Jackson Baer
For The New Era
Sweet Home gave Central a scare Friday before falling to the second-ranked team in the state 35-27.
Sweet Home, the No. 4 seed from the Sky-Em League and Central, the No. 1 seed out of the Oregon West Conference, were facing each other for the second time this season, after the Panthers beat the Huskies 40-7 in the third game of the season.
Friday was a whole different ballgame. The Huskies showed they are a much improved team and they came ready to play.
“I think they were looking ahead to the next game but they almost didn’t get to that next game,” said Coach Dustin Nichol of the hosts. “This was the first game we played a full four quarters and that was the difference. The kids played with a lot of heart.”
The first drive was a three-and-out for the Huskies and Central drove the ball down the field with ease. It looked like it might be a long night for the many Husky fans who traveled to watch them play but on fourth and 3 the Huskies came up with a huge defensive stop and took over at their own 15-yard line.
Sweet Home drove the ball to the Central 39-yard line but had to punt. Alex Coakley, who was impressive all night long in the kicking department, pinned the Panthers a foot from their own goal line. Central came out with with authority, though, and completed a lengthy drive on an 18-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Tanner Omlid to senior Ty Philips. The extra point was no good, giving Central an early 6-0 lead near the end of the first quarter.
Sweet Home made another nice drive to the Central 41-yard line but was forced to punt for the second straight time. This time Coakley landed the ball at the 8-yard line and set up a nice turn of events for the Huskies.
On the Panthers’ first play Zach Jackson intercepted a pass from Omlid at about the 20-yard line and ran it back for a touchdown at the 10:24 mark in the second quarter. After the successful extra point, Sweet Home had a 7-6 lead and a shot in the arm.
That adrenaline rush went up when Huskies caught the hosts by surprise with an onside kick that was recovered by Jackson.
Central wasn’t able to move the ball and followed up with a weak punt, allowing the Huskies to take over at the Panther 36-yard line. Sweet Home took advantage of the good field position and capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Keenan Martin with 2:13 left before halftime.
Sweet Home got the ball back after a big sack on 3rd down by Jesse Comstock that forced the Panthers to punt again. But with :55 left in the first half, the Huskies watched their 14-6 lead disappear on a 58-yard interception returned for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was good and the game was tied at 14-14.
Central tried an onside kick of their own but the Huskies recovered at the 50-yard line. The Huskies weren’t ready for halftime but the clock ran out after a 17-yard completion to Mitch Keenon around the 10-yard line.
The third quarter did not go Sweet Home’s way. Central scored on tits opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Omlid to Philips at 9:14, giving the Panthers a 21-14 lead. The Huskies started to move the ball with a 19-yard run by Patrick Long and a 14-yard run by Martin, only to turn the ball over on a fumble by Long at the Central 36-yard line.
The Panthers drove the ball back down the field and Omlid connected with Philips on a 9-yard touchdown pass for the third time on the evening. With 1:14 left in the third quarter, Central extended its lead to 28-14.
Sweet Home returned the kick-off to its own 42-yard line to give itself good field position, something it had most of the evening, thanks to great special teams play.
The Huskies were driving. Faced with a 4th and 1 at the Central 23-yard line, Martin got a crucial first down on the quarterback keeper and Kyle Sorenson busted off a 21-yard touchdown run the very next play, closing the gap to 28-21 with 8:13 remaining in the game.
Central was faced with a 4th and 1 at its 40-yard line and converted to keep the drive alive. The Panthers finished with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Omlid to Anthony Padilla at the 3:10 mark and give them a comfortable 35-21 lead.
Sweet Home returned the kick-off to the 45-yard line and a Central facemask penalty added on 15-yards to give them the ball at the Central 40-yard line. The Huskies wasted no time scoring. Martin hit a wide-open Coakley for a 40-yard touchdown pass with 2:50 left to play. The extra point was no good, but the Huskies now trailed the heavily favored Panthers just 35-27.
The Huskies appeared to recover the ensuing onside kick, but the Panthers came up with the ball. Central got two first downs and closed out the game with a 35-27 victory.
“I think that Central definitely overlooked us,” Jackson said. “We wanted to prove people wrong and I think we definitely did that in a way. Compared to the beginning of the season, I think that we made a great improvement. Over all of our hardships we learned discipline and finally put a whole game of football together.”
The Huskies started the season 0-3 before finishing 3-7.
Most impressive was their two-point loss to Cottage Grove three weeks ago and the final near-win versus Central. They played tough against two of the best teams in the state, two teams that are still playing football this week.
“They definitely didn’t think we were going to give them such a fight but we did,” said Grason Reynolds. “The football team has grown so much. We are ten times better (as a) football team than we were at the beginning of the season.”
The Huskies are losing a lot of seniors but are returning an immense amount of talent. The underclassmen coming back received a lot of playing time and several young men contributed in big ways.
“Next year I think we will be more comfortable playing (football),” said Comstock.
“We are losing guys that were big parts on our team but we have guys that are willing to step it up and play hard. We will be a good team; we just need to practice and play to win – not play not to lose.”
According to Nichol, some players to watch for next season are Comstock, Jerohn Coleman, Keenon, Josh Wooley, Nate Melcher, Scottie Stockman and Taylor Conn.
“We’re gonna be a young team, returning only eight seniors for next year,” he said. “We’re going to be a junior-driven varsity but our JV teams were 13-1 (this year) and I want to take league next year. That’s not out of reach and I think we’ve improved the most out of all the teams in our league.”
Summary
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
SH 0 14 0 13 27
Central 6 8 14 7 35
Team Statistics
Rushing: SH 41-207; Central 34-180
Passing: SH 4-8-1, 75; Central 12-19-1, 184
First Downs: SH 13; Central 16
Penalties: SH 2-15; Central 3-35
Turnovers: SH 2; Central-1
Sweet Home Team Statistics
Total Offense: 282 yards Rushing: 207 yards
Passing: 75 yards
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Keenan Martin 10-36; Patrick Long 11-45; Kyle Sorenson 14-59; Hunter Bidwell 3-28; Zach Jackson 2-19.
Passing: Martin 4-8-75-1
Receiving: Alex Coakley 1-40; Mitch Keenon 1-17; Bryce Seiber 1-13; Zach Jackson 1-5.
Interception: Zach Jackson 1