Jason Casey
Sweet Home came into Friday’s matchup with Gladstone riding the high of a big play-in win over Crook County the previous week.
The ride home was probably as long as it gets.
The Huskies couldn’t get out of their own way early in the game and the Gladiators took advantage of good field position early and often in a 48-26 win, ending Sweet Home’s season.
Sweet Home got off to a good start on the first drive of the game.
The Huskies got a penalty on third-and-10 for a first down, converted a fourth-and-15 to get into scoring range, and Jake Swanson hauled in a throw over two Gladstone defenders that could have been easily intercepted, but instead was a touchdown, and after a Colton Smith two-point conversion the Huskies were up 8-0.
“I just fought him for the ball, and I got that one,” said Swanson.
However, on the ensuing kickoff, Mason Scheehean took the ball down to the Sweet Home 10-yard line, setting up Damian Alvarado for the 10- yard touchdown bringing the score to 8-7.
After the early fireworks in the first quarter the defenses settled down and the tearms alternated punts on four drives in a row until Smith threw his first interception of the game to Jaxon Jedrykowski.
The Husky defense stopped the Gladiators, who started their drive on the 48-yard line.
On the next drive Sweet Home had the ball on their own seven on third-and-15. Smith threw another pick to Jedrykowski, setting up the Gladiators five yards from a touchdown.
Spencer Boyd plunged the ball into the end zone to go up 14-8, and that is where the game got out of control.
“What they were doing was we have two really good receivers and they were bracketing our receivers,” said Coach Dustin Nichol. “So, they had a really good defensive plan and we needed to be taking the underneath routes.
“Our alignment was bad too, in some of these when we were running our underneaths because we were too wide, so when we would run our dig routes the defender was only about five yards away from our out route going into what is supposed to be the green area, so we needed to narrow some of that stuff up.”
Keegan Holly, who finished the game with five catches for 78 yards and one touchdown, said he was covered by “a good corner.” No. 18
“I was fortunate to beat him a couple of times, and we had a lot of openings but they studied us well and they figured out what we did best and they covered it up pretty well.”
Sweet Home turned the ball over on an option pitch the next drive, and with 3:32 to go in the first half Hill took a counter 21 yards, to give the hosts a 21-8 lead.
“We didn’t play to our potential and the scoreboard shows that,” said Smith who finished 16 for 23 with 247 passing yards and three touchdowns, throwing two interceptions. “It was our mistakes. One hundred percent it was us. I truly believe that – 110 percent. They didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves.”
Early in the third quarter, Sweet Home was still in the game, however, after forcing Gladstone to kick a field goal. But the Huskies had a punt blocked and then later on, as Gladstone drove down the field, defender Casey Tow tipped a pass from Gladiator quarterback Chandler Banks right into the hands of Deric Penn, who took off for the end zone and the rout was on, as the Gladiators pulled out to a 31-8 lead.
Every time Sweet Home came back with an answer, the Gladiators had their own reply.
Smith connected with his favorite target, Holly, for a 26-yard touchdown with 4:03 to go in the third quarter. The Gladiators took the ensuing onside kick attempt back for a touchdown and taking back any momentum Sweet Home had gained, going up 38-14.
“Not everything is a black cloud,” Nichol said.
“Jake Swanson did a good job on offense, I think Austin James ran hard and did some things on offense, Hayden McDonald tried to get outside on the edge but they just had it jacked up. I think Nathan Virtue, Keegan Holly had some good moments.
“It just wasn’t consistent; it was hit and miss. We couldn’t get our rhythm together. That seems how it is on road trips. I don’t mean to blame it on stuff, but that is something we need to work on, how we travel.
“We don’t travel well. Right now we aren’t a good traveling team and we need to fix that and I’m not quite sure how to fix that.”
Lance Hanson scored on the last play of the game for the Huskies to narrow the final score to 48-26.
Only one team in each division finishes the season smiling, and it wasn’t Sweet Home. The post game hugs and handshakes had a different feeling. The seniors knew this was their last game for the Huskies, the juniors knew they wouldn’t play with those same guys again. The younger guys watched knowing this would be their future.
“This is the best season I have ever played in,” said Smith, a junior. “I’m going to miss these guys they’re my brothers. This will be tough to let go.”
Nichol’s last words of the season were a thank you to the fans: “I just want to tell the parents they’ve got good kids, fans thank you for coming, I think we had as many people here at this game that Gladstone had, we’ve had tremendous support throughout the season and I just appreciate that and the kids do too.”
Scoring Summary
1 2 3 4
SH – 8 0 6 12 – 26
G – 7 14 24 3 – 48
First Quarter
SH – 7:23 Colton Smith 10-yard pass Jake Swanson (2-pt Smith run)
G – 7:02 Damian Alvarado 10-yard run (Josiah Wachlin kick)
Second Quarter
G – 5:51 Spencer Boyd 5-yard run (Wachlin kick)
G – 3:32 Ben Hill 21-yard run (Wachlin kick)
Third Quarter
G – 6:41 Wachinlin 22-yard Field Goal
G – 5:05 Chandler Berks 11-yard pass to Deric Penn
SH – 4:03 Smith 26-yard pass to Keegan Holly (2-pt fail)
G – 3:54 Jaxon Jedrykowski 45-yard kick return (Wachlin kick)
G – Alvarado 52-yard run (Wachlin kick)
Fourth Quarter
SH – 11:20 Smith 5-yard pass Swanson (2-pt fail)
G – 6:13 Wachlin 35-yard Field Goal
SH – :41 Smith 18-yard pass to Lance Hanson (2-pt fail)
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Sweet Home – Hayden McDonald 8-7; Colton Smith 4-11; Austin James 13-32; Jake Swanson 1-12. Gladstone – Damian Alvarado 7-105-2; Spencer Boyd 11-51; Ben Hill 6-47; Dylan Farris 10-36; Mason Scheehean 3-20.
Passing: Sweet Home – Colton Smith 16-33-247-3-2. Gladstone – Chandler Berks 6-13-88-1.
Receiving: Sweet Home – Hayden McDonald 2-56; Keegan Holly 5-76-1; Austin James 2-20; 3-23-1; Casey Tow 2-45; Nick Marler 1-9; Lance Hanson 1-18-1. Gladstone – Damian Alvarado 1-9; Deric Penn 3-39-1; Ben Hill 2-40.