Sean McLean
For The New Era
Even though the playoffs were out of reach for the Sweet Home Huskies Friday night, Amos Parmenter was still pumped up and ready to go in the season finale against conference foe Philomath.
On Homecoming night and in the final game for the Sweet Home seniors, the junior tailback rushed for 195 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Huskies to a dominating 34-18 win over the Warriors on Friday night. Sweet Home finished the season at .500 (5-5, 2-2), while the loss left Philomath with a 1-9, 0-4 record.
The night was highlighted with a halftime honoring of the 1987 state champion Sweet Home football team. A display of beautiful antique cars also was a part of the halftime show as was a dropping of green and yellow balloons into the home crowd.
“It was great, we came out and started strong and everything was clicking out there,” Parmenter said of the team’s finish. “It’s the last game, so you have to leave everything out there. Our offense seemed to really come out explosive, which is what we needed.”
From the start, the Huskies took complete control of the game with Parmenter leading the way. After Philomath punted the ball away on the game’s opening possession, the Huskies began their offensive charge.
Using a little trickery on one of their first offensive plays, quarterback Ryan Graville tossed the ball to backup quarterback/wide receiver Greg Sipe, who then connected with wide receiver Kevin McGuyre on a 33-yard pass play. From there, the Huskies moved deep into Warrior territory, and from 16 yards out Parmenter scored his first touchdown as Sweet Home grabbed the early lead just five minutes into the contest.
It was a lead they would not relinquish, as Parmenter took the ball on their next possession and had arguably one of the top plays of the season for the Huskies. With four Warrior defenders about to take him down after a short gain, he somehow managed to break free, change direction, and use his speed to race 62 yards for an astonishing touchdown.
“I just kind of hit the hole and I got hit, and going through my mind was coach (Don) Knight telling me in the offseason to keep my legs pumping and good things will happen, so I just kept going,” Parmenter said. “And I thought the whistle had blown or something, because all of a sudden they were gone and I was in the open field, so I just took off.”
“Amos ran the ball really well and looks better every week,” coach Rob Younger said. “A lot of it was good blocking as well, the guys up front and our fullback blocked extremely well tonight.”
Philomath stayed close early with a big 67-yard touchdown pass to Derek Davis from backup quarterback John Koeppe to cut the Sweet Home lead to 13-6 late in the first quarter, but it was the closest they would get. The Huskies offense continued to roll in the second quarter, as tailback Marcus DeLong added a pair of short touchdown runs of four and five yards to put the game out of reach.
“Our whole idea was to start fast and finish strong, and I thought the kids did that,” Younger said. “I thought the offensive line did a tremendous job of opening things up for the running game.”
Up 28-6, Philomath added another touchdown pass at the end of the first half, this time to Heath Honeycutt from one yard out.
Parmenter continued to wear down the struggling Warrior defense in the third quarter, adding his last score of the game from a yard out to give Sweet Home a 34-12 lead. The game was also a milestone for the transfer from Lebanon, as he surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season. On the defensive side of the football, he, along with senior teammate Dustin Horn, led the Huskies with 10 tackles each.
With a comfortable lead, Sweet Home had the opportunity to play its bench, giving some seniors and other backups one last chance to perform in front of the home crowd. Philomath’s Ky Fisher recovered a Husky fumble in the end zone for a touchdown on a botched punt snap in the fourth quarter, but it was far too late for the Warriors to mount a comeback.
“I thought it was a very good win, I thought the kids came out and played extremely hard,” Younger said. “You take away the fumbles and the big plays, we really dominated out there, and they really rose up to the challenge.”
Minus a few big plays by the Warriors, the Husky defense played a well-rounded game, pressuring Philomath quarterback Logan Stevens all night long and causing them to punt five times on the night. The Warriors were also just three for 14 on third and fourth down conversions, giving the Sweet Home offense plenty of chances to produce.
The Huskies piled up 267 yards on the ground with Parmenter leading the way once again. Senior Nick Pitts added 53 yards on just five carries, while DeLong added 44 yards with two touchdowns and caught two passes for 17 yards. Senior tight end/defensive end Josh Riggs also grabbed two passes for 14 yards, recorded seven tackles and recovered a fumble for Sweet Home.
Graville concluded his junior season by completing 5 of 9 passes for 51 yards on the night.
“The seniors are a great group of guys; we had a real moment in the locker room, and I love every single one of them,” said Riggs, a junior. “The memories we share as a team, from the practices and hanging out with your friends, those are the things I’ll remember the most.”
Younger reflected on the senior class and how much they have meant to him, the coaching staff, and to the Sweet Home football program.
“The senior class are just great young men,” Younger said. “And what they have done is that they have had a great year with leadership and really was a corridor of success not only for this year but for the success we will have in the future years. They maintained that tradition around here and they did a really nice job.”
With the win, the Huskies finished in third place in the Val-Co conference, trailing league champion Central and Newport.
Game Summary
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
P 6 6 0 6 18
SH 13 15 6 0 34
1st Quarter
SHHS: Amos Parmenter 16 yd. run (Kyle Gutierrez kick)
SHHS: Parmenter 62 yd. run (pass failed)
Phil: Derek Davis 67 yd. pass from John Koeppe (kick failed)
2nd Quarter
SHHS: Marcus Delong 4 yd. run (Riggs pass from Graville)
SHHS: Delong 5 yd. run (Gutierrez kick)
Phil: Heath Honeycutt 1 yd. pass from Logan Stevens (run failed)
3rd Quarter
SHHS: Parmenter 1 yd. run (run failed)
4th Quarter
Phil: Ky Fisher recovered fumble in end zone (pass failed)
Team Stats
Rushing: SHHS 46-267; Phil 29-124
Passing: SHHS 6-10, 84; Phil 8-17, 146
Sacks: SHHS 1-9 (Gutierrez); Phil 0
Total Yards: SHHS 351; Phil 261
First Downs: SHHS 14, Phil 8
3rd/4th Down Conversion: SHHS 6-14; Phil 3-14
Penalties: SHHS 6-36.5; Phil 6-53
Individual Stats
Rushing
SHHS: Parmenter 29-195; Pitts 5-53; Delong 9-44;
Graville 1-(-10); Moyer 1-1, Team 1-(-16)
Phil: Hill 12-71
Passing
SHHS: Graville 5-9, 51; Sipe 1-1, 33
Phil: Stevens 6-12, 69; Koeppe 2-3, 77; Stueve 0-2
Receiving
SHHS: Delong 2-17; Riggs 2-14; McGuyre 1-33; Pitts 1-20
Phil: Davis 2-77; Honeycutt 3-36; Hill 3-33
Punting
SHHS: Delong 1-24 Net 24
Phil: Stueve 2-79 Net 39.5
Kickoffs
SHHS: Gutierrez 4-127, 26.7 Net; Callagan 2-70, 30.5 Net
Phil 4-142, 26 Net
Kickoff Returns
SHHS: Parmenter 1-32, Pitts 1-6
Phil 5-39
Fumble Recovery: SHHS 1 (Riggs); Phil 2
Tackles: SHHS: Parmenter and Horn 10, Fisher and Riggs 7
– Statistics reported by Ken Roberts