Jackson Baer
The Sweet Home Huskies tamed the Taft Tigers in front of a big, energized Homecoming crowd Friday night at Taft.
Behind 160 yards and three touchdowns from junior running back Wade Paulus, Sweet Home mounted an offensive attack the Tigers could not stop and handed the hosts their first loss of the season, 50-21.
Sophomore quarterback Cole Horner completed five of 15 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown to add to the Huskies’ attack.
“Our offense had our way with them,” said Dustin Nichol. “We worked on fumbles, quarterback to center exchanges, and special teams in practice and we did a better job this week.”
The game got off to a bit of a slow start with the Huskies deflecting the Tigers’ first punt to get the ball at the 50-yard line. Sweet Home marched the ball down to the six-yard line but was unable to score and turned the ball over on downs.
After back-and-forth possessions for most of the first quarter, Sweet Home scored on a 40-yard touchdown run by Paulus with 1:06 remaining. The extra point attempt was no good and Sweet Home took an early 6-0 lead.
Taft drove down the field to begin the second quarter, but an interception by Sweet Home senior Hunter Bidwell gave the Huskies the ball back at their own two-yard line.
“I felt great after the interception,” said Bidwell. “It was a game-changing play.”
After an exchange of fumbles, Sweet Home’s defense pinned the Tigers inside their own five-yard line and returned the ensuing punt to the Taft 33-yard line. On the first play, Paulus broke loose for a 33-yard touchdown run, his second of the half. The two-point attempt failed and Sweet Home held a 12-0 lead with 3:40 left on the clock, taking that lead into the locker room.
The second half provided plenty of fireworks.
Bidwell returned the opening kickoff to the Taft 44-yard line and set up an eventual seven-yard touchdown run by Paulus. The two-point try was good on a Colton Holly pass to Mitch Keenon, giving Sweet Home a 20-0 lead.
“We were a little more motivated this week,” said junior Nate Melcher, referring to the Huskies’ loss the previous week at Central. “We got things fixed and mistakes corrected.”
Taft went for it on fourth and one at its own 27-yard line but was stopped by a huge tackle from sophomore Austin Horner to give the Huskies great field position.
“We played upbeat and worked on our tackling,” said Horner. “We did a much better job this week than we did last week at Central.”
Two plays later, Bidwell broke free for a 25-yard touchdown run and then kicked the Huskies’ first successful extra point attempt of the season.
“Kicking extra points was fun,” said Bidwell. “I have been practicing for a while and finally got to kick them. I loved it.”
Sweet Home held a commanding 27-0 lead and Taft had lost its starting quarterback. Sophomore Seth Steere came in and played well in the second half to give the Tigers something positive from the game.
Steere connected with junior Keanu Eastman for a 20-yard touchdown pass on fourth and 15 to close the gap to 27-7 with 5:31 left in the third quarter. Sweet Home started the next drive with a 29-yard pass from Cole Horner to junior Mitch Keenon on the first play.
The Huskies’ passing game, ineffective in the first half, started to gain traction as the game progressed. Senior Scottie Stockman caught a 20-yard pass and a touchdown pass to Keenon was called back on a holding penalty. On the next play, sophomore Spencer Knight broke free for a 11-yard touchdown run. The PAT was good and Sweet Home stretched its lead to 34-7.
“Coming off the loss to Central we had to come out and bring it to them,” said Keenon. “The team played much better this week than we did last week. We showed how we can really play.”
Taft scored one more time in the third quarter on a 85-yard touchdown pass from Steere to junior Seth Ferndt. The Huskies headed into the fourth quarter with a 34-14 lead.
Sweet Home continued to develop the passing game as Horner completed a 35-yard pass to Keenon and followed with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Holly with 11:12 left in the game. The Huskies’ lead was 41-14 and junior Quin Wise was about to get into the action.
Wise came up with a 15-yard sack on the quarterback, who was being chased by David Skeen. Two plays later, Wise sacked the quarterback again, this time in the end zone for a safety.
“It was a lot of relief when I got him down,” said Wise, a junior. “Our underclassmen really pushed the upperclassmen in practice. I think that’s what helped us play better this week.”
Knight returned the kick to the Taft 36-yard line and sophomore Christian Voldbaek got a chance to lead the offense. Voldbaek led a seven-minute drive that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by senior Ty Collins, his first of the season. After entering the game 0-1 in PAT’S, the Huskies made four straight to end the game.
Taft scored one more touchdown as the game wound down and made the final score 50-21, a big win for the visiting Huskies.
“We got down to tough things in practice,” said Stockman. “We were pumped up and knew they were going to be as well. Our linemen and quarterback played a great game.”
Sweet Home improves to 3-1 on the season, matching their win total from last year. Taft falls to 2-1 with the loss.
The Huskies will travel to Elmira Friday, Sept. 30, at 7:30 p.m.
Elmira, 3-1, defeated Stayton last week 40-0 and has scored an average of 41 points per game.
“They’re big, physical, and experienced,” said Nichol. “They run and throw the ball well. We have to work on our pass defense. We want good ball control, eight- to 12-play drives.”
Game Summary
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
SH 6 6 22 16 50
Taft 0 0 14 7 21
Team Statistics
Rushing: SH 39-249; Taft 27-6
Passing: SH 6-16-119;
Taft 14-21-294
Total Yards: SH 368 Taft 300
First Downs: SH 14; Taft 7
Penalties: SH 7-75; Taft 11-100
Turnovers: SH 2; Taft 3
SH Offensive Statistics
Individual Rushing:
Wade Paulus- 18-160; 3 TD
Hunter Bidwell- 9-51; 1 TD
Spencer Knight- 3-13; 1 TD
Ty Harvey- 5-13
Ty Collins- 3-10; 1 TD
Christian Voldbaek- 1-7
Individual Passing:
Cole Horner- 5-15-114; 1 TD
Christian Voldbaek- 1-1-5
Individual Receiving:
Mitch Keenon- 2-70
Scottie Stockman- 1-20
Colton Holly- 1-10; 1 TD
Lorenzo Virgen- 1-5
Jacob Smith- 1-14
Interception:
Hunter Bidwell