Ken Roberts
For The New Era
After leading 21-0 midway into the third quarter, Sweet Home nearly let North Marion back into the fray last Friday but managed to hold on for a 21-14 victory in the Huskies? opening game of league play.
Starting quarterback Kyle Pettit returned to action for Sweet Home after missing two games with a knee problem. It didn?t take long for him to make a difference. With North Marion committed to stopping the Husky running game, Sweet Home went to the air during their second possession in the first quarter.
Pettit?s first pass was a 66-yard completion as he connected on an inside slant with Tim Faulconer, who was finally caught from behind by John Murphy on the 15-yard line.
After two running plays went nowhere, Pettit went back to the air, first completing a seven-yard pass to Skyler Bascom. Then, on fourth down, Pettit teamed with Cody Shipp to execute a hot route called before the snap for an eight-yard touchdown.
The good start helped Pettit to get through the excitement of his return.
?After the first one I completed, I was relieved,? said Pettit. ?My knee was all right and I just felt like I was back to where I was before the injury.?
Head coach Rob Younger knows that Pettit?s presence changes the tone of the offense.
?We are able to do so much more with him because of his experience,? said Younger. ?But it goes beyond his athletic ability. Our team has a tremendous amount of confidence in him. He makes everybody else better.?
First-year kicker Isaac Villarreal, who only kicks when he doesn?t have a soccer game, connected on the extra point, the first of three for the night and the first time the Huskies haven?t had a missed kick all year.
North Marion was also committed to their own running game. The featured back, Joey Horner who ran the ball 50 times in their previous game, ended up carrying the ball 35 times in this game. He was only out of the lineup on one series. Though Horner amassed 176 yards for the game, Sweet Home contained him enough in the first half that North only threatened once in the second quarter.
Prior to that, when North did try to pass, quarterback Trevor Bailey was constantly pressured. After six sacks against Taft last week, the Huskies added four more sacks, all in the first half.
Defensive end Shorty Weikel, who led the Huskies in tackles for the third straight game, nearly had Bailey for a fifth sack. Bailey did manage to get the pass off, but Faulconer intercepted the short throw and this time took it into the end zone for a 48-yard return.
North Marion?s one opportunity to score came after recovering a fumble on a mixed-up handoff in the Husky backfield. With the ball on Sweet Home?s 44, North handed off to Horner time after time to get inside the 20. Then North had two of its eight offensive penalties back to back and its drive was killed when sophomore Ben Brewer nailed Bailey for an eight-yard loss on fourth down.
Sweet Home almost pulled off a late touchdown following a breakout 42-yard run by Weikel to the 24-yard line. On the very next play, Pettit found Shipp all alone in the end zone, but Shipp was unable to hang on to the ball and Sweet Home was unable to move the ball after that.
To start the second half, Sweet Home went on a classic seven-minute drive built around two long runs and one long pass. Bascom started the series with a 23-yard run. Pettit completed a 16-yard pass to Faulconer on a third-down play and Shipp caught North unaware with an 18-yard reverse on a fourth-down play, giving the Huskies first and goal at the four yard line. It took Shorty Weikel all four downs before he finally scored from two yards out.
?We talked about re-establishing control right away,? said Younger. ?It was a crucial drive and put us in a position of dictating what we wanted to do for the rest of the game.?
And, up 21-0, the Huskies wanted to take time off the clock. North Marion obliged by deciding to stay on the ground with Horner, who carried the ball 11 out of 12 plays as North went on a long march themselves, finally scoring on Horner?s 14 yard run two minutes into the fourth quarter.
After Shipp?s 40-yard kickoff return put the Huskies in North territory, Sweet Home nearly responded with another score. Weikel and Trevor Tagle suddenly found some open holes after being stymied for most of the night as the Huskies moved the ball to the 16-yard line. However, a holding penalty put them in a third down and 15 situation. Pettit?s next pass attempt was intercepted in the end zone.
Sweet Home appeared to have North Marion stopped after they took over at the 20. On a fourth down and nine play, Bailey connected with Murphy on short slant across the middle and Murphy outraced the Husky defenders for a touchdown.
With time nearly gone, the Huskies needed just one first down to put the game on ice. The coaches thought they had it when Shipp ran another reverse on third down, but the ball was spotted just inches short at the 35-yard line. Younger elected to run rather than punt and North made the big play to take over on downs.
After one running play and their final timeout, North was forced to try to pass again. Shipp ended any hopes for a North comeback when he intercepted the pass at the four yard line.
On the road for the third game in a row this week, Sweet Home now turns its sights onto Sisters, who disposed of Cascade, 49-20, and is undefeated for the year. Sisters is not as big as some of the opponents Sweet Home has faced but has team speed with which the Huskies must be concerned. Sisters has a balanced attack with a strong-armed, accurate quarterback.
Both Faulconer and Shipp, who have turned into a strong tandem at the wide receiver slots, are confident about the game. Shipp, who has made the adjustment to receiver fairly easily since moving from the quarterback position as well as turning into a consistent threat as a kick returner, believes the Huskies will have to come out aggressively.
?I think we have a lot of confidence with the two wins and Sisters hasn?t played the schedule we have,? stated Shipp. ?But we are definitely going to have to execute the entire game and not for just a half.?
Faulconer looks for the Huskies to have a slightly different look on offense.
?We can?t just rely on the running game as much because they are going to play a lot of people up in the box,? said Faulconer. ?Sisters plays a lot of man coverage, so we will be able to break them down a little more.?
Game Summary
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
SH 0 14 7 0 21
NM 0 0 0 14 14
2nd Quarter
SH?Pettit to Shipp 8 yd. pass (Villarreal kick)
SH?Faulconer 48 yd. interception return (Villarreal kick)
3rd Quarter
SH?Weikel 2 yd. run (Villarreal kick)
4th Quarter
NMar?Horner 14 yd. run (Maguire kick)
NMar?Bailey to Murphy 79 yd. pass (Maguire kick)
Team Stats
Rushing: SHHS 34-131; N.Marion 39-193
Passing: SHHS 97; N.Marion 103
Sacks: SHHS 4-27 (Faulconer, Brewer, Weikel, Whitfield 0.5, Fitzsimons 0.5);
N.Marion 1-7
Total: SHHS 221, N.Marion 269
1st Downs: SHHS 7; N.Marion 12
Turnovers: SHHS 2; N.Marion 2
Penalties: SHHS 4-45; N.Marion 8-55
Individual Stats
Rushing: SHHS: Weikel 13-60; Bascom 5-31; Tagle 10-21; Shipp 2-21; Elliott 1-1; Pettit3-(-3)
N.Marion: Horner 35-176
Passing: SHHS: Pettit 4-8-1, 97;
N.Marion: Bailey 5-10-2, 103
Receiving: SHHS: Faulconer 2-82; Shipp 1-8; Bascom 1-7
N.Marion: Murphy 3-92
Punts: SHHS: Bascom 1-35 (35, 35 net)
N.Marion: Bailey 2-40 (20, 20 net)
Punt Returns: SHHS: None
N.Marion: 1-0
Kick Returns: SHHS: Shipp 1-40; Tagle 1-26
N.Marion: 2-35
Kickoff Average Yard Line:
SHHS: 38; N.Marion 34.2
Interceptions: SHHS 2 (Faulconer, Shipp);
N.Marion 1
Fumble Recoveries: SHHS 0; N.Marion 1
Tackles: SHHS: Weikel 12; Tagle 10; Bascom, Brewer, Ellis, Whitfield 7
Capital Conference
Football Standings
Wins Losses
Sisters 1 0
Stayton 1 0
Sweet Home 1 0
No.Marion 0 1
Molalla 0 1
Cascade 0 1
Last Week?s Scores
Sisters(H) 49, Cascade 20
Stayton 34, Molalla(H) 14