Ken Roberts
For The New Era
It was just one of those nights for the Husky football team when they traveled to Seaside last Friday.
In fact, it was just as if Sweet Home was the sitting target for a bunch of circling Seagulls. And once they scored, things pretty much stunk from that point on.
Seaside unleashed a 32-0 trouncing on the Huskies in a game leading into next week’s league opener for Sweet Home.
Coach Rob Younger knew it was going to be a tough game going up against the Seagulls with their speed at the skill positions and size up front.
“Their strengths highlighted our weaknesses,” explained Younger.
Seaside took control with itsopening drive, the big play a 43-yard pass from Ed Kauffunger to running back Will Beatty. The Seagulls scored on another pass, this time to Dennis Olstedt from seven yards out.
Those three players would combine for 330 of Seaside’s 399 yards of offense.
Even with the speed and size of the Seaside team, Younger felt his defense played softly, something they had not done in the last three games.
“We continually had team execution breakdowns,” said Younger. “Our defense takes 11 people executing on every play. We didn’t have that on Friday.”
Sweet Home came right back though, starting with Cody Sells’ 65 yard kickoff return to the Seaside 23.
Kyle Pettit opened with a 12-yard pass to tight end Josh Riggs. On third and one at the two-yard line, following a Nick Pitts eight-yard run, Seaside held the Huskies after a rush for no gain and a dropped pass.
That would be a portent of things to come for Sweet Home, who entered the red zone six times without scoring.
Still the Huskies created another opportunity for themselves deep into Seaside territory when Chaz Davis intercepted a pass and returned it to the 32-yard line on the very next Seagull series. Once again, Sweet Home used two pass plays to enter the red zone only to fumble the ball away.
Then came the second quarter. The Huskies wished they never had to punt. Partially they got their wish, but not in the form they wanted. Marcus Delong’s first punt was blocked and recovered at the Husky five-yard line. Two plays later, Beatty scored from the three yard line.
Once again the Huskies responded with another solid drive with Skyler Bascom’s running and Pettit’s running and passing. Once in the red zone at the 19, the Huskies relinquished the ball on their second fumble.
Seaside put together a superb drive on the ground until they reached the Husky 34. Kauffunger then completed his second touchdown pass to Olstedt to push the lead to 19-0.
Pettit tried to lead the Huskies again, connecting on a 33 yard catch and run to Steve Bergevin.
Unfortunately, the Huskies found another way to self-destruct, this time a holding penalty that stopped their momentum. Forced to punt again, this time the snap went over Delong’s head and Seaside took over on the one-yard line. With the second Beatty touchdown, the Huskies went to halftime trailing 25-0.
On all three of their possessions in the second half, Sweet Home once again moved the ball into the red zone. But each time they did, Seaside’s defense stiffened and applied pressure to Pettit with two timely sacks.
On Seaside’s first series of the second half, the Seagulls used two big plays and a pass interference penalty on the way to their final touchdown, a 35 yard run by Beatty.
The Huskies had one last shot in the fourth quarter following an interception by Ridge McKinney. Using a rushing attack that had previously sputtered, Sweet Home moved the ball to the Seagull seven-yard line.
After Bascom rushed for five yards, Seaside made its last stand, stopping two runs and finishing off with an interception that Pettit threw as he was being tackled.
“I was just trying to make something happen,” said the senior quarterback, who rushed for 50 yards and completed 10 of 20 passes for 132 yards.
But it was just a night when nothing good was going to happen.
“They beat us fundamentally,” said Bascom, who said he thought this game would serve as a wake-up call as the Huskies prepare to enter league play. “It’s good to have this game now. If we had lost a league game like this, it would be pretty detrimental.”
Bascom, along with the other Husky fullback Pitts, amassed 95 yards of rushing in just 11 carries. Riggs and Adam Hummer each had three pass receptions.
For Seaside, Beatty rushed for 122 yards in 17 carries. Kauffunger, whose five completed passes were good for either touchdowns or first downs, racked up 127 yards passing, including four passes over 20 yards. Olstedt was their leading receiver with four.
After appearing to turn the corner somewhat with the previous week’s win over Tillamook, Younger thought the Huskies had taken a couple of steps backward with the Seaside game.
“Sometimes you have to take a couple of steps backward to take three steps forward,” stated Younger.
“I like the competitive attitude of our team, so we are going to build on that.”
The Huskies return to the coast Friday for their first league game against Newport, who had shut out Seaside 13-0 the week earlier. After a slow start against two top rated teams, Newport has battled back to beat two undefeated teams, last week against Yamhill-Carlton. At the beginning of the year, Newport was considered the league favorite based on the number of returning players they have.
Younger knows that it will be a tough challenge, one in which the Huskies will have to rise to the occasion.
Bascom and fellow senior team leader Nathan Whitfield talked about their approach after the Seaside game, thinking that it might be time for less talking.
“We are not going to say anything (to the team),” said Bascom. “We are going to lead by example.”
The game will be on the same Oregon coast line, hopefully without a seagull in sight.
Game Statistics
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
SHHS 0 0 0 0 0
Seaside 7 18 7 0 32
1st Quarter
Sea—Kauffunger to Olstedt 7 yard pass (Krieger kick)
2nd Quarter
Sea—Beatty 3 yd. run (kick failed)
Sea—Kauffunger to Olstedt 34 yard pass (run failed)
Sea—Beatty 1 yd. run (pass failed)
3rd Quarter
Sea—Beatty 35 yd. run (Krieger kick)
Team Stats
Rushing: SHHS 34-168; Seaside 39-272
Passing: SHHS 132; Seaside 127
Sacks: SHHS 0; Seaside 3-56
Total: SHHS 244, Seaside 399
1st Downs: SHHS 14; Seaside 17
Turnovers: SHHS 4; Seasidek 2
Penalties: SHHS 6-78.5; Seaside 5-35
Individual Stats
Rushing: SHHS: Bascom 6-51; Pettit 8-50;
Pitts 5-44; Horner 7-18; Sells 7-3; Pearson 1-2
Seaside: Beatty 17-122; Olstedt 10-73
Passing: SHHS: Pettit 10-20-1, 132;
Seaside: Kauffunger 5-10-2, 127
Receiving: SHHS: Riggs 3-41; Hummer3-30;
Bergevin 1-33; McKinney 1-19; Bascom 1—5; Sells 1-4;
Seaside: Olstedt 4-84; Beatty 1-43
Punts: SHHS: None
Seaside: Kauffunger (1-43, 43 net)
Punt Returns: SHHS: None
Seaside: None
Kick Returns: SHHS: Sells 4-105; Davis 1-14
Seaside: 1-19
Interceptions: SHHS:2 (Davis, McKinney); Seaside 1
Fumble Recoveries: SHHS None; Seaside 2
Blocked Kicks: SHHS None; Seaside 1