Lakers flooded with congrats

But please don’t call win a big upset, Lake Oswego coach says

By Tribune staff

The Portland Tribune, Sep 18, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

L.E. BASKOW / P0RTLAND TRIBUNE

Grant’s Sam Buckingham picks off a pass in the Generals’ 58-0 win over Newberg on Friday.

Steve Coury could use a receptionist to field the hundreds of congratulatory phone calls and e-mails after Lake Oswego’s stunning 21-0 victory over Jesuit last Friday.

The Lakers’ conquest of the state’s top-ranked 6A team ended the two-time defending state champion Crusaders’ 28-game win streak.

“It’s neat that so many people were happy for us, from ex-players to friends to coaching foes,” the coach says. “It speaks highly of Jesuit’s program more than anything. It’s a really big deal, for sure. I think to some people our victory kind of gives hope, that if we can beat (the Crusaders), maybe the door is open for somebody else to hang with them.”

But Coury would quarrel with the contention that the outcome was a major upset.

“It would be if (the Crusaders) were losing to a team that had really no chance,” he says. “They have a great program, but we do, too. I always felt we had a chance if we played well.”

In 16 years at Lake Oswego, Coury had faced Jesuit only once before – last year’s 31-20 win by the Crusaders.

“That game was hard-fought and close, and this one was, too,” he says. “It was a great win for the program, the community, for everybody involved at Lake Oswego. Our students came out in force, and I know they had a good time.”

Coury says only one regular-season victory in his time at Lake Oswego was as meaningful.

“We beat Lakeridge in overtime my first year (1991),” he says. “We hadn’t beaten them in 16 years, and they were superior than us at the time. That was huge for our program.”

• In his first year as Lake Oswego’s starting quarterback, 6-3, 180-pound junior Jack Lomax – son of ex-NFL star Neil Lomax – is beginning to blossom.

“Jack has some great things working for him,” Coury says. “He’s athletic, so he can move around in the pocket. His arm strength is good and getting better. He needs experience, but each week he gets a little closer.”

• Tailback Zach Young, a 5-8, 165-pound senior transfer from Lakeridge, reminds Coury of former Laker standout Cole Clasen, who went on to play at Oregon State and Boise State.

“Zach’s even quicker than Cole was,” Coury says. “He’s very gifted. Great running backs have two things: vision and a burst, a second gear. Zach has both of those things. I’m partial to little guys, but he’s a tough kid.”

• Coury’s LO teams have reached the state finals twice and the semifinals four times but never won a championship.

“We have a chance, but so did a lot of our teams in the past,” he says. “There are probably 12, maybe 15 teams that have a chance to win it this year. We’re one of them – but it’s a long way to December.”

• A year ago, Sam Buckingham was a running back on the LO team that nipped visiting Grant 20-19 in the 6A quarterfinals. He probably was the X-factor in the game, too, taking over for a banged-up Will Darkins and making several key runs, including the 14-yard scamper that won the game with 5:48 left.

Now Buckingham is a starting outside linebacker – for Grant. He hasn’t moved, he still lives about six blocks from Grant. “My parents thought Lake Oswego was a good school district,” he says, adding that it was “time for a change” for his senior year. He played fourth-grade basketball against Grant star Paul McCoy but says he “didn’t know anything about their team” when LO met the Generals in the ’06 playoffs. “The guys have been really nice about me coming here,” he says.

Buckingham didn’t play much linebacker for the Lakers, but Grant needed him more there than on offense, and he still gets some opportunities on that side of the ball. He had two interceptions in last week’s 58-0 home win over Newberg, returning the second one 23 yards for a score.

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