Jackson Baer
For The New Era
Sweet Home’s rapidly maturing football team had upset on its mind Friday, but the Huskies couldn’t pull it off against No. 1-ranked Central, on the Panther’s own turf.
Led by senior quarterback Tanner Omlid, Central threw for 212 yards on 17 of 24 passing en route to a 37-18 victory.
“They played better in the passing game then we did,” said Dustin Nichol. “Their line gave him time and we couldn’t put enough pressure on (Omlid).”
The defense looked good at times but had a difficult time defending against the pass. Sweet Home will look to improve their pass defense and hold on to the football as the talented, young team continues its four-game road trip next week at Taft.
“We hadn’t really seen the spread offense with so much off-tackle,” junior Colton Holly said. “We’ve got to work on hitting people and getting better.”
The big story of the night at Central was turnovers for the Huskies. They managed to force four turnovers but negated that with six turnovers of their own. Both teams scored on their opening drives but a failed two-point conversion attempt left the Huskies trailing 7-6 late in the first quarter.
A failed onside kick gave the Panthers good field position and they scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass to open the second quarter. Sweet Home responded with its much-improved running game – a mixture of tailbacks Wade Paulus, Spencer Knight and Hunter Bidwell.
A fumble at the Central 41-yard line stifled the Husky momentum. A few moments later, Mitch Keenon came up with a nice interception at the Central nine-yard line. Sweet Home was unable to move the ball but Paulus delivered a 61-yard punt, one of the night’s bright spots.
Omlid finished the next drive with a 15-yard touchdown run with 2:48 remaining in the first half. The two-point conversion was good and Central extended its lead to 22-6.
The Huskies were unable to move the ball offensively but another fantastic punt – a 58-yarder – by Paulus pinned the Panthers at their own seven-yard line. Mitch Keenon grabbed his second interception of the night on the very next play, giving the Huskies the ball at the Central 29-yard line with 1:02 left in the second quarter.
The Panthers weren’t done, however, with an interception of their own on the very next play. Sophomore quarterback Cole Horner was hit from behind as he threw and the ball landed in the hands of a Panther linebacker.
Central scored on a 5-yard touchdown run by senior running back Nick Jaindl. The two-point conversion was good and the Panthers held a 30-6 lead heading into halftime.
Sweet Home received the ball to start the third quarter and opened with a positive drive until a fumble at the Central 30-yard line gave the Panthers the ball and put a damper on any offensive momentum.
The rest of the third quarter was fairly uneventful and the score remained 30-6 to start the fourth quarter. Sweet Home fumbled the ball once again, this time at its own 23-yard line, putting an end to any chance of a Husky comeback.
“We’ve got to work on keeping the ball tight,” said junior Josh Wooley. “We need to get everyone in synch and working together on handoffs.”
The next play resulted in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Omlid to junior tight end Branden Cutsforth. Central stretched its lead to 37-6 and it was beginning to look like a blowout.
Sweet Home was forced to punt once again but senior Scottie Stockman followed that with an athletic interception at midfield to give the Huskies some life. The very next play was a 48-yard touchdown run by Paulus to shrink the deficit to 37-12 with 7:27 to play.
Central fumbled on its first play after the kick return and Sweet Home had the ball at midfield for the second straight drive. Horner connected with Keenon for a 26-yard touchdown pass at the 6:18 mark.
Sweet Home’s lack of an extra-point kicker was evidenced when the two-point try was no good, leaving the score at 37-18.
The Huskies have plenty of positives to take with them from the first three weeks but must cut down on turnovers in order to beat good teams.
The victory improves Central to 3-0 and the loss drops Sweet Home to 2-1.
The Huskies will play at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, at Taft. The Tigers are 2-0 after beating Junction City 28-21 last week and Seaside 57-14 in their season-opener.
“We’re going to practice, practice, practice,” Nichol said. “We’ll re-evaluate everything on film. They don’t fumble in practice and we have some pretty hard hits; we go full-speed.”
Mitch Keenon tries to pull in a long pass while Central’s Grant Lindley, left, and Michael Jones try to stop him and draw an interference call.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
SH 6 0 0 12 18
Central 7 23 0 7 37
Summary:
Team Statistics
Rushing: SH 32-186; Central 35-155
Passing: SH 5-15-49; Central 17-24-212
First Downs: SH 10; Central 17
Penalties: SH 5-45; Central 12-125
Turnovers: SH 6; Central 4
SH Offensive Stats:
Total Yards: 235 yards Rushing: 186 yards
Passing: 49 yards
Individual Rushing:
Wade Paulus 11-85-1
Hunter Bidwell 9-33-1
Spencer Knight 11-68
Cole Horner 1-0
Individual Passing:
Colton Holly 0-1
Cole Horner 5-14-49 1TD; 2 INT
Individual Receiving:
Scottie Stockman 1-3
Mitch Keenon 2-39-1
Wade Paulus 1- -5
Jacob Smith 1-12
Interception:
Scottie Stockman
Mitch Keenon (2)
Fumble Recovery:
Bryce Vandenberg