Challengers set for 3A semifinals

Nov. 19—When Cascade Christian head coach Jon Gettman first looked at the film of Dayton earlier this week, there was one thing that stuck out to him.

The Pirates look a lot like the team Gettman coaches — especially up front.

"They're a physical team, they run the ball and they run the ball really well," said Gettman. "They've got four senior offensive lineman and they lean upon them."

While some things may be different, there are common threads between second-seeded Cascade Christian and No. 6 Dayton entering their Class 3A state semifinal matchup set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Cottage Grove High School. Whether it's veteran offensive lines, powerful rushing attacks or the simple fact that both are coming off impressive quarterfinal wins last week, the similarities are hard to miss.

"It's going to be a battle in the trenches," said Gettman, now in his 13th year at the helm. "You see a really good team (in Dayton) and there's no weakness you look at and say they've got it. You just prepare for them in the best way that you can.

"It comes down to turnovers — turnovers are a big part of the game — and controlling the line of scrimmage. (Dayton) will be our toughest test yet at the line of scrimmage."

The surging Challengers are one step away from playing for their first state title since 2017. If they do get that far, they will face the winner of the other semifinal between No. 1 Kennedy and No. 4 Banks, slated for 11 a.m. Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium.

"To me, and I tell the kids this, it doesn't matter about anything else — just focus on Dayton," said Gettman. "Kids have asked about Kennedy, kids have asked about Banks, but I haven't thought about them. We have Dayton and that's what you focus on and once you hit that next step you can look at that next step. Just keep your mind focused where it should be and move forward from there."

To get to next weekend's 3A title game, Cascade Christian will have to try and slow down a powerful Wing-T rushing attack that has only gotten more impressive in the playoffs.

But make no mistake, the Challengers are feeling good about where they're at.

"I think we're feeling good, we're confident," said Cascade senior center Daniel Nering, "but it's a confidence that we know they're good — obviously they're good, they made it this far into the playoffs — and they're a physical team. We're both physical teams and we're feeling good about it. It's going to be a good matchup."

Dayton's offense is built on the abilities of a veteran offensive line and running backs Nate Arce and Zach Smith to set the tone.

Arce, who battled a hamstring injury for much of the season, was an absolute force against third-seeded South Umpqua last week, rushing for 335 yards and six touchdowns in the 53-13 win.

The 5-foot-11 senior has rushed for nearly 800 yards and nine TDs in the last three weeks as he's returned to full health with a bang.

Smith, a junior, has rushed for 1,504 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. He had 118 yards on 18 carries in Dayton's win over South Umpqua.

"They really just jumped on (South Umpqua) right away and drove on them," said Gettman. "They got an early turnover and capitalized on that. They just did a really good job of shutting South Umpqua down early on. They capitalized on every opportunity that was given to them and really South Umpqua couldn't stop them — there wasn't really anything they could do to slow Dayton down. It was pretty overwhelming to watch."

All but 470 of the Pirates' 4,249 yards of total offense this season have come on the ground, with quarterback Boston Hodges having attempted only 63 passes all season.

Dayton's only two losses this season have come to Kennedy and Santiam Christian, which lost to Banks in the quarterfinals last week.

"I think we match up well," said Nering of facing Dayon. "I think it's going to be a tough game up front — there's going to be plays that go our way and there's going to be plays that it goes their way. That's just the nature of the game. They're fast and they're strong, but I think we match up pretty well against it. We've been together (as an offensive line) for a long time and been able to just work together and we have that trust. We know what we're going to do and we're going to get hats on each other and be able to block them up front."

In its two playoff games, Cascade Christian has outscored Ontario and La Pine by a combined score of 101-26.

In last week's win, Cascade Christian outgained La Pine by a double take-worthy margin of 492-89. The Challengers limited the Falcons to just 2.5 yards per play.

"I think that although we've had big wins this year, last year we were tested every game and there wasn't a game that was just like we blew every team out of the water," said Nering. "It was a struggle for every game and I think that helps us for this year, being on the side where we might be winning by a lot but we're also making sure we're mentally checked in for the full game."

The Challengers' balance offensively was also on display against La Pine as they rushed for 201 yards and passed for another 291.

It was one of senior quarterback Keith Reed's best games since coming back from injury in early October. Reed has completed 56% of his passes and thrown for 1,016 yards and 13 touchdowns with just four interceptions this season.

Sophomore Kameron Rague became the first Cascade Christian running back in at least a decade to record a 1,000-yard rushing season in last week's win.

Rague enters Saturday's game with 1,088 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns this season. He's averaging a whopping 12.5 yards per carry and has six games with over 100 yards.

Reed is second on the team with 273 rushing yards, while senior Triston Wallace has rushed for 246 yards as a complement to Rague.

Senior receiver Brody Sample leads the Challengers in receptions (29) and touchdown catches (6) and is second in receiving yards (528), while junior Peyton Maurer leads the team with 546 receiving yards and is second in receptions (27).

Tyler Almasy and Luke Wilson both have four touchdown catches.

"The kids are continuing to get better and improving each day," said Gettman. "Their attitude has been awesome. I think they'll be anxious (on Saturday), they'll be excited and you just try to get them to focus on what we've been working on these past 12 weeks.

"The kids' attitude is great, they work hard, and that's what you ask for — just come, work hard, get prepared as best you can and then you see what happens when it comes to the game."

Reach reporter Danny Penza at 541-776-4469 or dpenza@rosebudmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @penzatopaper.