Photos by DEBBIE RANEY

Tommy Jack Rose (No. 11 ) and Trenton Potter (No. 30 ) tackle Lost River’s running back in Saturday’s game.

The Crane Mustang football team fell to the No. 1 Lost River Raiders 30-20, in the 2023 OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 1A Football State Championship held at Caldera High School in Bend on Saturday, Nov. 25.

Crane won the toss and elected to receive to start the game. Crane’s first series stalled, as they had to punt after going three-and-out. On Lost River’s third play of the game, Crane’s Keegan Sallee forced Lost River’s running back, Kayden Hartman, to fumble. Crane’s Ross Clark recovered at Lost River’s 48-yard line.

On Crane’s second possession, quarterback Josh Zander marched the team right down the field, completing 3 of 4 passes for 48 yards, ending with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Cody Siegner. Sallee rushed the 2-point conversion in, and the Mustangs were the first to get on the scoreboard, 8-0.

A 14-play drive, capped off by a Lost River touchdown, evened the game, as Kayden Hartman rushed in the 2-point try.

In the second quarter, the Mustangs were forced to punt from their own end zone, giving the Raiders a first down on Crane’s 46-yardline. Lost River needed two plays to punch it in, as quarterback Chase McAuliffe rushed up the middle for 32 yards to put the Raiders up 16-8, after a successful 2-point conversion.

Crane marched down the field on their next possession, scoring in eight plays as Zander hit running back Carter Nichols for a 6-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion was no good, and Crane trailed 16-14.

Lost River scored on their next drive, to go up 24-14. With 1:10 left in the half, Crane drove down to Lost River’s 20-yard line before coming up short on a second-and-13.

The Raiders received the ball to start the second half and drove 13 plays for 63 yards, and eating up 7:47 of the clock, to take a 10-point lead, 30-14.

The Mustangs got back on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter when Zander hit Trenton Potter for a 32-yard touchdown to bring score within 10. Crane’s 2-point conversion failed, and the Mustangs trailed 30-20 with a little over 7 minutes left to play.

Sallee recovered a Raider fumble on Lost River’s next possession to set the Mustangs up at their own 48-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-2 situation from midfield, Zander completed a pass to Nichols for a 1-yard gain and the Mustangs turned the ball over. The Raiders drove 10 plays down the field to run out the clock and secure their second state title in two years, since joining eight-man football in 2020.

Carter Nichols was named the Moda Health Player of the Game for Crane. Offensively, he finished the day with 20 carries on 89 yards, averaging 4.4 yards a carry, to go along with three receptions for 9 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Nichols finished with 10 total tackles and one pass break-up. He finished the game with 217 all-purpose yards, picking up 120 of those yards on kick returns.

Crane racked-up 280 yards of total offense, with quarterback Josh Zander leading the way on 16 of 28 passes for 187 yards, and three touchdowns.

Cody Siegner caught four passes for 102 yards and one touchdown. Trenton Potter caught five passes for 48 yards and a score. Ross Clark finished with 28 yards off of four receptions.

Defensively, Ross Clark led the team with 11 total tackles and a fumble recovery. Eli Maley had eight tackles. Sallee, Brady Otley, and Tommy Jack Rose each had seven tackles. Potter and Siegner each logged five tackles.

Under first-year head coach Matt Hawley, the Crane Mustang football team went 10-1 and was undefeated in the regular season, earning the High Desert League title and a No. 2 seed heading into the playoffs. The Mustangs lose two seniors to graduation, RB/DB Carter Nichols and OL/DL Michael Willsey, but return 16 players off of their current roster.