Fullet Calls Game

Week 5 was a thriller between the Portland Raiders and the Lakewood Vikings. This was a game that you couldn’t take your eyes off of, and the fans showed up. Covering this game was truly a pleasure, as it felt like a playoff-like atmosphere. Both schools’ student sections were on their feet and loud for all four quarters.

Lakewood had the first possession of the game and was forced to punt. Not too long after, Portland was also forced to punt. Both defenses came out on fire as the Portland defense forced another punt. On that drive, the Raiders marched down the field as Carson Spenski found his way to the end zone for the first time of the night, making the score 7-0 after the extra point from Chase Fullet.

Two pass interference calls against the Raiders kept the Lakewood offense humming on the next drive, as both flags came on crucial third downs. It was apparent that Lakewood was hoping to take control of the game early, as they tried to get active in the passing game, which led to multiple incompletions on the drive. With 1:16 left on the clock in the first quarter, Lakewood quarterback Max Thrun completed a passing touchdown to receiver Bryer Poll, making the score 7-6 with the Raiders still on top after the missed extra point attempt.

As the clock was winding down to end the first quarter, Portland’s Carson Simon dropped back to pass and threw an interception to Lakewood’s Bubby Wilkins. Lakewood started the second quarter with a first-and-10 at Portland’s 35-yard line.

For the second time of the night, Thrun connected with Poll, picking up the first down and setting the Vikings up at the Raiders’ 13-yard line. Thrun kept his momentum alive as he looked for Wilkins, completing a pass to him for his second passing touchdown of the night and giving Lakewood the lead early in the second quarter.

After a false-start penalty against the Raiders, Carson Simon dropped back on the very next play and threw a dart downfield looking for none other than Kehyan Page. Page went down at Lakewood’s 25-yard line. The remainder of the drive was all Spenski, as he found his way to the end zone for the second time of the night.

After a bundle of penalties, the Raiders were set up to attempt a two-point conversion. Lakewood defenders got into the backfield and took Simon to the ground, keeping the score tied at 13-13 with 8:07 left in the half.

To start off the drive for Lakewood, Thrun found Bryson Boucher to pick up the first down, with the ball spotted at the Vikings’ 49-yard line. On third-and-six, Thrun dropped back under heavy pressure from Derek Meyers and was forced to throw the ball away, setting up a punt for the Vikings.

The Raiders took over first-and-10 at their own 5-yard line with 6:15 left to go in the half. The Raiders failed to make anything happen and punted the ball away with 2:39 left on the clock.

The Vikings set up shop at first-and-10 on Portland’s 48-yard line. Thrun rolled out and looked deep for Bryson Boucher, completing the pass and setting up first-and-10 at the Raiders’ 11-yard line. Thrun tried to make something happen on second down but was brought down by Raiders defensive tackle Isaiah Bower, making it third-and-10.

On third down, Liam Wolfe flew into the backfield and recorded a sack on Thrun, setting up fourth-and-19 for the Vikings. Portland’s red-zone defense rose to the occasion, forcing Lakewood to attempt a field goal.

Not only was it a missed field goal, but it also looked slightly tipped. The Raiders took over with 19.3 seconds left to go in the first half. After one play, the Raiders let the clock wind down to zeroes heading into halftime.

It was as tight as it could possibly get in the first half for both of these teams. Portland had a couple of opportunities that were lost due to very minor mistakes but were still able to stay in the game with a tough running game and a strong pass rush from the Raiders’ defensive line. Lakewood heavily relied on big plays through the air to keep the momentum on their side for the majority of the first half, as well as forcing turnovers that led to them finding the end zone.

To start the second half, Portland’s Alex Atwell was set to receive, returning the ball to the Raiders’ 27-yard line for a first-and-10.

Coming out of the half, Portland’s offense struggled early and was forced to punt. Lakewood was the complete opposite.

They came out swinging with a massive 53-yard run from Michael Goodemot, setting up the Vikings at the Raiders’ 15-yard line. Two plays later, Thrun once again found Poll for a touchdown, giving Lakewood a 20-13 lead to start the second half.

On Portland’s first drive of the second half, they coughed up the football, and it was recovered by the Vikings. Portland’s defense came in clutch, forcing another punt from the Vikings.

Atwell brought the energy to the kickoff of the drive for the Raiders with a hard-fought carry that picked up the first down. On fourth-and-three, the Raiders converted with a pass from Carson Simon to Jerred Russman. The Raiders then let the clock run out to close out the third quarter.

To start the fourth quarter, Brady Crowley scored a touchdown for the Raiders on fourth-and-two. After the made extra point from Fullet, the game was tied at 20-20 with 11:05 left in the game.

At the beginning of Lakewood’s drive, Derek Meyers found himself in the backfield once again, adding another sack to his stat line. Now facing second-and-long, Thrun dropped back on the very next play and was sacked again, this time by Chase Fullet, making it third-and-27 at the Vikings’ own 23-yard line.

Thrun was set to pass again but looked pressured to get the ball off, resulting in an incomplete pass and forcing Lakewood to punt on fourth-and-27.

After a very quick drive from the Raiders, they were forced to punt with 7:14 left in the game. Raiders defensive back Derek Ledu made a huge stop on third-and-three, leaving Lakewood forced to punt it away as they were deep in their own territory.

The Portland offense put together possibly the best drive they had all night, having a fantastic four minutes of clock management and converting on fourth-and-five with a pass from Simon to Russman with 1:46 left to go in the game.

The Raiders’ offense wound down the clock to 4.1 seconds, setting up an attempt at a field goal that would end up being the game winner.

Key Takeaways

Portland’s defense continues to prove itself to be legit and possibly one of the better defenses in Division 4. This game was high stakes, with Lakewood serving as Portland’s biggest test yet. The winner would take the number one spot in the conference rankings, according to the CAAC Media Rankings as well as the GilroyMedia Rankings.

Lakewood showed that when they have openings, they are dangerous through the air and make it hard for opposing defenses to close the gap when they break loose.

I spoke with senior running back Carson Spenski as well as junior kicker Chase Fullet after the game. I asked Carson what was working for him against Lakewood, and he responded: “I give all the credit to my offensive line because their blocking and kickouts were amazing, as well as thank you to the receivers for getting those last blocks I needed to break free and score.”

I followed up by asking Carson what the message was at halftime with the game being so tight. “Little things make a big difference, so we know what we can fix because they were all little things, so we were going to give it all we got.”

I asked Carson how they’re going to look to translate their high level of play come playoff time. “We’re just gonna keep improving week after week. We know what our max potential is, and we know that we haven’t reached that yet, so we’re gonna keep grinding.”

Next up was the man of the hour, Chase Fullet. I asked Chase how he was feeling after making the game-winning field goal. “Honestly, I’m super happy right now. When it came down to the win, our line blocked really well at the end, had a good hold, and I just kicked it in.”

I followed up by asking Chase when Lakewood called the timeout in an attempt to ice him if there was anything running through his mind that was making him nervous. “I was a little nervous, but once I got back out on the field, I knew it was going in.”

Portland now takes on Lansing Catholic Friday, October 2nd, looking to increase their win streak and continue their pursuit of the CAAC White title.