Sweet Home put a stranglehold on Yamhill-Carlton’s offense in the first half from which the Tigers never recovered Friday night as the Huskies improved their season record to 4-0 with the 35-7 thumping of the Tigers.
It had a taste of football from past years as Sweet Home carved out 315 yards on the ground, thanks to a continually improving offensive line. Couple that with defensive line play that which helped to hold Y-C without a first down during the first half and you have one pleased coach.
“You establish things with defense,” said coach Rob Younger. “We played well up front with good overall team defense to stop the run. Any time you can hold a team without any first downs, you know you’re controlling the line of scrimmage.”
That was true offensively as well for the Huskies as four backs accumulated 68 or more yards in their ground game.
Transplanted running back Patrick Long, now a guard, knows the value of the linemen and what a running back needs from his linemen.
“I know how much it can affect the game if the linemen don’t get their job done,” explained Long. “It feels good when your backs are successful and you’re a big key in the game.”
For Sweet Home, it has been a case of starting slowly and then both offensively and defensively mounting a blitz that puts their opponents’ backs against the wall. After two ineffective series, the Huskies’ offense kicked into gear with a Brent Moyer 42 yard run. Tyler Holly then connected with Tim McDowell on a 20-yard pass play to open up the scoring splurge at just over the three-minute mark in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Y-C return man let a kickoff that appeared to be heading out of bounds die at the one-yard line, where Steven Bidwell recovered it. Moyer made the Tigers pay for that mistake with a one-yard scoring run.
Husky special teams struck again when Brock Cota blocked and recovered a Y-C punt on the Tigers’ 35-yard line. Another Holly to McDowell passing play ate up 21 of the yards with Brock Cota sealing the deal with a nine-yard touchdown run before the end of the first quarter.
While the defense continued to hold the Tigers at bay, the running game ground out one more touchdown in the second quarter, twice converting on fourth-down plays. Moyer capped the drive with a seven-yard scamper.
Sweet Home continued to demoralize the Y-C offense, even after the visitors got their initial first down in the third quarter to start a decent comeback attempt. But the Huskies stopped that momentum after defending three passing plays. Keenan Martin put the finishing touches on the Tiger hopes with a 65-yard option run and Alex Santana converted his fifth extra point.
Y-C escaped the shutout on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 21-yard pass play from Jake McGraw to 115-pound Shawn Kirby. From there, the Huskies simply put the ball into the capable hands of Moyer, Cota, and Kyle Sorenson to take time off the clock.
“Athleticism and speed makes big plays,” stated Younger, who watched his Huskies block two punts during the game. “We’re also turning out to be a physical football team, which, combined with the athleticism and speed, makes things happen on offense, defense, and special teams.”
Thirteen times the Huskies put the Tigers into third and long situations. Sweet Home’s physical nature on defense may be exemplified by the growth of inside linebacker, Zach Jackson.
“I watch game film and critique myself,” said Jackson, whose improvement has shown in his increased production in tackles. “I had to get more aggressive.”
That seems to be the theme of the whole defensive team. And the offense is becoming more physical as well. The Huskies totaled 409 yards of offense compared to Y-C’s 150 yards.
Now Sweet Home must go on the road for the first time, a long trip to North Bend, who has played all four of their games on the road. Their 1-3 record may be deceiving as the Bulldogs have lost to two 5-A schools and were barely nipped 16-13 by Newport before defeating Phoenix last week 33-18.
“We have to keep our minds on football,” Jackson said. “It will be good for us to play a good team like this before we have to play any league games on the road.”
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Sweet Home 21 7 7 0 35
Yamhill-Carlton 0 0 0 7 7
1st Quarter
SH: Tim McDowell 20 yd. pass from Tyler Holly (Alex Santana kick)
2nd Quarter
SH: Brent Moyer 1 yd. run (Santana kick)
SH: Brock Cota 9 yd. run (Santana kick)
SH: Moyer 7 yd. run (Santana kick)
3rd Quarter
SH: Keenan Martin 65 yd. run (Santana kick)
4th Quarter
Y-C: Shawn Kirby 21 yd. pass from Jake McGraw (Kirby kick)
Team Stats
Rushing: Sweet Home 43-315; Y-C 22-39
Passing: Sweet Home 5-13-2, 95; Y-C 12-29-1, 118
Sacked: SH 1-1; Y-C 1-7
Total Offense: Sweet Home 409; Y-C 150
First Downs: Sweet Home 14; Y-C 9
Tackles for Losses: Sweet Home 6; Y-C 5
3rd/4th Down Conversions: Sweet Home 5-13; Y-C 6-16
Penalties: SH 4-49; Y-C 2-15
Turnovers: SH 3; Y-C 2
Individual Stats
Rushing: SH: Moyer 13-83; Sorenson 11-73; Cota 10-70; Martin 3-68; Holly 1-11; Bidwell 2-6; Coakley 1-3; McDowell 1-2; Potter 1-(-1)
Y-C: Perry 9-35
Passing: SH: Martin 2-7-2, 49; Holly 3-6, 46
Y-C: McGraw 12-29-1, 118
Receiving: SH: Potter 2-43; McDowell 2-41; Coakley 1-11
Y-C: Herb 3-41; Kirby 3-37
Kickoffs: SH: Santana 6-286, 30.5 net; Avg start line: 29.5
Y-C: McGraw 2-91; 25.5 net; Avg start line: 34.5
Kick Returns: SH: Santana 2-40; Y-C 5-103
Punts: SH: None; Y-C: 7-117; 16.7 net
Punt Returns: SH: None; Y-C: None
Interceptions: SH: 1 (Tagle); Y-C 2
Fumble Recoveries: SH: 1 (Potter); Y-C 1
Sacks: SH 1 (Cota); Y-C: 1
Blocked Kicks: SH 2 (Cota, P.Long)
Tackles: SH: Cota 10, McDowell 6, Jackson 5
* * * * *
The frosh/soph football team beat Yamhill-Carlton 39-0 to raise its season record to 2-1.
Offensive touchdowns were scored by Colton Schilling on a 10-yard pass from Colton Holly, Mitch Keenon on a 35-yard pass from Holly, and another from Holly himself, who ran in from 25 yards out on a quarterback option. Wade Paulus scored on a 30-yard run and also scored one two-point conversion and one one-point PAT.
The defense did “awesome,” Coach Dustin Nichol said.
One the third play of the game Alex Armstrong stripped the ball from a Y-C running back and ran in for a 30-yard score. Jake Smith intercepted a pass for a 94-yard TD as well.
“Our kids did an excellent job controlling the ball on offense,” Nichol said. “The defense stepped up and played aggressive and controlled Y-C’s offense with a ‘bend but don’t break’ attitude.”
The team will play its first home game Thursday, Oct. 1, at 5 p.m. against North Bend.