CAMAS – There are games that are so good, so otherworldly and so indescribably amazing that the statement “it’s a shame someone had to lose” is often used.
The Life Christian Academy/Seton Catholic 1A quarterfinal contest was one of those games, and the Cougars didn’t lose.
Senior running back Jacob Williams’ 1 yard run with 43 seconds left, and the subsequent extra point by junior placekicker Dalton Woods, lifted the Seton Catholic Cougars to a 42-41 win at Doc Harris Stadium in Camas, and it was one Williams won’t forget anytime soon.
“That was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire football career,” Williams said. “It was back-and-forth, we were down but we pulled through it. That game was why you play football.”
With the victory, Seton Catholic advances to the state semifinals for the second straight season and will take on Montesano, most likely on Saturday afternoon at McKenzie Stadium.
Life Christian Academy took a 41-35 lead with 2:38 remaining. But two mistakes by the Eagles, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty which pushed the conversion attempt back to the 17-yard line (Life Christian Academy went for two points on the conversion and didn’t convert), and kicking the ball out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff, opened the door that much further for a Seton Catholic comeback. And the Cougars would end up kicking that door down.
Senior Joe Callerame returned the next kickoff to the Life Christian 29-yard line, and three plays later swooped around the left side for a 15-yard run to bring the ball down to the one-yard line setting up Williams’ touchdown.
“That’s what football is all about…you just have to have faith in your brothers and have faith in your team that you know you’re going to win that game and you just have to show it,” Callerame said.
The Cougars overcame an outstanding second-half performance by Life Christian Academy junior quarterback Jabez Boyd. Boyd completed his first 11 passes in the second half and ended up throwing for 189 of his 276 yards passing in the game’s last two quarters. He threw two touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown as well in the second half.
“It’s impressive what he can do…he’s a great player,” junior Teddy Wieczorek said of Boyd.
Seton Catholic recorded its 11th victory in a row, and it might be something other than blocking and tackling which takes them to the state title game.
“We just need to keep playing for the name on the front of our jerseys, not our own name,” junior Xaveir Crank said. “It’s not just about you, it’s about everybody.”
