HILLSBORO, Ore. — Behind an unstoppable senior-laden offense, No. 4 Central Catholic knocked off No. 3 Lake Oswego 49-28 to win the OSAA 6A state championship game Saturday afternoon at Hillsboro Stadium. It’s the Rams’ first state title since 2014.
Central Catholic’s balanced offense with an arsenal of weapons proved to be too much for the Lakers, who were going for back-to-back state championships.
The Rams established their offensive domination on the first drive of the game. Senior quarterback Cade Knighton connected with senior wide receiver Silas Starr for a 65-yard pass that set up a one-yard touchdown run by senior running back Elijah Elliott, his first of three on the day.
Lake Oswego, behind senior running back Casey Filkins, who had also taken over quarterback responsibilities, responded with a touchdown on their first drive. The two teams again traded touchdowns and the game was tied at 14 at the end of the first quarter.
Central Catholic created some separation in the second quarter with two touchdown passes from Knighton to Starr and Jordan King to put the Rams ahead 28-14 at halftime.
But Lake Oswego, who trailed in the second half in each of their previous three playoff victories, answered in the third quarter. Filkins scored on touchdown runs of one yard and 58 yards to tie the game at 28 with five minutes left in the third quarter. It appeared the Stanford-bound back and Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year may engineer another second half comeback.
The Rams’ offense had other ideas. Central Catholic went down the field and Knighton hit senior wide receiver Kalvin Souders for a 12-yard touchdown, putting the Rams up 35-28 going into the fourth quarter.
After forcing the Lakers to punt, Central Catholic’s offense went to work again. An 11-play, 77-yard drive was capped off by another one-yard touchdown run by Elliott.
With Lake Oswego needing a touchdown, Rams linebacker Jack Brown made the defensive play of the game. He tipped a Filkins pass and picked it off deep in Lakers territory. A few plays later, Elliott scored again to put the game away.
Filkins, who shifted to his dual running back-quarterback role late in the season, rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns. He was 8 of 16 throwing for 97 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
But this was Central Catholic’s day. Rams quarterback Cade Knighton completed 31 of 36 passes for 396 yards and three touchdowns.
Knighton went to his top receiver, Silas Starr, often. And the Stanford-bound receiver delivered. Starr finished with 10 catches for 184 yards and a touchdown.
Central Catholic’s pair of senior running backs also had big games. Elijah Elliot finished with 90 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He also had four catches for 51 yards. Miles Jackson finished with 79 yards rushing, including a bizarre 71-yard touchdown run during a play that appeared to be whistled dead but officials said the whistle came from the crowd, not from them.