Gridiron greats join forces for one final day

“It just shows that enemies don’t always have to stay enemies. You can come together and have fun and play together,” Justesen said. “I made so many friends with kids I never thought I would be able to, but when you are on the same team not trying to knock each other’s teeth out, you see a different side of those so-called enemies.”

On the field, the West group jumped ahead by a 30-8 halftime margin and held on for the 38-16 victory, which gave the West a 15-14 lead in the series.

Justesen, who picked up Offensive Player of the Game honors, connected with Martin on a 30-yard touchdown pass in the first half for the East’s first score.

With less than a minute remaining in regulation, Cleveland barreled in to the end zone from two yards out to wrap up the scoring summary.

While this was the last high school game for Crawford and Cleveland, it is not the last time they will be on the same sideline, as both all-state recipients are joining George Fox University in the fall.

They also had the chance to share memories and laughs through this weeklong trip with future Hall of Fame coach Jack Henderson.

“It was an honor to be chosen as one of the top eight-man players in the state,” Crawford said. “It was really fun to be able to play with so many players that I have played against in the past. Many of the players on my team were players we had previously game-planned for because they were such disruptive players.”

Since joining Dufur High School as a sophomore, Cleveland has been an integral piece of the varsity squad that has amassed a 35-3 record in helping the program to three consecutive state championships.

This past fall, Crawford was a first-team all-state recipient on both sides of the ball and Ian Cleveland won a first-team award for his play at defensive tackle and was an honorable mention pick as a running back.

Through the 2017 1A state playoffs, wins over Lowell, Adrian, Falls City and Hosanna Christian, Dufur’s No. 6-ranked scoring defense (16.5 points a game) allowed 794 yards, 282 rushing, posted 15 sacks, forced 10 turnovers and an 8 for 50 conversion rate on third downs.

Cleveland wreaked havoc on opposing offenses with his relentless motor down in the trenches at defensive tackle with four sacks and two fumble recoveries to score first-team all-state honors for the second straight year.

From his fullback position, Cleveland was second on the team with 59 rushing attempts, 588 yards and nine touchdowns.

At tight end, Crawford posted a team-leading 25 receptions on 36 targets for 494 yards and nine touchdowns.

With his sack and tackle numbers at defensive end, Crawford had 151 yards for loss on those plays, recovered two fumbles and turned one of those into a touchdown.

For his career, Justesen’s had four interceptions in a game, returned fumbles and interceptions for scores, doled out vicious hits from the secondary, and capped a stellar career with 28 interceptions, a 1A state-record.

For those numbers, Justesen earned first-team all-state honors as a defensive back, the third straight year he has received such recognition.

Justesen picked up first-team all-Big Sky Conference awards on both sides of the ball in his final three campaigns, he was an all-state honorable mention quarterback as a sophomore and an honorable mention defensive back and a first-team all-state receiver in his junior year.

Through his four-year career, Justesen was a key to the Huskies’ 31-12 overall record and 18-3 league mark.

In 2014, Sherman placed second in state, the team captured a Big Sky Conference title in 2016 and the Huskies had a top-10 scoring defense in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

All the awards are a nice feather in the cap, so to be given an opportunity to grace the football field once again is a memory that will last a lifetime.

“I had a blast being able to play the great game of eight-man football one more time,” Justesen said. “I was blessed to have such a good game, but it wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t have all of the other great players on the field with me.”

Over the past four years, the Sherman offense has scored 2,013 points and racked up 370 points in nine contests this fall.

Standing at 6-foot-4 inches, Martin proved to be a steady blocker on the line and a dangerous weapon on passing plays.

In addition to his second-team all-state award, Martin chalked up first-team all-league for his contributions at tight end.

Justesen and Martin will be forever joined at the hip, as team leaders and standout players spanning several sports, not just football.

They share the rare achievement of winning back-to-back state championships on the basketball court.

“I am glad I had such a good dude like Treve by my side the whole time,” Justesen said. “We both had family support through our time at Sherman and it was just a blast to get to share the field and the court with him.”