Jackson Baer
For The New Era
You could have guessed it was going to be a different football game when the power went out the first time Friday night.
After a second power outage (see page 1) the Sky-Em League contest between Sweet Home and visiting Cottage Grove was rescheduled to noon on Saturday and it was worth the wait.
It was a tale of two halves as the Huskies came up just short, falling 34-32 to the Lions, who maintained their unblemished league record after winning their previous two games 88-57 and 54-12, managed to hang on as the clock ticked down.
“In the first half they knew exactly what we were going to do and we didn’t tackle,” said Don Knight. “We didn’t wrap them up and we had a couple break downs. We came out a little flat and it showed.” Knight was coaching for the second straight week as Head Coach Dustin Nichol recovers from back surgery. Nichol is expected back this week for the final game at Sisters.
The first half was completely dominated by Cottage Grove. The 27-4 score is not one you see all the time but accurately showed how the Husky offense and defense played in the first half. The only positives were two late safeties as the defense started to wake up and got Sweet Home onto the scoreboard.
The Lions scored twice in the first quarter to take the early lead and it was beginning to look like a blowout. In the second quarter the Huskies were plagued by turnovers, throwing four interceptions before halftime, and missed tackles. Enough said.
The second half was a different story. The Huskies controlled all facets of the game. They ran the ball well, had timely catches and – most importantly – held onto the football. They stopped Cottage Grove on its own 6-yard line to start the third quarter and started with great field position at the 33-yard line after the Lions punted.
The Huskies offense started to click and Patrick Long capped off the short drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. The Lions responded with a score of their own, completing a 31-yard pass at the 5:02 mark and stretching their lead to 34-11.
After stopping Sweet Home on the next drive, Cottage Grove fumbled as the third quarter expired, giving the Huskies the ball at the 35-yard line. Keenan Martin completed a fourth-down pass to Zach Jackson and Patrick Long followed with his second rushing touchdown of the day, this one from seven yards out.
Sweet Home missed the two-point conversion, but suddenly the score was a bit more respectable at 34-17. The Huskies tried an onside kick with 8:51 remaining in the game but the Lions recovered the ball around the 50-yard line.
Hunter Bidwell then came up with a big interception at the 25-yard line and returned it to mid-field to get the ball back for Sweet Home. The momentum was beginning to shift to the home team but time was running out.
Martin completed a 12-yard pass to Zach Jackson, followed by a 16-yard completion to Alex Santana. A 16-yard strike to Bryce Seiber set up a first and goal for the Huskies. Hunter Bidwell got the carry and finished what he started with the interception, rushing for a 7-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion was successful this time on a completion to Santana and the score was 34-25.
What happened next was what you hope for in backyard football. Santana faked an onside kick that fell in between the Lions special teams along the sideline and the Huskies recovered at the Cottage Grove 17-yard line.
Martin connected with Seiber for another 16-yard completion and the Huskies had the ball at the 1-yard line. Zach Jackson punched it in for a 1-yard touchdown run and with 4:55 left to play the team that was down 20-0 in the second quarter and 27-4 at halftime now trailed only 34-32.
Cottage Grove would just need to run out the clock with a couple first downs and one more scoring drive would put the game out of reach. On the first play after the kickoff, though, the Lions fumbled on a bad handoff and Kris Newport recovered for the Huskies at the Cottage Grove 43-yard line.
The scene was set and the miraculous comeback was within reach. But this story doesn’t have a happy ending. The Huskies were unable to move the ball and came up just short in their inspiring comeback.
“At halftime there was not a lot of talking. Everyone knew what they had to do to turn the game around,” Jackson said.
“We came out in the second half mad and ready to go, the way we should have been the first half. In the first half everyone was playing not to lose and in the second half we were playing to win and it showed.”
Boy did it show. Cottage Grove is 7-1 on the year and one of the tougher teams in the state. Sweet Home fell to 2-6 on the year but showed they can play with the best of them.
“I think our offensive line had a huge impact in the second half,” said Patrick Long. “We had some good runs and some great catches, thanks to the time and blocks our offensive line gave us, and with that we got some good momentum and we stayed consistent with that momentum for the rest of the second half.”
“We weren’t giving it our all and that’s what killed us in the first half,” said Grason Reynolds. “We know what we need to do to beat Sisters and there’s no doubt in my mind that we are capable of beating them.”
The Huskies travel to Sisters this Friday for their final regular season game of the year. Sisters beat LaPine last week 47-30 to pick up its first league win of the year.
“We told the kids at halftime we were playing to win the second half and then you never know,” said Knight. “At 34-11 we had done some things really well but we weren’t even thinking about the win. They deserve to show everyone what they’re capable of and they got a chance to do that in the fourth quarter. We scored and then stopped them. Then we knew we had a chance to win the game.”
Moral victories only go so far but this game seemed over and done with at halftime. The Huskies played with heart and emotion and never quit.
“They were heartbroken,” said Knight.
“They put themselves in a position to win and they were taking it personal. They thought they were going to win the football game and they came up just short. Sisters will be a tough match-up but we will be ready to play.”
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
CG 14 13 7 0 34
SH 0 4 7 21 32
Team Statistics
Total Yards: SH 168; CG 374
Rushing: SH 42-79; CG 31-207
Passing: SH 6-21-4, 89; CG 11-16-1, 167
First Downs: SH 12; CG 16
Penalties: SH 6-57; CG 15-123
Turnovers: SH 4; CG-2
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Patrick Long, 15-39 2 TD; Zach Jackson, 6-29 1 TD; Kyle Sorenson, 4-8; Hunter Bidwell, 2-4 1 TD; Keenan Martin, 15-(-1).
Passing: Keenan Martin, 6-2-4 89.
Receiving: Alex Santana, 2-40; Bryce Seiber, 2-31.
Punting: Alex Coakley, 4-169.
Kickoff: Alex Santana, 4-139.
Kickoff Return: Hunter Bidwell, 1-25; Kris Newport, 1-12; Patrick Long, 1-9.
PAT: Alex Santana, 2-2.