The Wilsonville Wildcats and Churchill Lancers have built quite the rivalry over the last seven years or so. This includes meeting twice in both state championship games and state semifinal games.
In 2017, the #1 seeded Wildcats squared off with the #2 seeded Lancers in the State title game, resulting in a Wildcat victory by the score of 51-43.
2018 featured the #4 seeded Wilsonville and #8 seeded Churchill in the Semis that ended with Wilsonville winning 58-43.
2019 Wilsonville, the #2 seed, and Churchill the #1 seed, faced off in the title game again that saw Wilsonville coming out on top 67-58.
The last big game these squads played each other in was the 2021 Semifinal, where Wilsonville also emerged victorious 58-41.
The “rivalry” has been a bit one-sided, especially in the biggest games of the season, but with these teams facing each other so often so deep in the playoffs, it has developed into a rivalry.
Coming into this matchup Wilsonville was the favorite, however Kallen Gutridge the 4 year starter struggled out the gate having just 4 points at halftime. The other returning starters from last year’s State Champions, Emmitt Fee, Kyle Counts, and Nick Colyer, all had solid games going into the half, but it was Jacob Boss who was leading the way for Wilsonville.
On a night where Wilsonville’s premier offensive threats were hampered by injury (Counts) and having a tough night from the field (Gutridge), it was Boss who stepped up and finished with a game-high 19 points.
He had this to say after his performance: “It felt good to step up and hit some big shots; I want to continue to improve as much as I can and want to help this team be the best it can.”
Boss played all Junior Varsity minutes last season for Wilsonville but really improved during the offseason and summer ball resulting in an offensive explosion for the Junior.
Coming into this season, Wilsonville was looking for a 5th man to play quality minutes and step into the big shoes the Maxim Wu filled last year. The role of being the third scorer, shooting well, and playing great defense on the wing. Boss did exactly that on Monday.
Wilsonville’s next matchup will be against Century on the 16th in their opening Capitol City Classic showing. Nick Colyer commented on the expectations heading into the tournament “We want to play a great 32 minutes every night and compete as if it were a playoff game.”