Jackson Baer
For The New Era
The Huskies came up short in a hard-fought game against a tough, senior-dominated Elmira team Friday in the Sky-Em season opener for both teams.
After Sweet Home took a small lead into halftime, Elmira battled back in the second half and outscored the Huskies 39-22 in a game that was closer than the final score indicated.
“They are a good football team,” said Dustin Nichol. “We changed it up on them and kind of caught them off guard in the beginning.”
The Huskies came out strong as sophomore Spencer Knight returned the opening kick-off to mid-field. After trading three-and-outs, Sweet Home struck first with a two-yard touchdown run by junior Wade Paulus. Lining up with a kind of University of Oregon look, the Huskies scored a two-point conversion as senior Hunter Bidwell ran the ball into the end zone.
Elmira returned the following kick-off into Sweet Home territory and responded with a 10-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Anders Westlund. The Huskies lead was cut to 8-7 with 1:08 to play in the first quarter.
Bidwell returned the kick-off to the Falcon 27-yard line and gave the Huskies more good field position. Sophomore Cole Horner connected with senior Scottie Stockman for a 17-yard completion on fourth and 14. Paulus ran the next play in for a 11-yard touchdown run at the 11:39 mark in the second quarter. Junior Colton Holly hit Horner with a pass for a 2-point conversion and stretched the Husky lead to 16-7.
Elmira responded with a 11-yard touchdown run by senior Matthew Thilberg just 32 seconds later and the score was 16-14, in favor of the Huskies.
Sweet Home answered with a 80-yard strike from Horner to junior Mitch Keenon. The 2-point conversion failed, but Sweet Home led 22-14.
The Huskies stopped the Falcons and were driving the ball when a fumble just past mid-field shifted the momentum back to the home team. It would be the only turnover of the night for either team and proved to be costly.
Two plays later, senior Brian Jones rushed in for a 17-yard touchdown and closed the gap to 22-20. The Huskies headed into halftime with the small lead and the second half would be a different story.
“They came out and were better than us in the second half,” said Bidwell. “They stuffed us and really controlled the line.”
Sweet Home moved the ball into Elmira territory but was unable to score. Elmira broke loose for a 82-yard touchdown run from Thilberg with 5:45 left in the third quarter. The Falcons had their first lead of the night at 27-22.
Sweet Home responded with a drive of its own but failed to convert on a fourth and one at Elmira’s 40-yard line. The score remained 27-22 at the close of the third quarter.
“We were strong in the beginning,” said junior Colton Schilling. “We fell apart in the fourth and that score broke us. It just wasn’t our game.”
The score he referred to was a 18-yard touchdown run by Westlund with 5:20 left to play. The Falcons held a 33-22 lead and it was a demoralizing score.
“They did a good job defensively,” said Cole Horner. “We had some plays but we’ve got to work more on offense and finishing the game.”
Elmira rushed in for a 10-yard touchdown run as time expired to embellish the score a bit and make the final score 39-22. The win improves Elmira to 4-1, with its only loss coming to the undefeated Siuslaw. The loss drops Sweet Home to 3-2, but looking much improved from last season.
“We didn’t follow through and finish,” said senior Alex Armstrong. “We have to stay focused and come out more stoked in the second half.”
The Huskies drastically cut down on mistakes as turnovers have been an issue in the early season, but it wasn’t quite enough.
“We fumbled once and it came down to who made the most mistakes,” Nichol said. “They’re an experienced team and we’ve got a lot of young guys. We came out and set the tone but our mistakes caught up with us.”
Sweet Home will seek its first conference win as it finishes up a three-game road trip at LaPine Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. The Hawks are 0-5 on the season.
Game Summary
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
SH 8 14 0 0 22
Elmira 7 13 7 12 39
Team Statistics
Rushing: SH 38-136; Elmira 39-353
Passing: SH 4-13-107; Elmira 10-15-76
First Downs: SH 8; Elmira 12
Penalties: SH 2-20; Elmira 3-30
Turnovers: SH 1; Elmira 0
SH Total Yards: 243
Elmira Total Yards: 429
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Wade Paulus- 26-82; 2 TD
Hunter Bidwell- 10-52; Spencer Knight- 1-0; Jacob Smith- 1-2
Passing: Cole Horner- 4-13-107; 1 TD
Receiving: Mitch Keenon- 2-90;
Scottie Stockman- 1-17; Jacob Smith- 1-0