Sean McLean
For The New Era
What started off looking like a stinkbomb ended up smelling like a rose for the Sweet Home football team on Friday night against Seaside.
With a powerful running attack led by Amos Parmenter and a monster fourth quarter, the Huskies erased a halftime deficit to roll past the visiting Seagulls, 41-18. With the win, they have now won three straight after starting the 2007 campaign 0-2.
“We definitely came out kind of flat, but we definitely picked it up in the second half,” Parmenter said. “We got serious during the break at halftime and we really got back into our own game, and we really did a great job.”
In the beginning, the ball was not bouncing Sweet Home’s way as the Huskies committed three costly turnovers in the first half. The Seagulls responded after Sweet Home’s first turnover, as quarterback Ed Kauffunger found wide receiver Jeremy Carow on a 16-yard pass play for the game’s opening score.
Parmenter got things going for Sweet Home late in the first quarter, sprinting to the outside for 53 yards and then scoring on a three-yard run. After the Husky defense stopped Seaside on its next possession, the running game continued to wear down the Seagull defense. Nick Pitts’ 40-yard scamper to the Seaside 19 set up an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Graville to wide receiver Kevin McGuyre to give the Huskies a 14-6 lead.
“We really wanted to establish the running game,” coach Rob Younger said. “We had some great drives, and Amos’ game tonight was tremendous. Overall, all our running backs had a great performance tonight.”
As strong as Sweet Home’s offense became, it quickly faded as two costly fumbles set up a pair of touchdowns by Seaside. Carow continued to be a factor in Seaside’s solid passing game, catching two scoring passes of 65 and 26 yards to give the Gulls a 18-14 lead at the break as Kauffunger picked apart a shaky Husky pass defense in the second quarter.
“I thought we did everything possible to shoot ourselves in the foot there in the second quarter,” Younger said. “Those turnovers hurt us, but we refocused and I thought we executed very well.”
Getting off to good starts for Sweet Home in both halves has been the team’s focus its past three games, and the second half continued that pattern, except this time Sweet Home’s secondary responded by putting a lid on Seaside’s passing attack.
A long 6 1/2-minute drive led by the running of Parmenter concluded with a three-yard touchdown by the junior transfer. Time of possession was dominated by Sweet Home in the third, as Seaside had the ball a mere 1:55 in the quarter.
Up 21-18 into the final quarter, the Huskies put together one of their finest quarters this season. For Seaside, the turnovers flipped to their side, as the Seagulls fumbled twice and Kauffunger threw an interception to put Sweet Home in good field position the entire quarter. Parmenter scored from five yards out, which would be the first of three short Husky touchdown runs to put the game away. Pitts finished off a strong night, in which he ran for 103 yards, by taking it in on an eight-yard touchdown, giving the Huskies a 34-18 lead. Junior Tino Puentes would round out the scoring for Sweet Home on a one-yard run with four minutes to go.
“Our line started to get a great surge,” Parmenter said. “We started to get some great blocks that really opened up some holes for us.”
On both sides of the football, Parmenter had a career game. He would finish the night with 223 yards rushing, scored three times, led the team in tackles with seven, and had a key fumble recovery in the second half. Overall, Sweet Home as a team finished with 477 yards rushing and held the Seagulls to just 65 on the ground.
Seaside found success through the air, as Kauffunger, a 6-5, 205-pound senior, threw for 193 yards and three touchdowns. Graville was five-of-nine passing for 33 yards and a touchdown for the Huskies.
On the defensive side, the Huskies stepped up a notch and played a scoreless second half. The secondary, which gave up three touchdowns in the first half, turned it around and prevented the Seagulls from moving the football. Junior Caleb Keeney had two fumble recoveries and Brock Cota added a late interception for the Huskies.
“We talked about the defense at halftime and I thought we came out a lot stronger,” Parmenter said. “It was mainly a mental breakdown for us in the first half, but we came out strong in the second.”
Sweet Home opens its Val-Co season Friday at home against Newport, last year’s league champion.
The Cubs are 2-3 after beating Yamhill-Carlton 20-16. Newport defeated Seaside the week before 48-21, which, Younger noted, was a final score very similar to Sweet Home’s. The Cubs got off to a rough start, losing to Junction City (21-6) and North Bend (32-22) at home and Siuslaw on the road (35-27) before turning it around at home against Seaside.
“They’re improving and they run the I a lot,” Younger said. “They’re similar to us in that they’re just getting better and better each week.”
“We’re starting league now and any time you start league with the defending league champion, it’s huge. This is a very, very big ballgame for us. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will probably win.”
The Cubs have lost star wideout and defensive back Lorin Lynch, who scored two Tds against the Huskies in Newport’s 26-7 win last year. Lynch has graduated and has moved on to Western Oregon. But they have running back Levi Bellanger back, who rushed for 134 yards on 20 carries against Yamhill-Carlton.
Game Summary
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Seaside 6 12 0 0 18
Sweet Home 0 14 7 20 41
1st Quarter
Sea: Jeremy Carow 16 yd. pass from Ed Kauffunger (pass failed)
2nd Quarter
SHHS: Amos Parmenter 3 yd. run (Kyle Gutierrez kick)
SHHS: Kevin McGuyre 17 yd. pass from Ryan Graville (Gutierrez kick)
Sea: Carow 65 yd. pass from Kauffunger (pass failed)
Sea: Carow 26 yd. pass from Kauffunger (pass failed)
3rd Quarter
SHHS: Parmenter 2 yd. run (Gutierrez kick)
4th Quarter
SHHS: Parmenter 5 yd. run (kick failed)
SHHS: Nick Pitts 8 yd. run (Gutierrez kick)
SHHS: Tino Puentes 1 yd. run (Gutierrez kick)
Team Stats
Rushing: SHHS 59-477; Seaside 24-65
Passing: SHHS 5-9, 33; Seaside 11-23-1, 193
Total Yards: SHHS 511; Seaside 258
First Downs: SHHS 21, Seaside 9
3rd/4th Down Conversion: SHHS 9-11; Seaside 4-10
Penalties: SHHS 7-60, Seaside 4-25.5
Sacks: SHHS 0; Seaside 1-1
Individual Stats
Rushing
SHHS: Parmenter 30-223; Pitts 9-103; Byers 7-62; Moyer 2-37; Graville 2-23; Ward 3-20;Delong 4-10; Puentes 1-1; Sipe 1-0
Seaside: Kauffunger 3-18
Passing
SHHS: Graville 5-9, 33
Seaside: Kauffunger 11-23-1, 193
Receiving
SHHS: McGuyre 1-17; Byers 1-6; Riggs 1-6; Delong 1-3; Sipe 1-1
Seaside: Carow 5-136; Smith 2-35
Punting
SHHS: Delong 2-54, 27 Net
Seaside: Kauffunger 3-113, 39 Net
Kickoffs
SHHS: Gutierrez: 7-251, Net 25.7; Seaside: 4-184, Net 25.5
Kickoff Returns
SHHS: Macklin 2-42; Parmenter 1-20; Seaside 7-64
Fumble Recovery: SHHS: Keeney 2, Parmenter; Seaside 3
Interception: Cota
Tackles: SHHS: Parmenter 7, Puentes 4
– Statistics reported by Ken Roberts