EGELSTON TOWNSHIP – The West Michigan Conference has long been one of the most competitive football leagues in the state.

So it’s only fitting that in this last season of the traditional conference format, before the WMC becomes a two-tier league, three traditional powers claimed a share of the championship.

For Oakridge, getting a share of the title meant beating Ravenna on Friday, then hoping Whitehall would beat Montague.

Whitehall did its part by beating its White Lake rival, and Oakridge got off to a great start against Ravenna, grabbing a 29-point halftime lead. But the Bulldogs came storming back to tie the score with five minutes left in the contest.

Then the Eagles did what they had to do to get the win and claim a share of the title. They drove the ball 68 yards in four minutes, ending with a game-winning three-yard touchdown run by Brenden Raymond with 54 seconds left to claim a thrilling 43-36 win at Jack Schugars Field.

Oakridge is now 7-1 on the season and finished 5-1 in league play. The Eagles will close out the regular season next Friday against Muskegon Catholic before beginning the Division 7 state playoffs.

“Across the board it definitely ended in dramatic fashion tonight,” Oakridge coach Cary Harger said about the league race. “(The title) is always a lot of hard work and very tough to earn. I am very proud of these guys for what they have been able to do.”

The Eagles opened the scoring very quickly when Raymond took the opening kickoff at the 11-yard line and ran it 89 yards for a touchdown. The PAT gave Oakridge a 7-0 lead.

Oakridge then forced the Bulldogs to go three-and-out on their possession, then increased its lead to 14-0 on its second play from scrimmage when Trevor Jones scored on a 73-yard run.

The Eagles continued their early run with a five-yard touchdown burst by Corey Vanderputte with 3:13 left in the opening quarter. Quarterback Matt Danicek added a two-point conversion on a pass to Bryce Harris to give Oakridge a 22-0 lead.

The Bulldogs finally responded with two seconds left in the first quarter with a six-yard touchdown scamper by quarterback Kyle Beebe.

Oakridge led 22-7 at the end of one quarter.

The Eagles scored a pair of second quarter touchdowns to take a commanding 36-7 advantage at halftime.

Vanderputte scored on a 46-yard run with 10:19 left in the second quarter, then added a one-yard touchdown rush with just seven seconds left in the half.

Instead of going through the motions the rest of the way, the Bulldogs came out of the locker room on fire in the second half. They opened the scoring with a 21-yard run by Hunter Hogan with 8:10 left in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 36-14.

Ravenna kept the momentum by scoring on a trick play with 21 seconds left in the third quarter. Beebe pitched the ball to Hogan, who then threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Grant Becklin.

Suddenly the Eagles’ lead was cut to 36-21 after three quarters.

The Bulldogs stopped Oakridge on its first possession of the fourth quarter, then drove the ball 75 yards on just two plays.

Hogan set up the score with a 70-yard run to give Ravenna the ball at the five-yard line, before Clay Schullo punched it in with 8:17 left in the contest.

Schullo then converted the two-point conversion with a run to tighten the score to 36-29.

Oakridge was then forced to punt on its next drive, setting up the Bulldogs for a game-tying drive.

Ravenna only needed two plays to get it done. Beebe ran the ball for 17 yards before Hogan got loose for a 54-yard touchdown run.

Raymond also led the defense with 6.5 tackles while Ethan Jozsa had six.

“I told the guys at halftime that we needed to stay the course,” said Ravenna coach Justin Ego. “We had a game plan, and I feel we didn’t execute it during the first half. We made a few adjustments, kept our heads up and kept fighting.”

But the Eagles remained calm, got the ball back and put together the eight-play, 68-yard drive that resulted in the game-winning touchdown run by Raymond.

The Eagles sealed up the victory with an interception at their own five-yard line by Kimball Hanks with 18 seconds remaining.

“We were worried about getting this game finished up and doing what we had to do to get this win,” Raymond said. “We are satisfied with the win, but we have a lot of work to do. One of our big goals was to finish off the conference with a big win. It wasn’t pretty but we got it done.”

Vanderputte paced the Oakridge offense with 206 rushing yards on 23 carries and one touchdown while Raymond ran for 97 yards on 19 attempts and a touchdown.\

Raymond also led the defense with 6.5 tackles while Ethan Jozsa had six.

Ravenna was led by Hogan with 246 rushing yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns while Schullo had 49 yards on 10 attempts with one TD.

Beebe passed for 100 yards on 15 completions with an interception. Becklin caught 10 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

The Bulldogs were paced on the defensive side of the ball by Dayton Thomas with 8.5 tackles while Thomas McCullough had seven.

Ravenna is now 5-3 on the season and 4-2 in conference play, and will close out the regular season next week against Central Montcalm.