PORTLAND — In a back-and-forth battle between the top-two teams in the Portland Interscholastic League, the Grant Generals walked off with the win.
Grant defeated Roosevelt 42-41 in overtime Friday night at Roosevelt High School, claiming at least a share of the league championship.
“We just got it done‚” Grant senior running back Jae’Sean Pete said. “That’s all that matters. We knew we would get it done. We knew to keep our heads up. Everybody kept their heads up, everybody stayed in the game, and everybody played their butts off. That’s all that mattered.”
Pete finished with four total touchdowns, including a 68-yard kickoff return for a score in the second quarter.
Regulation ended in a 35-35 tie. Roosevelt (5-2, 3-1 PIL) promptly took a 41-35 lead when senior quarterback Imarion Kelly ran for a 2-yard touchdown. The Roughriders, though, failed on the two-point conversion attempt.
When Grant took over on offense, Pete rushed for a 6-yard touchdown to even the score at 41-41 and give junior kicker Oliver Thake a chance to win with an extra point. Thake nailed the kick, delivering Grant (5-3, 5-0) a crucial road win.
“It meant a lot to me. It really did,” Pete said of his score in overtime. “I definitely got emotional when I punched it in because I felt like I could put my brothers on my back, and I’m so grateful to them for believing in me and counting on me.”
Grant played without several players.
“To be so shorthanded, it’s a true testament to the kids that played, and all the younger kids that helped us practice, to have a chance to win this game against some really, really good athletes and ballplayers,” Grant coach John Beck said. “Coming into this game, we didn’t know what to expect. We just said, ‘Well, our kids are going to play hard and do the best they can.’ They sure did, tonight.”
In a hotly-contested second half, Roosevelt senior running back Lindell Betts ran for three touchdowns.
“I told them tonight I’ve never been prouder of a group of young men in my life when it comes to coaching football,” Roosevelt coach Ryan McCants said. “The resolve they showed, the heart that they put on the line out here in crunch time, I’m just extremely proud of them. I told them, ‘Tonight’s going to hurt, but as soon as we can, we’re going to get this thing right.’ So, hats off to (Grant). Proud of our team.”
Pete and junior quarterback Kellen Segel each had rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Grant took a 14-0 first-quarter lead after Segel tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Max von Arx and Pete added a 6-yard touchdown run, and also led 21-7 in the second quarter after Pete’s kickoff return for a touchdown. But Roosevelt refused to fold, and when senior receiver Demarius Branch scored on a 54-yard reception with five seconds left in the first half, it set the table for a memorable PIL matchup.
“I think that if we tried to take care of the ball as best as we could, do the things that we know how to do, and execute, we had a good chance of winning the ball game,” McCants said. “It just got away from us at times.”
-- Nick Celario, for The Oregonian/OregonLive
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