Oakridge battles to the bitter end in Division 5 gridiron setback to Grand Rapids West Catholic

By Nate Thompson
LocalSportsJournal.com

This year, it was Harger’s turn to show some emotion. 

 

Maybe it was because Oakridge was such heavy underdogs in their Division 5 playoff game against Grand Rapids West Catholic, and the Eagles still came out swinging. They frazzled the host Falcons in many areas throughout the first half, trailing by just a 19-14 score at halftime. 

 

But the Falcons had just enough big-play magic left in them in the second half to pull away, defeating the Eagles by a 32-14 final. 

 

West Catholic, which improves to 7-3, advances to next week’s district final against Grand Rapids Catholic Central. 

 

Harger again gave away several long hugs postgame, but this time, he pulled up his sweatshirt to wipe some tears from his already red eyes. 

 

“I’m just so proud of my kids, the way they played, the way they battled,” he began. “It was more than what (West Catholic) thought we were going to be.  We wouldn’t go away.

 

“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we’re going to throw a pizza party because we’re going to play West Catholic and lose,” he added. “We kept coaching them up all week. Shoot, we even put a new (defensive) wrinkle in the game plan yesterday. I think that showed the kids that we were preparing to give them our best shot, and we did that.” 

 

If it wasn’t for a slow start, Oakridge may have had the lead at the half.  But the Falcons jumped out to a 13-0 first-quarter advantage before the Eagles settled in.

 

They turned in an impressive 11-play drive to close out the quarter, which included a pass interference call on the Falcons, giving the Eagles first-and-goal from the 2. Junior quarterback Logen Huston snuck it into the endzone a play later, cutting the deficit to 13-7.  

 

Oakridge’s defense, led by outstanding play by linebacker Jordan Guerrero-McGrady and defensive lineman Dylan Cunningham, continued to excel stopping the run, but West Catholic relied on several big plays from junior quarterback Grady Augustyn.  The left-hander tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Luke Radlinski to start the scoring in the second quarter, giving them a 19-7 advantage. 

 

Augustyn finished 12-of-20 through the air for 178 yards and two touchdowns. He also had two rushing scores.  

 

Oakridge slugged back with another long, sustained drive. Bruising senior tailback Bryson Stephenson began to make his mark, as he snuck free in the flats and caught a pass from a scrambling Huston. Stephenson did the rest, blazing 28 yards for a touchdown with 1:50 left in the half. 

 

The Eagles stuffed the Falcons’ run game on a fourth-and-1 run for no gain on the next drive, giving Oakridge great field position with 40 seconds left. Oakridge drove down to the Falcons’ 16-yard line, setting up a field goal attempt by Edoardo Aldrete with 2 seconds on the clock, but his kick was blocked, keeping the score at 19-14 at the break. 

 

Oakridge thought it had the momentum on its side early in the third as well, as they sacked Augustyn for a 20-yard loss. But he showcased his rocket arm on the next play on third down and very long, connecting with Gabe Schwieters on a 48-yard streak to keep the drive alive.  Six plays later, Augustyn scored on a rollout, giving up on the pass and instead running it into the endzone for a 15-yard touchdown.

 

Oakridge’s offense couldn’t create any more scoring chances, as it had to punt, was stopped on fourth-and-short and threw an interception on its last three drives. 

 

The Falcons’ final touchdown was a 55-yard run up the visiting sideline by leading rusher David Brittenfeld with 4:32 remaining.  He finished with 174 yards on 25 carries, helping the Falcons outgain the Eagles in total yardage, 362-302. 

 

The Eagles’ Stephenson nearly matched Brittenfeld’s output on the ground, totaling 170 yards on 25 carries. Huston finished 9-of-12 passing for 94 yards. 

 

At 4-6, Oakridge finished with its first losing season since 2004. The next year, in 2005, the Eagles went 13-1 and started its playoff streak that was kept alive this year.

 

Harger said he and his coaching staff would evaluate everything in their program this upcoming offseason to try to improve on a season that he called “a roller coaster.” 

 

“It’s Oakridge kids and that’s an all-star team,” he said, looking at West Catholic at the other end of the field. 

 

“We all live in the district. I’m from Oakridge, so I know what it’s like to wear that jersey with the Eagles on the helmets, so I try to portray that to them. We still made it back to the playoffs and kept that streak alive, even though we had to battle through some things.”