Ken Roberts
For The New Era
In Sweet Home’s opening critical Valco League game, the Huskies watched an eight-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter for a 26-22 loss against Philomath.
With 50 seconds left in the contest, Dan Haynes threw a 17-yard pass to Logan Stevens, who barely got his feet down to make the crucial catch.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” said senior lineman Zane Wise, noting that the Huskies are just eight points away from being 4-2 rather than 1-5. “We know we have the tools.
We just haven’t put it all together.”
Philomath opened up a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter. The Warriors scored on an 11-yard run by Trevor Motter on their first possession. On their second possession, Haynes connected with Stevens on a 58-yard pass to put the Huskies in a 14-0 hole.
Sweet Home gave up a number of big plays throughout the game, seemingly always on third- and fourth-down plays.
“We don’t have the team speed to make up for it if somebody makes a mistake or is out of position,” said coach Rob Younger. “We have to get 11 guys executing every play.”
Sweet Home began to find its offensive and defensive rhythm in the second quarter.
After a Warrior punt pinned them back on their own nine yard line, the Huskies got a boost from a 32-yard run by Amos Parmenter and two major penalties on Philomath before finishing off the drive with a 12 yard pass from Keenan Martin to Josh Riggs.
In the third quarter, Sweet Home began to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Parmenter recovered a Warrior fumble at the 18 yard line and then proceeded to blast for two nine-yard runs to draw the Huskies within a point. Initially, the Huskies were going to kick the extra point, but after a Philomath penalty shortened the distance, the Huskies went for two, which Parmenter also converted, giving the Huskies their first lead at 15-14.
“The kids made a good response when we were down,” said Younger. “We gained momentum in the second quarter and it carried over into the third.”
Parmenter and the Huskies were not finished in the quarter. After stopping the Warriors and taking a short punt at the midfield stripe, Sweet Home quickly added to their lead. Again, Parmenter was the main factor as he raced 34 yards for the Huskies’ final score.
Philomath, however, had other intentions than to just fade away. They struck quickly, using a 52-yard pass to Henry Vaughn to reach the five yard line before Keith Fakhoury plunged in from one yard out to start the fourth quarter. The Warriors’ attempt for a two- point run failed, leaving Sweet Home still ahead by two.
The Huskies went on a time-consuming drive, which was ultimately stopped at the
Philomath 13. Then it was the Warriors’ turn to make their final march. Twice Namer Fakhoury helped continue Philomath’s drive by running for 37 yards on a third and long play and then got seven more yards on a fourth-and-two call.
Motter then ran 18 yards and Sweet Home added to the problem with a personal foul at the end of the play. That gave Philomath a first down and goal at the six. Brent Moyer changed the complexity of the situation when he dropped Motter for a 10-yard loss. Parmenter added to the Warriors’ woes by dropping Keith Fakhoury for a one-yard loss, making it third and goal from the 17. That’s when Haynes and Stevens saved the day with their game-winning pass.
The Warriors outrushed the Huskies 252 yards to 196. They also had more passing yards, 142 to 68. Sweet Home controlled the main two Philomath backs, but could not contain Namer Fakhoury, who carried the ball just five times for 97 yards, often in critical situations. Parmenter recovered from an off week against North Bend and totaled 138 yards in 17 carries.
Even though it is was just the first league game, Sweet Home finds itself in a bind to be among the top two headed for state. Because the Huskies’ non-league record does not match up to other teams in contention, the Huskies will lose out on the tie-breaker if they should end up in a three-way logjam for second place. They must win their remaining three games, starting at Newport this Thursday.
“The kids have to stay positive,” stated Younger, referring to all the close games Sweet Home has lost this season. “We will just have to play one game at a time like always and do the best we can.”
Wise isn’t done yet.
“We have a good group of seniors and a good team,” he said. “We’re going to come back and play hard.”
Newport has a 3-2 record, losing only to two undefeated teams in the 4A ranks. The Cubs lost to North Bend by a point and also to powerhouse Gladstone by three touchdowns.
Game Summary
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Sweet Home 0 7 15 0 22
Philomath 14 0 0 12 26
1st Quarter
Phil: Trevor Motter 11 yard run (Motter kick)
Phil: Dan Haynes to Logan Stevens 58 yd. pass (Motter kick)
2nd Quarter
SH: Keenan Martin to Josh Riggs 12 yd. pass (Marc Callagan kick)
3rd Quarter
SH: Amos Parmenter 9 yd. run (Parmenter run)
SH: Parmenter 34 yd. run (Callagan kick)
4th Quarter
Phil: Keith Fakhoury 1 yd. run (run failed)
Phil: Haynes to Stevens 17 yd. pass (run failed)
Team Statistics
Rushing: Sweet Home 36-196; Phil 48-252
Passing: Sweet Home 5-17, 68; Phil 5-8, 142
Sacked: None
Total Offense: Sweet Home 264; Phil 394
First Downs: Sweet Home 13; Phil 13
Tackles for Losses: Sweet Home 5; Phil 4
3rd/4th Down Conversions: Sweet Home 4-12; Phil 8-16
Penalties: SH 8-79; Phil 9-90
Turnovers: SH 2 (2 fumbles); Phil 1 (fumble)
Individual Statistics
Rushing: SH: Parmenter 17-138; Moyer 11-55; Ward 2-4;
Byers 3-0; Martin 3-(-1)
Phil: N. Fakhoury 5-97; K. Fakhoury 21-83; Motter 16-53
Passing: SH: Martin 5-17, 68
Phil: Haynes 5-8, 142
Receiving: SH: Riggs 3-37; McGuyre 1-25; Moyer 1-6
Phil: Stevens 3-92; Vaughn 1-52
Kickoffs: SH: Callagan 4-189 (49 returned); avg. start line: 25
Phil 5-152 (54 returned); avg. start line: 35.4
Kick Returns: SH: Macklin 2-46; Moyer1-8; Parmenter 1-0;
Phil 4-49
Punts: SH: Parmenter 2-67 Avg 33.5; Phil 3-99 Avg. 33
Punt Returns: SH: Cota 1-0; Phil: 2-6
Fumble Recoveries: SH 1 (Parmenter); Phil 2
Tackles: SH: Cota 10, Parmenter 10, Rowe 10
* * * *
The Huskies junior varsity squad stayed undefeated, with a 5-0 record, beating Philomath 33-13.
Steven Bidwell ran the ball back 55 yards on the opening kickoff and quarterback Tyler Holly had a good day, connecting with Sean Potter for two touchdown passes, one a 55-yarder and the other for 31 yards, and with John Webb on a 40-yard scoring strike.
Billy Canfield scored on a six-yard carry and Zach Jackson scored on a 13-yard run.
The junior varsity plays at home against Newport Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.