It’s been a long time since Sweet Home has been 4-0 and ranked in the OSAA top 10, but a 34-13 victory on the road gave the Huskies a chance to prove they are for real.
Of course, there’s another big test looming Friday: Marist.
But first things first.
In North Bend, Sweet Home’s players showed they were there to do business, surviving a double pass from the hosts in the opening play of the game, then getting busy right away on their first possession.
The Huskies launched a six-play drive that included three pass completions, the final one a screen pass from quarterback Kyle Zajic to Dillan Davis that Davis took 52 yards to the end zone for the Huskies’ first score. Keeghan Gittins’ extra point kick made it 7-0.
North Bend responded by steamrolling down the field with a 30-yard, four-play drive on the ground to the 22, where quarterback Conner Johnson hit Joshua Sullivan with a scoring pass to even the score. The Bulldogs then delivered an onside kick, which Sweet Home recovered at its 45.
“I was just really proud of how our guys approached the game, how they approached the week, and then how they took care of business for four quarters,” Head Coach Ryan Adams said. “We knew that North Bend was gonna be the best team that we’d played all year, which was true come Friday night. And so we just talked all week about challenging ourselves to to prepare, practice and play at a different level than than we had all year.”
The Huskies then embarked on a seven-play drive that ended with Sam Barringer weaving his way into the end zone on a sweep for Sweet Home’s second score of the quarter. A two-point attempt went awry when Barringer was unable to corral a high screen pass, which fell incomplete, leaving the Huskies with a 13-7 lead.
Zajic, on defense this time, stopped a long drive by the hosts when he intercepted a pass midway through the second quarter, giving the Huskies the ball on their 35 yard line.
Sweet Home closed out the second quarter by marching 57 yards to the North Bend 8, where Barringer ran it in for their third touchdown of the game. Gittins’ extra point was good and Sweet Home entered the locker room with a 20-7 lead.
In the third quarter the Huskies scored their final two touchdowns, the first when Davis scampered 42 yards and Gittins connected to put them up 27-7, and the final coming after an interception by Davis, who returned the ball to Sweet Home’s 35. Five plays later, Zajic ran it in on a quarterback keeper from the 3 yard line.
Sweet Home turned the ball over on downs late in the game as they burned out the clock and North Bend took over on the Huskies’ 27, scoring five plays later as Drakkar Funk plunged in from the 3 yard line with about a minute left in the game.
Zajic finished with 125 yards passing on seven of 13 passes, with no interceptions.
Johnson was 10 of 18 for 100 yards, with two picks.
The Huskies finished with 229 yards on the ground on 33 rushes.
They held the Bulldogs to 189 yards on 42 carries.
Adams credited the lines – both offensive and defensive – with controlling the game.
“Our offensive line played phenomenal, especially in that second half,” he said. “You could really tell that our offense was going to do what our offense wanted to do because of our offensive line play.
“I’m super proud of those guys, Lynkin Royer, Gabe Meadors, the two seniors on that offensive line just really leading that group extremely well.
“Eli Cruz stepped in for us as a starting center for the first time in his life, I’m pretty sure, for the full game. And I don’t think we had one bad snap. I think it was a phenomenal job by that young man.”
Also, he said, the Huskies benefited from “a ton of playmakers.”
“Dylan Davis had a great game. Kyle threw the ball, played the quarterback spot really well for us. Bodie (Nichols) made quite a few big plays. Sam Barringer, Kaeson Walker as well.”
He noted that the defensive secondary – “Bradyn McClure, Riley Vaughn and Bridger Royer, those guys were solid with their jobs, doing their job every single play.”
He said the team is maturing and learning how to win.
I was really proud of our guys and how they handled that long road trip, their mindset in the locker room before the game, how they approached the entire warm up session and everything like that. And so just really proud of those guys for taking the initiative and the ownership to do that. And then, you know, you saw the results of that.
“I thought it was a really, really good step in the right direction for us.”
He said coaching consistency, athletic talent and learning how to be a winning program are all pieces that are contributing to Sweet Home’s growth.
“These kids in our program right now, they don’t know the history slash tradition of Husky football,” Adams said. “They have no idea about the kind of kids who were playing right before those years before COVID, when we were winning league titles and we were having consistent winning seasons, making the playoffs. They just don’t have any experience with that.
“And so we have lost our tradition of winning. And the last two or three years, we’ve just been really focused on bringing that back.”
Up next is Marist at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, which is the Huskies’ Homecoming game and the league opener for both teams.
Marist comes in with its first win of the season, a 35-7 victory over Seaside in the Spartans’ first home game after losses to Churchill (34-7), Tillamook (35-21) and Henley, the latter a rematch of the state championship game last season, which Marist won.
Adams warned that the Spartans’ record is deceptive.
“Make no mistake about it: Until somebody proves otherwise, this league runs through Marist,” he said. “They’re the defending state champions. Their record says one story, but watching that film and knowing who their opponents are tells a completely different story. Churchill, in my mind, is one of the best five, eight teams in the state. Henley, I believe, is a top two team in the state.
“That quarterback from Henley, I think, is one of the best quarterbacks in the entire state, and they were on the road for that Henley game and that Tillamook game – they were on a long road trip there too. And I think Tillamook is a top-five top five team as well.
“And so, I know they’ve got a couple losses, but how we’re approaching it is we’re telling the kids that this is a good football team, and it’s still Marist.”
His players are looking forward to hosting a good team, Adams said.
“We have a complete team this year in a lot of ways that we haven’t before. We are really athletic. We have a lot of speed on the field, and our kids are just really excited to take on this challenge and kind of see where they match up with some of these best teams in the state.”