Wayne Spinney
For The New Era
In a Saturday game that saw the host team utilize an offense that was put in place at the last minute, the visiting East Linn Loggers lost by a final score of 32-0.
North Valley was forced to implement a basic Wing-T set because starting quarterback David Aguilar was lost to an injury on the night before the game.
?We enforce a rule that quarterbacks are not to be involved in any contact drills. Somehow though, Aguilar got into a full-contact drill and separated his shoulder. It?s a pretty serious injury that may keep him out for the rest of the season,? said Hunter?s Head Coach Len Cruze. ?I was very nervous going into the game with a whole new offense and a new starting quarterback.?
When the Hunters ran for almost thirty yards on their first play from scrimmage Cruze?s jitters were somewhat allayed. The first-year Hunters went on to amass 272 yards in 30 carries while scoring three times on the ground. Their fourth score came through the air as Scio High School graduate Jeremy Looney tossed a 49-yard aerial to Jefferson graduate Nick Hawley for his only completion of the day.
?We had to go with an offense that was familiar to Looney,? said Cruze. ?Our offensive line picked-up the calls quickly and made it work so we stuck with it.?
The Loggers were on their heels most of the game after two starters fell to game-ending injuries early in the first half. Coach Jesse Garcia had changed personnel around to give the Loggers a new look on offense with his son, Jesse Garcia Jr. taking over the helm at quarterback. The unit seemed to be clicking and moved the ball early, but game-ending injuries to Garcia and starting tight end Kenny Gaskey took the air out of the Loggers? offense.
?I took a helmet to my lower back after I caught a ball down field, but when I later looked at the films it was actually a knee,? said Gaskey from his home on Sunday afternoon.
Gaskey left the field never to return, as did Garcia. The Hunters forced the Loggers to turn over the ball and proceeded to run up 24 unanswered points in the first half of play. It?s the third time the Loggers have been shut-out in this their inaugural season.
?We were a little stressed out by the hitting in the first half,? said assistant coach Bob Teter. ?I?m not sure all the hitting was clean, but we still needed to rally and play better in the second half. The team responded and played better but it was still a tough loss with the injuries and all.?
The Loggers will return to the gridiron next Saturday in Monroe as the Cascade Steel will host them for a night game beginning at 7:00pm on the High School football field.