Cats Beat Tualatin With Late Kick

It was not the best first half for the Cats last Friday but they cam out with Passion and a purpose in the second half and came back to win the Game. The Cats traveled to Tualatin to take on the Timber Wolves in the First Round of the OSAA 6A 2009 Football Playoffs. This was a great night overall.

The defense was once again stifling. Despite some vicious cut blocking by Tualatin the Cats hung tough. Inspired play by Colin Forman, Timote Pongi, Corey Smith, Mike and Doug Saeks and Mike Leunen fired up the team.

Daniel Keel made several big hits on Defense and caught several passes in offense including a long bomb form Phil Belding on 4th and 11 to help the Cats keep a late drive alive.

Chase Byers, Alex Hansen, and Austin Grant also played very very well. The second half saw them all getting the job done down after down.

Lastly we have to Credit Matt Tyner with a field goal in cold and damp conditions that made the difference in this one. On 4th and long Tyner stepped up and put the ball through from about 30 yards out. It barely made it but it made it. He had missed an extra point earlier and a short field goal as well.

The game ended on a Tualatin interception which was picked off Colin Forman who had 159 yards rushing as well. Great job by him all night!

The cats now move on to round two to play the West Linn Lions at Home Next Friday! See you all at the game. Go Cats!

Photo Albums from Weeks 3,4,5 Here! Come and Get them

Some great pics by Dirk Knudsen; www.oregonpreps.com editor and one of our youth coaches and also a great local Realtor. www.theknudsens.com. Make sure to support Dirk if you can and call him if you real estate help need help at 503-799-8383. The Senior Night Pictures are here as well.

2009 Westview Versus Sunset

2009 Westview Versus Aloha

One Big Win and 2 Tough Losses in Metro League Weeks 3,4 and 5

Sorry for the late updates. We have been really buried trying to keep up! The Cats went to Sunset on 10/23 and really rolled very well with a bog win 37-0. It was a convincing and lopsided battle for sure.


The following week was a Road trip to Aloha High School. The Warriors were fresh off a win against Sunset as well. Their first win in the Metro League in 5 years. The game was tough right from the start. No excuses here. Having said that Timote Pongi was out for the night and Hayes Garrity was injured is the first quarter. In fact he broke his hand. The Cats were also Missing three linebackers due to discipline issues. The game see-sawed back and forth and in the end the Cats just did not have enough offense. Colin Forman had a great game for the Cats as did Mike Leunen. Whatever happened they left with Aloha a winner 16-10 in an improbable turn of events that few would have predicted.

That loss created a log jam in the Metro League going into the Final week of action. The Cats Hosted Rival Southridge in a a Game that would have the Cats and Southridge on one end of town battling for survival and a playoff birth. Across town at Beaverton High the Beavers were hosting the Warriors. Three of the four were going on to the Play offs at Nights end. One was going home.

The Cats who had been on the goal line at Jesuit with a chance to win as time ran out and take the Metro league title were now on the verge of elimination. The gamae against Southridge was nasty and a defensive battle. Still beat up the Cats looked a little better. Pongi was back and so was Garrity in a cast and now playing only Defense.

Forman took on the backfield duties as a RB and did a superb job going for 170 yards. He also made a great strip on defense and ran the ball 65 yards for a TD; the only score for the Cats. Three field goals and a Southridge surge later the game was tied up.

Time ran out at 13-13. The Kansas Plan overtime began and just as it did the word came across the speakers that Aloha had notched their third win and secured the 2nd Metro seed by beating the Beavers. That was a relief and the Cats now knew that they would take at least 4th place no matter what.

Southridge on the other hand would be out of the playoffs if they lost. They turned on the heat and played like a team possessed. The Cats failed to score and The Skyhawks did. This gave them the 3rd seed and the Cats the 4th.

Now the Cats would have to Rally and see if they could beat the #1 Team out of the Pacific Conference in the Tualatin Timber Wolves. Time would tell if this team could make a Rally.

Cat's Stiffle Beavers 9-0 to Add Metro Win

The Cats continued Metro League action last night at home. It was a beautiful night for the Wildcat faithful and it was homecoming! The Fans and parents packed the house to see the team take on the always tough Beaverton Beavers who were coming off a big win over Southridge.

The Beaver's add former Jesuit Star Dillon Jackson into the mix this year and the boys dug in to shut him down. The linemen and linebacker core all played very well and held Jackson to just 54 yards on 14 carries. Upfront the D line looked great. Timote Pongi has to be the finest defensive tackle in the State. Michael Leunen, Dallen Larimer, and Martin Jackson all looked great as well and made the passing lanes very difficult to negotiate. Mike Saeks was his usual tough self as well.

Hayes Garrity, Beau Brooks, and Daniel Keel all looked great as well delivering some big blows. Ultimately the game turned into a defensive battle as the teams sea-sawed back and forth exchanging drives that went up and down mid field.

Junior Quarterback Phil Belding had another solid game and ran for over 100 yards and had a nifty TD run breaking off a run over the right side, finding a seam and scoring. The Cat's other points came form Colin Forman on a fantastic blocked punt that he recovered in the end zone for a Safety.

Garrity finished with 107 yards rushing and ran very hard all night. Michael Leunen has become quite a weapon as a big Tight End that catches the majority of his passes and runs hard after. He is a welcome weapon for the Wildcats.

The Cats are now 4-2 and move ahead into action next week in search of a share of the Metro League Title or hopefully a second place finish behind rival Jesuit!

Picture Albums for Fans and Players to Enjoy

Thanks to the hard work of our very own Dirk Knudsen, Alumni Dad and youth coach, who is a reporter for OregonPreps.com for these great picture albums of our games so far. Fans and Players are welcome to some and download the albums or any pictures you want for FREE!! There are some great ones in here:

Beaverton Game:



Jesuit Game:



Canby Game



David Douglas Game




Grant Game



Season Opener against Sam Barlow

Cats Take Crusaders to the Edge

Football is a game of inches. You don't have to tell the Cats that. In one of the most thrilling games of all time for the team the Cat's went into #2 Jesuits home turf and took the game to its final down.

Trailing most of the game the Cats rallied back late with tremendous defense and some nifty running by Hayes Garrity. Junior Quarterback Phillip Belding moved the ball with precision finding several targets along the way. The final drive had the Cats scoring on fourth-and-goal from the Jesuit 8-yard line when Belding zipped a touchdown pass to junior Arseniy Goldberg who made the catch in the back line of the end zone. This cut the lead to 24-23 with 27 seconds to play.

Not wanting to go into Overtime Coach Fisher and crew took their shot at a 2 point conversion and went for the win. Colin Forman took the ball behind his line and ran off the left side to the goal line. In a pile of bodies that pushed and pulled Forman the ball appeared to cross the goal line. In fact Forman ended up on his back with his waist and the ball over the line. The officials hesitated for about 30 seconds and seemed very uncertain before making the call that the attempt was no good.

Upon further review video shows the ball crossed the line and does not show Forman hitting the ground. This game belonged to the Cats but you can not expect a close play to go the way of a visiting team...especially not at Jesuit.

It was a great game and the Cats can move ahead with the knowledge that they can win the whole thing this year and that they are good enough to beat anyone. Hard nosed football all the way. One can not say enough about the effort of the Westview Line led by the two way play of Timote Pongi, Mike Saeks, and Michael Leunen.

The teams were also close in total yardage in the game as Westview gained 351 yards on 60 offensive plays while Jesuit had 344 yards on 54 plays.

Hayes Garrity rushed for 99 yards on 18 carries. Phillip Belding completed 16 of 30 passes for 171 yards while also rushing for 52 yards on eight carries. Alex Carey had six receptions for 61 yards.

This next week Westview will be home to face Beaverton in 7:30 p.m. Metro League games.


Read the articles below:

Oregonian

Tribune

2009 Pre-Season Recap: Cats 3 and 1

The 2009 Wildcats started off strong this season after a great Summer of hard work. Weight room and speed and agility work all Summer led to a successful Camp at Canby for the Cats.

The Pre-season games included an Opener on the road at Barlow and Grant and home games against David Douglas and Canby. The Cats showed they could score and defend as well. With a record of 3-1 after these games the team was playing well but still working towards the season opener against Jesuit is week 6 after a Bye in week 4.

The results of the preseason games were:

1: Westview @ Barlow: Westview wins 42-6

2: Westview @ Grant: Westview lost 27-32

3: David Douglas @ Westview: Westview wins 40-12

4: Canby @ Westview: Westview wins 21-14 in Overtime

Most memorable moment so far has been the rally and overtime win to beat #3 Canby in the Kansas Plan as the Cats powerhouse line and the running of Hayes Garrity pushed the ball in on three downs to win this thriller in front of a crowd of thousands at Wildcat Stadium.

The Cat's look ahead now to the Metro League Opener Against Jesuit on the road at Jesuit. The Crusader's are ranked #2 in the State loosing only to Skyline of Washington who are ranked #9 in the Nation.

What we found in Sheldon

Last season was the beginning of a New era in Wildcat Football. We said goodbye to many familiar faces and players. We found a new Head Coach in Greg Fisher. After loosing 30 plus Cats who moved on after 2007 it was hard to say what would happen. The boys honed their skills and worked very hard in strength and conditioning and preseason. The Canby summer camped proved that the team still had weapons and that 3 year starter Josh Hill was going to continue to be a threat as the Cats competed well in several scrimmages.

Doubles and Triples came and went in the sweltering August heat. The coaches and staff watched and sometimes wondered at what the team would become. Everyone knew there was and talent there. After all this is Westview! But the Cats had doubters to prove wrong. Pre-season finally came and so 2008 began.

The boys scrambled, hit, ran, and scored their way to an incredible 4-1 start beating the likes of Barlow, Grant, and David Douglas along the way. It seemed that all was going great for the Cats. But there was no rest for the wicked. The Metro league opened against Power House Jesuit! That game was one sided and the Cats tasted what defeat was like in the worst way.

The following weeks saw wins against Aloha and Sunset and losses to Beaverton and South Ridge. It was a tough second half of the year.

Many good athletes were lost along the way. Colin Forman, Anthony Munyan, Micah Larimer, and Mitchell Fowles were all lost with difficult injuries. The team had to reload and find a way through murky waters and tough times. Nobody knew for sure what would become of 2008. The season ended and at the last tick of the regular season the Cats found themselves in the 4th slot of the Metro League and were matched in the playoffs against the #1 seed from the Mt Hood Conference Central Catholic.

At PGE Park in that First Round Game we saw a revitalized Wildcat team come out and absolutely dominate the Rams. When it was all over the Cats won big and left 602 yards of total offense on that field. Josh Hill, Casey Kasai, Robert Casteel, Johnathan Pearson, Konner Knudsen, Christian Magdaleno, Ricky Martin, Grady Garrett, Patrick Acosta, David and Daniel Aguilar, Clif Heim, and others, all Seniors, played like seniors with something to Prove and shut down the highly touted CC Rams. It was amazing.

In week two the Cats traveled to Eugene to face the Sheldon Irish. It had been about 14 months since the Wildcats had been at Sheldon and in that Game the 2007 Cats laid down the law on the Irish who had not been beaten at home in 7 years. Once again the Cats were expected by supposed experts to lay down and roll over for the "Superior" Irish.

Somebody forgot to tell the Wildcats. This game was so hardly fought and there was virtually nothing more that could have been done. Leads changed and there in the Fog we all saw it...we saw the 2008 Cats find themselves. Together down by down and step by step they battled. Nothing was left undone except for the final kick from 52+ yards with 2.8 seconds left that could have sent this thriller into overtime. That kick by Patrick Acosta was blocked and after a wild finish that you had to see to believe the Cats season ended 33-30. We will never know what would have or could have happened had that kick gone through but we all knew he was going to make it. This is the stuff that memories are made of and that drive the human spirit on by the thoughts summed up in two simple words....."What If?".

There in the fog and the sweat and blood that is Friday Night Lights we saw this small band of Seniors and a very tough group of Juniors and Sophomores fight harder brother to brother than perhaps any Wildcat team had ever fought. They fought to win and to not disappoint. They fought for the years of pain and suffering and exhaustion they had endured. They fought for the Fans, for mom and dad, for each other but most of all they fought to try and stem the tide of time that they all knew was rolling in on them. They fought for one more chance and one more down.

When it was over we saw what the new era and 2008 season had produced. With full hearts and open but tearful eyes we saw the heart of the Wildcats. In that moment we saw the best these boys had to offer. And it was great....it really was.

"To the Seniors...I love you. My heart is full. Thank you! To you Juniors and Sophomores you use this thing as fuel. Remember this. I love you all."

Coach Greg Fisher

You said it all Coach! Great season boys and the fans, parents, and coaches of the Westview Organization wish to acknowledge the great effort that was given in 2008 by the entire team. We are very proud of you all!

GO CATS! GO CATS! GO CATS!

Josh Hill and Robert Casteel honored with Les Schwab Bowl Selection for 2009

Hello, again, Westview Football Family!

I have a couple of exciting announcements: Josh Hill signed a letter of intent to attend and participate in football at the United States Air Force Academy this coming season. Josh signed his letter of intent amongst a small gathering of friends, family and coaches. He joins 4 other Metro League players in committing to Division I football programs. Congratulations, Josh!

In addition, both Josh and Robert Casteel have been selected to participate in this summer's high school football showcase, The Les Schwab Bowl. They are very excited and we are all looking forward to watching them get out there on the playing field to represent Westview with Oregon's best high school football players. The Les Schwab Bowl will be played @ PGE Park on Saturday, June 20th (kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m.). We hope to see a large showing from the Westview Community in support of both Josh and Robert.

Lastly, Josh and Robert will be selling tickets to help raise funds to participate in this exciting event. If you are interested in purchasing tickets for the game, please contact me and I will begin generating a ticket order list. Thanks for your attention and continued support of Westview Football.

Sincerely,

Greg Fisher
Business Education / Head Football Coach
Westview High School
greg_fisher@beavton.k12.or.us
(971) 570-5257