Kyle Holland
For The New Era
A broken-down bus and a resulting delay to the start of the game were just the beginning of a long, forgettable night for LaPine Friday as the Sweet Home Huskies sent the visitors home bruised and battered in a 48-0 defeat.
The Huskies came out on their Homecoming night with a fury of hard hits and a powerful running game led by senior Wade Paulus, which put the Hawks on their heels from the start.
Paulus had another monster game on the ground, rushing for 185 yards on 11 carries, inching closer to the school’s single season rushing record and recovering two fumbles on defense.
“That’s what I’ve been striving for, I want to get it,” he said. “ There is so much tradition here and it will feel good to be known here for something.”
It also might be worth noting Paulus and much of the starting lineup sat out the entire second half as the Huskies had the game in complete control by halftime.
The first half was a highlight reel for Huskies, who scored on big play after big play.
Quarterback Cole Horner only threw two passes the whole game, but his first one might have been the nicest of the season. Horner hooked up with Mitch Keenon for a perfect 37-yard strike into the end zone to give Sweet Home a 20-0 lead.
Not to be out done, Paulus added to his season of ankle-breaking long runs with touchdown runs of 26, 29, and 73 yards.
The Huskies special teams would also get into the mix of highlights when sophomore Hunter Jutte returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown and exclamation point on the half that hardly gave the homecoming crowd a chance to sit after a 41-0 first-half performance.
The defense came up big all night for the Huskies.
They gave up just 86 yards of rushing and 13 yards passing for the entire game while simply punishing anyone who dared get in their way.
Hawks senior Jeremy Desrosiers, who is also a stand-out track star, was expected to give the Huskies defense trouble; but he was never really able to gain any rhythm or utilize is open field speed.
Desrosiers was held to just 35 yards on the ground and coughing up a fumble to add to his long night.
“I really thought he would get one or two big plays, he’s a great athlete and a track star, but we just dominated all night,” Coach Dustin Nichol said regarding his team’s containment of the Hawks star.
On what seemed to be a flawless night on both sides of the ball for the Huskies did see one blemish. When senior Colton Holley, delivered a punishing hit on defense to force a Hawk fumble in the first half, he injured his shoulder and was forced to leave the game. His status for next week is still uncertain.
“It really hurts us losing a player like Colton” Nichol said after the game.
The night was the Huskies’ from start to finish and after a dominating performance what else could have made the night any better?
Eighty burgers from the Cedar Shack is what. The team was rewarded for the big win with mouthfuls of burgers from the locally owned shop to cap off a great win and maybe even start its own burger tradition in light of the Oregon State Beavers’ In and Out visits.
The Huskies offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders scoring an average of 55 points a game over the last four games in route to a five game win streak that they will put on the line this week in Junction City.
The Tigers are 3-4 overall and 1-2 in league after losses to Sisters and Cottage Grove, the latter a 62-6 pounding last Thursday in which, like Sweet Home’s win, the now-No. 3 Lions scored on offense, defense and special teams.
Nichol isn’t taking anything for granted as the 14th-ranked Huskies take on the Tigers, who will be hungry after losing three of their last four games and looking to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
“They’re going to be a wide open offense and it’s something we struggle with at times,” he said. “I expect next week to be tough, but a good stepping stone for the next couple weeks and into the playoffs.”
Scoring Summary
LaPine 0 0 0 0 – 0
Sweet Home 20 21 0 7 – 48
First Quarter
SH- Wade Paulus 29 run (Jacob Smith kick)
SH- Paulus 26 run (Smith kick)
SH- Mitch Keenon 37 pass from Cole Horner (kick blocked)
Second Quarter
SH- Spencer Knight 26 run (Smith kick)
SH- Paulus 73 run (Smith kick)
SH- Hunter Jutte 63 punt return (Smith kick)
Fourth Quarter
SH- Trever Olson 27 run (Smith kick)
Rushing – Wade Paulus 11-185 (3 TDs); Spencer Knight 6-84 (1 TD); Trever Olson 5-80 (1 TD); JT Weld 5-22; Kyler Gaskey 4-13; Jacob Smith 1-4.; Sweet Home Total 35-388.
Passing – Cole Horner 2-2-56-0 (1 TD).
Receiving – Mitch Keenon 1-45 (1 TD); Austin Rice 1-11.