By John Evans

EUGENE, OR - On Friday night, the Thurston Colts defeated the Dallas Dragons 37-24 to quarterfinals of the 5A Oregon state playoffs. The Colts were once again led by their high-powered air attack, as quarterback, Noah Blair, threw for 326 yards while tossing four touchdowns and adding another on the ground. Blair now has 41 touchdowns on the season, 37 passing and four rushing, and has only turned the ball over three times.

Again for the Colts, the star of the game was receiver, Walker Bonar, who finished with 155 yards and two touchdowns, including a 95-yard house call that opened scoring for both teams. Bonar has been incredible this season for Thurston, averaging over 130 yards per game while catching 16 touchdowns in only eight games, as he missed the Colts first two contests with an injury.

Thurston’s defense was able to limit the Dragons offense, especially their passing game, until late in the contest, which allowed them to build their lead. Until a late rally, Dallas wasn’t able to get much going through the air, and other than some nice runs from quarterback, Isaiah Mosley, the Colts were mostly able to limit their rushing attack as well, as Thurston’s defensive line played one of their best games of the season.

Next week, the Colts will head to Wilsonville to take on the Wildcats, the top seed in the tournament who defeated Crater High School 42-7 to advance to the second round. The Wildcats have a record of 9-1 on the season, which included a 44-15 beatdown of Thurston in the season opener. While that game wasn’t particularly close, the Colts were still without Bonar at the time, who has since proved himself as undoubtably one of the most important players on the team, and will certainly factor into next week’s matchup. The kickoff time is yet to be announced, but you can tune into KWVA, 88.1 FM, where you will find Austin Ota on the call as the Colts try to pull off the upset.

Audio Story by Isaac Dubey

Postgame Interview: Luke Newell

Postgame Interview: Walker Bonar