Sweet Home’s defensive secondary came up big as the Huskies bounced back following a mud-encrusted opening football loss at Elmira to pound Stayton 28-10 Friday night, March 12, on the road.
“The kids did a good job,” Head Coach Dustin Nichol said. “We executed better. We didn’t make mistakes.”
Defensive back Austin Marler had four interceptions and Cade Gaskey and Kyle Marler each added another, Gaskey returning his for a touchdown.
The center-quarterback and center-punter exchange problems that dogged the Huskies in their first game were gone Friday, he said.
“The weather conditions probably played a factor, but I would like to think our focusing on areas we were lacking in helped out as well,” Nichol said.
In addition, Sweet Home pounded out 204 yards on the ground, 97 of them from quarterback Aiden Tyler, who carried 18 times, and 70 from Gaskey, who had 16 carries. Daniel Luttrell added 37 yards on four carries.
“Offensively, we opened up our run game,” Nichol said. “When your quarterback is your leading rusher, that’s good, and when your quarterback and running back have the same amount of yards rushing, that’s even better.
“I believe this offense is supposed to be about run first, pass second,” he added, referring to the spread offense the Huskies installed several years ago to better utilize the personnel the team has. “By Aiden being able to run, we make them honor that option. It is nice to have it work that way.”
Sweet Home got on the scoreboard in the second half when Tyler hit Russell Holly with a 19-yard pass. The Huskies scored a two-point conversion and Gaskey followed that with his pick-six.
Stayton made it 16-3 in the third quarter with a 36-yard field goal, and then the Eagles scored on a 33-yard pass early in the fourth to make it 16-10.
Gaskey then scored on a three-yard run to move the Huskies out to 22-10, after the conversion attempt failed. Luttrell finished things off with a 15-yard run for Sweet Home’s final score.
Defensively, the Huskies were dominant.
Stayton, a young team with only two seniors on its roster, finished with 53 yards on 22 carries after depending heavily on its passing game, which did not produce against the Sweet Home secondary, as sophomore Eagles quarterback Eli Brown finished 16-for-32 for 177 yards, with five interceptions.
“Our defense did really well,” Nichol said. “They threw for 194 yards but they were launching bombs and that was the majority of their offense. We bent but we didn’t break. When they throw that much, it makes for higher percentages to potentially get an interception and that’s what ended up happening.”
In addition to the picks, Lutrell also forced a fumble that rolled out of bounds.
Tyler finished seven for 24 for 84 yards, with one interception. Holly led the receiving corps with four catches for 50 yards. Cole Baxter added one for 19 yards, Austin Marler had one for nine and Brady Nichols caught one for six yards.
Up next for Sweet Home is Sisters, which is 1-1 after losing 20-6 to Pleasant Hill in its opener at home on March 5, then beating Harrisburg 42-6 last Friday. Game time is 7 p.m. Friday at Husky Stadium.
Nichol noted that the Outlaws’ triple-option offense confused his team in their last meeting, a 32-8 loss at Sisters.
“Last time we couldn’t handle the triple option, so hopefully we can get that figured out this time.”
He noted that Sisters passed “a total of 15 or 16 times in two games.” They’re going to run the sweep and the option, and they’re going to test your defense that way. We’ll see if we can get it dialed in this year.”
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Although restrictions on outdoor gatherings have been lightened in the last week, Athletic Director Nate Tyler said the high school is continuing to limit entry to sports, including football.
Team members get tickets – six for senior and four for other players, which they can distribute as they wish. Visiting spectators are not allowed.
He said people can watch from the outside, but aren’t encouraged to do so. Any disruptions will result in the arrival of law enforcement, he said.
“If it gets to the point where it has to be policed, the police will take care of it.”
Husky games are viewable live on the web. For information, visit sweethome.k12.or.us/media/ 2021/02/Pixellot-Subscription-Information.pdf.