Ken Roberts
Of The New Era
After a week of intense practice, Sweet Home had a strong will and desire in its Homecoming game to defeat the Stayton Eagles for the right to play at home in the first round of the state playoffs.
The way, however, wasn?t quite as obvious on a field of mud.
?With field conditions like that, you know it is going to be low-scoring,? said coach Rob Younger. ?We were just waiting for the big play or the field position where we could take advantage.?
At your own two yard line wasn?t exactly the field position that Younger wanted. Trailing by a point with just under six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Huskies faced a critical third down situation, just trying to figure a way out from the shadows of their own goal posts.
Then the way suddenly became clear as quarterback Kyle Pettit tossed a quick slant pass to Cody Shipp, who broke between two defenders and raced into the end zone for a 94-yard touchdown. Pettit then completed the two- point conversion on a pass to Ryan Elliott to take the 14-7 lead, which held up for the rest of the game.
?I was just worried about getting two first downs,? said Pettit. ?And then that big play happens.?
Shipp wasn?t quite sure what happened to the two defenders.
?I think the two defenders hit me on both sides of my shoulder pads,? he explained. ?It was going so fast, I couldn?t tell. I was scared because of the mud and I was saying ?don?t slip.??
For most of the night, the defenses took turns locking down the offenses. If it wasn?t the defenses, then penalties put each team in long distance situations which they often couldn?t convert.
In the first quarter, neither team moved the ball. In a game that would be determined by a big play, Sweet Home got the first opportunity to capitalize when Stayton?s quarterback, Orrin Coates, fumbled and defensive tackle Phil DeLong recovered it at the Eagle 33. On fourth and one, the Huskies first were called for an illegal procedure penalty, one of four for the game, and then failed to get a play off on a fumbled snap exchange.
After that Stayton went on an extended drive until penalties and a big stand by the Huskies inside the 20-yard line foiled the Eagles? effort, which ended at the Husky 10-yard line.
A quick 13-yard run by Skyler Bascom put Sweet Home in what they thought would be a safer spot. But the Huskies again had trouble with a snap exchanged that was fumbled and eventually recovered by the Eagles at the Husky 10-yard line.
Jaegan Stoyle ran the ball into the end zone on the first play for what would be Stayton?s only score of the night. Tony Munoz kicked the extra point, which looked like a difference maker for most of the game.
Sweet Home, however, came right back with its only long drive during the game, as they kept converting big third- and fourth-down plays. On third and five, Pettit passed to Elliott for 15 yards. On third and four, Elliott ran for 18 yards. On fourth and four, Pettit completed a five-yard pass to Shipp. Then Shorty Weikel trotted in for a three-yard touchdown just before halftime, a score that Younger felt was a momentum changer.
Isaac Villarreal?s extra point was blocked, but Stayton was called for roughing the kicker. This time the Huskies went for two points but came away empty, trailing by one at halftime 7-6.
Defensive coaches made the right prediction at halftime.
?Younger told us we needed just one touchdown because we would hold them defensively,? said Shipp.
In the second half, the Husky defense saved the day. While the offense would never produce a first down in the half, the determination of the defense was stout. After a Husky pass was intercepted late in the third quarter, Stayton was poised at the Sweet Home 17 to add on to its lead.
Five plays later, the Eagles were at the one-yard line. First, a penalty cost Stayton five yards, but the Indians came right back with a four-yard gain. But that would be the end. After a one-yard gain, Coates fumbled on fourth down and the Huskies regained possession.
One bullet dodged. One more to go. After a Sweet Home punt, the Eagles took another shot at the Husky defense. But the Huskies stiffened with the help of another Eagle penalty, and Stayton was forced to punt again, which, with the help of an illegal fair catch call by Shipp, backed the Huskies up to their two yard line.
That is when Shipp made up for any mistake he?d made with his 94-yard gallop. Both he and Pettit were not done for the evening. Each took turns intercepting passes on the Eagles? last-gasp attempts, first Shipp at the Husky 35 and then Pettit at Sweet Home?s 38-yard line.
The Huskies, with only six first downs, had trouble mounting a running attack. Only Elliott broke any long runs, but most of his 72 yards in 20 carries came the hard way. After running for over 300 yards last week, the Huskies barely broke the 100-yard mark this week. Most of Stayton?s 162 yards on the ground occurred in the middle of the field and then were nullified by seven offensive penalties.
Stayton?s passing game was completely shut down as was the Huskies?, with the 94-yard catch making up the bulk of the 127 yards through the air.
Younger was pleased that his defense shut down Stayton?s best play, their fly sweep, and applied pressure to Coates, their best player, when he wanted to throw.
?It was a great team effort,? said Younger. ?That?s how we developed as the season progressed.?
Middle linebacker Skyler Bascom, who led the Huskies with 15 tackles, felt the intensity of practice paid off.
?We were all jacked up about the game,? said Bascom. ?In last week?s practice defensively, we were just getting after it. It was one of our better practice weeks all year long.
The Huskies will be out to replicate that kind of intensity in next week?s practice as they earned the right to host a state playoff game against Hidden Valley out of Grants Pass, the third-place team out of the Skyline Conference. Game time will be at the normal time, 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
SHHS 0 6 0 8 14
Stayton 0 7 0 0 7
1st Quarter
None
2nd Quarter
Stay?Stoyles 10 yd. run (Munoz kick)
SHHS?Weikel 3 yd. run (run failed)
3rd Quarter
None
4th Quarter
SHHS?Pettit to Shipp 94 yd. pass (Pettit pass to Elliott)
Team Stats
Rushing: SHHS 34-110; Stayton 41-162
Passing: SHHS 127; Stayton 46
Sacks: None
Total: SHHS 237, Stayton 208
1st Downs: SHHS 6; Stayton 10
Turnovers: SHHS 2; Stayton 3
Penalties: SHHS 9-60; Stayton 12-81.5
Individual Stats
Rushing: SHHS: Elliott 20-72; Bascom 2-16;
Weikel 6-10; Pettit 4-6; Shipp 1-4; Tagle 1-2
Stayton: Coates 10-41; Callison 8-37
Passing: SHHS: Pettit 5-10-1, 127
Stayton: Coates 3-11-2, 46
Receiving: SHHS: Shipp 2-99; Elliott 1-15;
Faulconer 1-12; Tagle 1-1
Stayton: Dayton 2-33
Punts: SHHS: Bascom 6-207 (34.5, 32.5 net)
Stayton: Dark 4-130 ( 32.5, 32.5 net)
Punt Returns: SHHS: None
Stayton: 2-12
Kick Returns: SHHS: Tagle 1-14; Shipp 1-4
Stayton: 3-34
Kickoff Average Yard Line:
SHHS: 25; Stayton 35.3
Interceptions: SHHS 2 (Pettit, Shipp);
Stayton 1
Fumble Recoveries: SHHS 1 (DeLong)
Stayton 1
Tackles: SHHS: Bascom 15, Tagle 7, Aubert 7