Jason Casey
For The New Era
Sweet Home’s football team played to a tough 16-14 loss to Crook County on a cold, wet field 112 miles from home Friday night, Sept. 4.
It was a long way from where they expected to be, but weather-related delays in the installation of the track at Husky Field forced the move to Prineville.
The Huskies’ overall youth was evident as it took a couple of series for the defense to settle in and start controlling Crook County’s option-oriented defense.
Cowboys senior quarterback Blake Bartels took advantage of the slow start by opening the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown scramble midway in the first quarter. The Cowboys went for two and got in on an option to the right out of the swinging formation on PAT’s that has been made popular by Oregon and other college teams.
It didn’t take long for Sweet Home to respond.
Keanu Aiona took the kickoff from his own 20 yard line and sprinted 70 yards to the Crook County 10.
“These guys smashed us in the mouth and we responded with a kick return and we never quit fighting from start to finish,” said Coach Dustin Nichol.
That was where the Brandon Keenon took over for the Huskies.
Keenon took the handoff from quarterback Justin Tow, on 2-and-5, shrugged off a tackler two defenders and scored the first touchdown of the season for the Huskies. A fumble on the point after kick attempt left holder Tyler Pleybuch scrambling to his right under duress and unloading the ball to Garrison Whitfield, who was buried by tacklers, leaving the score at 8-6 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter Crook County’s Bartles threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to running back Parker Lapsley. Brogan Howard added a two-point conversion to extend the Cowboys’ lead to 16-6.
After Crook County’s score, Sweet Home began a 16-play drive from its own 25, with Keenon carrying the ball on 15 plays and catching a screen pass on the other. The 75-yeard drive ended with Keenon plunging in for a touchdown from the two-yard line with 2:08 to go in the half. The Huskies went for two and got it on a sweep to the left by Keenon to close the gap to 16-14.
“The offensive line did good but the defense was sending the house. Its hard to pick up more guys then we have blocking,” added Keenon who led the team in rushing with 186 yards and two touchdowns and a two-point conversion.
Sweet Home was opportunistic in the turnover department on the night, recovering all three of Crook County’s fumbles, two of those in the second half. But the Huskies were unable to generate a sustained drive against a stubborn Cowboy defense. Tow had trouble connecting with his receivers, completing one of seven pass attempts.
Thankfully for Sweet Home, Crook County’s offense couldn’t maintain a sustained drive either, as the Huskies settled down and kept Bartles and his running backs out of the end zone in the second half.
“Our defense was on the field a lot and they came up big for us,” Nichol said.
Sweet Home got another opportunity late in the first half when the Huskies recovered a fumble on an option play to the right. The Huskies had the ball going the other direction with 1:47 to go in the first half, but the Cowboy defense stiffened, got two sacks and a pass breakup to force the Huskies to punt.
The half ended with the score 16-14.
In the fourth quarter there were some big plays made.
Keenon had a big 43-yard run in the third qurter that looked to give the Huskies the momentum, but after the drive, stalled and the Huskies gave the ball back to the Cowboys on fourth down.
Then, on a big third-and-24, Sweet Home’s Daniel Virtue had a big third-down pass break-up to force a punt and give the ball back to the Huskies with a chance to take the lead with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter.
“We changed up coverage this week in practice and I thought Daniel Virtue at safety he came up in a position he hasn’t ever played before,” Nichol said. “We did some changes with him on some inverting and rolling. He took to that and stepped up huge for us.”
Sweet Home took over on their 26 yard line with 4:36 on the clock. But after a four-yard gain on first down the Huskies couldn’t go any further and turned the ball over on downs. The Cowboys ran the clock out to shut the door on the win.
Despite the loss, Nichol said he was encouraged by the fire the Huskies showed, particularly on defense.
“These guys are playing with a lot of heart and desire. They have a little bit of a chip on their shoulders because they had a home game taken away from them,” he said.
““I think we can take away that we can compete. That was a big thing. Last year we graduated 16 seniors and the big question mark was going to be how we were going to fare this year. You know, I think this team, Crook County, is every bit as good or better than the team we played last year.”
Sweet Home’s (0-1) next game is Friday, Sept. 11 at the Estacada Rangers (1-0) who beat Valley Catholic 20-12 last Friday. Visiting Estacada had a two-point lead through most of the fourth quarter, before scoring a insurance touchdown in the last two minutes.
Scoring Summary
Sweet Home 6 8 0 0 — 14
Crook County 8 8 0 0 — 16
First Quarter
CC — Blake Bartels 22 run (Bartels run)
SH — Keenon 5 run (kick failed)
Second Quarter
CC — Parker Lapsley 29 pass from Bartels (Brogan Howard run)
SH — Brandon Keenon 2 run (Keenon run)
Sweet Home Statistics
Rushing – Brandon Keenon 32-186; Jesus Patricio 1-0; Garrison Whitfield 1-2.
Passing – Justin Tow 1-8-0- 7.
Receiving – Devin Stafford 1-7.