Lake Oswego wraps up Three Rivers League play with the game its fans circle every year: Lakeridge, under the lights, at home.
The No. 1 Lakers (8-0) host the No. 10 Pacers (5-3) at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at Lake Oswego High School. It is the final TRL game of the regular season for both programs, and the stakes extend well beyond bragging rights.
Lake Oswego has already clinched the league title and carries a 44-0 all-time record in TRL play, according to the Lake Oswego Review. A win Friday would give the Lakers 15 straight victories over two seasons heading into the 6A state playoffs.
Lakeridge snapped a two-game skid with a 34-33 comeback win at Oregon City on Oct. 23 and enters the rivalry game with momentum.
The matchup features two quarterbacks playing some of the best football in the TRL right now.
Lake Oswego senior Ryder Lemm went 18-for-24 for 338 yards and four touchdowns against Tualatin on Oct. 23. He added 47 rushing yards and two more scores on 11 carries. Lakeridge junior Carson Pickens was even busier that night, completing 34 of 48 passes for 440 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Oregon City.
Pickens entered the season as a first-year starter. In coverage published in August, Lakeridge head coach Spencer Phillips called him "a phenomenal athlete" and "the leader of this group."
Eight games in, Pickens has a receiving corps that showed it can carry a game. Junior Hudson Amerding hauled in 10 catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon City. Senior Easton Lawson added seven catches for 129 yards and a score. Senior Sean Bour-Nelson contributed nine receptions for 120 yards.
Lake Oswego's offense spreads the ball around, too. Senior wide receiver Griffin Ellingson had six catches for 121 yards against Tualatin and returned a kickoff 52 yards to set up a touchdown. Senior Cam Elijah caught three passes for 90 yards and three scores.
Defensively, the Lakers leaned on senior linebacker Cash Wilks, who piled up 20 tackles and helped hold Tualatin to 237 total yards. Junior lineman Max Matijacic added seven tackles, two sacks and two tackles for loss.
The Pacers counter with sophomore linebacker Malakai Belz, who recorded 13 tackles against Oregon City, nine of them solo. Senior Colby Owen, a two-way player at running back and linebacker, scored two touchdowns on offense and led the Lakeridge defense in tackles in the same game.
Lake Oswego received all 13 first-place votes in the Week 8 6A coaches poll. Lakeridge checked in at No. 10. Both teams are looking to strengthen their positioning in the OSAA power rankings before the 6A playoff bracket is set.
Elsewhere in the TRL on Friday, No. 3 West Linn (6-2) closes league play at Oregon City's Pioneer Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m.
