Brett King
For The New Era
Going into their game at Cottage Grove Friday night, the Sweet Home football team knew it was going to be a challenge to stop the Lions’ 6-4, 215-pound senior quarterback Scotty Hitner, who had thrown over 2,000 yards going into the game.
Well, Hitner came as advertised, throwing for 150 yards and three touchdowns to down Sweet Home 35-14 and secure the Sky-Em league title for Cottage Grove, which stayed unbeaten and finish the regular season 7-2 overall.
It was a disappointing loss for the Huskies (3-2, 4-5), who had scored some big wins over Junction City and La Pine in their past two games. But they’re still heading to their first playoff game, at Siuslaw on Friday, Nov. 1.
“Our defense did an excellent job out there on the field,” said Coach Dustin Nichol said, “They really stepped it up. Although, our offense struggled a bunch in the first half, but started to pick it up in the second half. We gave up 35 points but they had to punt five times. We had to go back four football games to get a look at their punt formation.”
Sweet Home caused some of its own problems, he said, by struggling to complete drives. Sweet Home had 60 plays on offense, but gave up four interceptions and had to punt four times. Plus, the Huskies had one touchdown called back.
“That just doesn’t get it done,” Nichol said. “If we’d had that one touchdown, it would have been 28-21.”
The pressure was on the Huskies early on when the Lions’ Brandon Boxberger juked his way to open ground and pulled in a pass from Hitner, driving through Sweet Home’s defense for an 18-yard touchdown. Kicker Brad Bonds delivered an extra point, giving the hosts a 7-0 lead.
Shortly thereafter, Cottage Grove was on Sweet Home’s 3 yard line with 4:20 left in the first quarter after Boxberger caught a 39-yard pass from Hitner, who then squeezed his way straight down the middle of Sweet Home’s defense for a second score to put the Lions up 14-0 going into the second quarter.
The combination of Hitner and Boxberger helped put a big gap in the score midway through the second period.
Juking his way around the field and avoiding Husky defenders, Hitner found Boxberger again for an 18-yard touchdown catch.
Boxberger then found a clear opening down the right side of the field to sprint, nearly untouched, into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game. After Bonds’ kick, Cottage Grove was up 28-0 with five minutes remaining in the half.
Sweet Home senior quarter back Cole Horner demonstrated that Hitner wasn’t the only passer on the field, throwing for a total of 218 yards, which actually surpassed Hitner’s passing yards.
Austin Rice sprinted ahead of Cottage Grove’s defenders to haul in Horner’s pass for a 38-yard touchdown before the half ended.
It was a 28-8 after Sweet Home scored a 2-point conversion.
The third quarter was marred by penalties. Sweet Home finished with 17 for the game, while Cottage Grove was whistled for six.
At the beginning of the final quarter, Brandon Keenon snaked his way up to the hosts’ 2-yard line, where he was tripped up at the end of a 33-yard run. Two plays later Keenon fought his way through Cottage Grove’s defense for a 2-yard touchdown run.
Hitner drove the Lions to the 1-yard line and slammed his way into the end zone, icing the 35-14 victory.
Already racked by injuries, Sweet Home had more before and after the game. Junior defensive back and wide receiver Ryan Adams had a sprained ankle after a visit to open gym basketball, and wide receiver-turned-running back Hunter Jutte had to sit out the final period after he injured his foot on a kickoff return.
“At first we thought it could have been broken,” Nichol said. As it turned out, the foot was only deeply bruised. Both players are expected to be able to play by Friday, he said Monday.
“It’s hard when you have to go in and make all those changes after an injury,” Nichol said, “Even though we were down a few players we still did great. The kids we had played their guts out.”
He particularly credited his team for hanging tough when they were down by 20 at halftime.
“They were beat up, but they didn’t quit,” he said, adding that the Huskies struggled with Cottage Grove’s speed more than anything, particularly at the start. “We came out in the second half and laid it on the line and went toe to toe.
“If we had an offense with their speed to practice against, we would have blanked them. Our defense gave up two quick ones there, but once we got used to their game speed we hung with them until the end. They got a quick score at the end, but our guys didn’t give up.”
Siuslaw finished as runner-up to North Bend after falling 42-14 to the Bulldogs (8-1, 6-0) Friday, who notched their second straight Far West League title. Siuslaw (7-1, 5-1) had allowed just 14.8 points per game going into Friday’s contest, but couldn’t stop North Bend’s Mason Laird, who rushed for 157 yards.
“They’re a tough team,” he said. “We’re not taking anything for granted. They were state champs a few years ago.”
The Vikings run a veer offense, around sophomore running back Andrew Tupua, which will force Sweet Home to be disciplined on defense, Nichol said. They set up their passing game off the play action, but since quarterback Joseph Dotson was taken to the hospital after being sacked during Friday’s game, he said he doesn’t know what to expect at that position.
“It’s just going to be another challenge. I think our guys are up to it. The question is whether our guys can score points. I like our chances. I think we have an opportunity to win this game, just like they do.”
Scoring Summary
CG – 14 14 0 7 – 35
SH – 0 8 0 6 – 14
First Quarter
CG – Brandon Boxberger 18 pass from Scotty Hitner. Brad Bonds kick. 8:53
CG – Scotty Hitner 3 run. Brad Bonds kick. 4:20
Second Quarter
CG – Brandon Boxberger 18 pass from Scotty Hitner. Brad Bonds kick. 7:00
CG – Brandon Boxberger 46 run. Brad Bonds kick. 5:04
SH – Austin Rice 38 pass from Cole Horner. Conversion complete. 4:12
Fourth Quarter
SH – Brandon Keenon 2 run. Failed conversion. 9:30
CG – Scotty Hitner 1 run. Brad Bonds kick. 7:36
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Sweet Home Total: 25-106; Brandon Keenon 13-66, Austin Rice 9-34, Hunter Jutte 3-6; Cottage Grove Total: 23-103; Brandon Boxberger 6-50, Brad Bonds 5-33, Scotty Hitner 12-20.
Passing – Sweet Home: Cole Horner 11-33-4-218; Cottage Grove: Scotty Hitner 14-26-3-170
Receiving – Sweet Home: Hunter Jutte 6-119, Brandon Keenon 2-46, Austin Rice 1-35, Eric Flierl 2-18
Scott Swanson of The New Era contributed to this story.