverton and it couldn’t have been a better year.”
McCarty would finish the game 16-for-28 for 199 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Kuenzi had 22 yards rushing and 42 yards receiving with a score.
“We told our seniors thanks for getting us here and told our underclassmen that we’d be back,” Craig said. “It’s a tough day for the Silver Foxes, but we battled and that’s what we wanted to do.”
CLASS 2A: KENNEDY 15, MONROE 12
Dylan Kleinschmit connected with Brady Traeger for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 41 seconds left in the game to give Kennedy’s football team a 15-12 victory over Monroe in the OSAA Class 2A state semifinals Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium.
With the win, the defending state champion Trojans advance to next Saturday’s state championship game, where they’ll face either Heppner or Knappa.
Kennedy won despite being outgained 297-227 by Monroe.
Bruce Beyer had 117 rushing yards on 19 carries for the Trojans, and Kleinschmit completed 4 of 12 passes for 69 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Kennedy is now 10-1 this season, including a current 10-game winning streak since losing the season-opener 22-0 at Class 3A Rainier on Sept. 6.
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CLASS 1A: ST. PAUL 46, CAMAS VALLEY 26
St. Paul cruised into the OSAA Class 1A state championship game Saturday with a 46-26 semifinal victory against Camas Valley in Cottage Grove.
The Buckaroos rushed for 333 yards, led by TJ Crawford’s 206. Crawford also scored three touchdowns.
Crawford also threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns to lead St. Paul to the win.
St. Paul next will face either Crane or Adrian/Jordan Valley in Saturday’s championship game.
The Buckaroos are a perfect 12-0 this season.
Pete Martini covers high school and college sports for the Statesman Journal. You can contact Pete at pmartini@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6730 and follow @PeteMartiniSJ