Jesuit wins second consecutive title
EUGENE, Ore. – Paul Weatheroy’s first carry of the day put him in the record books and sparked Jesuit to its second straight championship title.
Weatheroy, the Crusaders senior running back, rushed for 292 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 1 Jesuit to a 56-7 victory against Southridge Saturday in the OSAA Class 6A championship at Autzen Stadium.
It was the fifth overall title for the Crusaders (13-0) and the most lopsided championship game win since Cove beat St. Paul 74-8 for the 1985 1A title.
It was also the most points scored by the champion of the OSAA’s highest classification, and the first repeat winner at the highest level since Roseburg won the Class 4A crown in 1995 and 1996.
Weatheroy set a few marks himself when he went 45 yards untouched into the end zone on Jesuit’s first offensive play of the game at the 2:14 mark of first quarter.
The score was Weatheroy’s 16th of the playoffs, giving him the most postseason touchdowns in state history, as well as the most points scored (104) by an individual player.
By the time the game was over, those numbers were 19 and 116, respectively.
“The offensive line did a great job creating some great holes,” Weatheroy said. “The whole team in general was great. It was a great team effort. My line did a great job, and coach did a great job preparing us.”
Jesuit came into the game ranked No. 16 nationally by USA Today and having scored 128 points in its last two playoff games.
They were relentless once again Saturday on their way to their 26th straight win. They led 35-0 at halftime and had outgained the Skyhawks 365-88 and only fueled the recent discussion of this Jesuit team being the best in Oregon history.
“There’s always going to be a debate from different eras,” Jesuit coach Ken Potter said. “This team, per person is as good as any team I’ve seen.”
Weatheroy led the way with 249 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries by halftime.
Besides his opening romp, Weatheroy had scoring runs four, four and 15 yards.
“He did a great job,” Potter said. “He’s been doing that the whole year. He runs hard and he’s a great kid. He deserves what he got.”
Jesuit quarterback Dan Wagner also threw for 205 yards with touchdown passes to Jamaine Olson (71 yards), Raphiel Lambert (17) and Sean Williams (15). Owen Marecic also had a three-yard scoring run for the Crusaders.
All told, Jesuit netted 559 yards of offense with no turnovers. The Crusaders never had to punts and were faced with a third down situation only four times.