Dig a hole and then climb out.
That’s the pattern the Sweet Home Huskies have established in their first three games. Not that they enjoy it, but on Friday night they once again managed to overcome an early deficit to defeat the Stayton Eagles, 35-21.
Stayton’s powerful running game was primarily responsible for forging an early lead. Led by Tyler Mikolas, who chalked up 196 rushing yards in the game and another 28 yards in pass receptions, the Eagles marched 80 yards in 10 plays on their opening drive, capped off by Tyler Blythe’s six-yard run.
The outlook began to look dismal when the Huskies fumbled the ball on their second play to give Stayton’s punishing attack another chance near midfield. This time, however, the defense tightened up. The Huskies’ two inside linebackers, Levi Marchbanks and Zach Jackson, who combined for 28 tackles in the game, rallied the defense to force Stayton to give up the ball at the 25 yard line when a fourth down pass failed.
Defensive coordinator David Younger went to the Bear look, putting eight men in the box to slow down the Eagles. They continued to alternate between that and their base defense throughout the game.
“The defensive line is playing well, which makes it easier for the linebackers to get to the ball,” Marchbanks said. “Then we got used to their offense and started making better reads.”
Coach Rob Younger praised the adjustments and the physical response of his players, who made some plays and stripped the ball in critical situations.
“I love the way this team responded when we were getting dominated physically early in the game,” noted Younger. “The kids chose to step up and go toe to toe and we became the most physical and aggressive team.”
Sweet Home’s offense kicked into gear with a balanced mix of running and passing.
Alex Coakley ran the sweep for 18 yards and caught a 15-yard pass from Keenan Martin during the quick drive. Brock Cota began what was to be an Al Bundy-like performance with a 27-yard touchdown run for the first of his four touchdowns in a single game. Cota gave credit to the offensive line for opening up holes.
“When the running backs aren’t getting hit until the second or third wall of defense, it makes the big play so much easier,” Cota explained.
The Huskies, who have owned the second and third quarters this year, struck first in the second period, using the running of Brent Moyer and then a 16-yard pass to Steven Bidwell from Tyler Holly. However, Stayton responded immediately when Mikolas ran for 38 yards and the Eagles’ other weapon, receiver Coby Proctor, caught the first of his six receptions for a 14-yard touchdown from Sawyer Clark.
Sweet Home’s next series was all Cota, who ran all three plays, including the final 43 yards to paydirt. And he wasn’t finished. On the very next Stayton series, Cota scooped up an errant Eagle lateral pass at the Husky 40 and returned that for a defensive score.
Despite giving up a 41-yard pass to Proctor in the following sequence, the Huskies stiffened up again to close the half with a 28-14 lead.
The Huskies took command of the game by opening with an impressive six-minute drive in the third quarter. Cota’s fourth touchdown was more routine this time, a one- yard plunge up the middle. Alex Santana converted his fifth consecutive extra point to put Sweet Home up by three touchdowns.
When Stayton failed in their next series, it seemed like the game might be out of reach, but the ninth-ranked Eagles kicked it up a notch. First, they intercepted a Husky pass near the end of the third quarter, which they turned into another Clark-to-Proctor touchdown of nine yards.
After forcing Sweet Home to punt, the Eagles were knocking on the door again at the Husky 12-yard line when Mikolas coughed up the ball to Levi Marchbanks, the first of Marchbanks’ two fumble recoveries.
With a two-touchdown lead and the time clicking away, Sweet Home stayed conservative. Once Stayton got the ball back, Proctor fumbled after a 28-yard pass reception on the Eagles’ first play and Marchbanks was there to recover again to dash the visitors’ hopes.
“The credit should go to the player who made the hit that caused the fumble,” Marchbanks said. “But it felt good to secure the win.”
In a game where statistics were deceiving, Stayton led in total yardage by 150 yards
Sweet Home simply took advantage of its possessions and, by establishing good field position, made the Eagles’ yardage moot.
Cota led Husky rushing with 116 yards in 15 carries. While Stayton limited the explosiveness of Sweet Home’s passing game, Martin and Holly were efficient, combining for an 8-14 performance for 90 yards.
Yamhill-Carlton is the next team to come into Sweet Home. The Tigers have posted a 2-1 record, garnering wins over Estacada and narrowly over Philomath.
“The attitude of our team is a lot more hard-nosed this year,” Cota stated. “We look forward to playing hard and physical. We look forward to practice and getting better. It just kind of carries over to the games.”
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Sweet Home 7 21 7 0 35
Stayton 7 7 0 7 21
1st Quarter
Stay: Tyler Blythe 6 yd. run (Ian Campbell kick)
SH: Brock Cota 27 yd. run (Alex Santana kick)
2nd Quarter
SH: Steven Bidwell 16 yd. pass from Tyler Holly (Santana kick)
Stay: Coby Proctor 14 yd. pass from Sawyer Clark (Campbell kick)
SH: Cota 43 yd. run (Santana kick)
SH: Cota 60 yd. fumble return (Santana kick)
3rd Quarter
SH: Cota 1 yd. run (Santana kick)
4th Quarter
Stay: Proctor 9 yd. pass from Clark (Campbell kick)
Team Stats
Rushing: Sweet Home 38-190; Stay 47-264
Passing: Sweet Home 8-14-1, 90; Stay 13-24, 172
Sacked: SH None; Stay 1-2
Total Offense: Sweet Home 280; Stayton 434
First Downs: Sweet Home 16; Stay 21
Tackles for Losses: Sweet Home 5; Stay 3
3rd/4th Down Conversions: Sweet Home 8-13; Stay 9-17
Penalties: SH 4-30; Stay 7-61.5
Turnovers: SH 2; Stay 3
Individual Stats
Rushing: SH: Cota 15-116; Moyer 13-33; Coakley 3-18; Martin 3-15; McDowell 1-5; Bidwell 1-4; Potter 2-(-1) Stay: Mikolas 23-196; Blythe 16-53
Passing: SH: Martin 6-10-1, 57; Holly 2-4, 33 Stay: Clark 13-24, 172
Receiving: SH: Marchbanks 2-26; Bidwell 2-21; Coakley 1-15; Moyer 1-10; McDowell 1-9; Potter 1-8
Stay: Proctor 6-100; Cambell 4-30; Mikolas 2-28
Kickoffs: SH: Santana 54.5, 40.5 net; Avg start line: 26.2
Stay: Proctor 33, 21 net; Avg start line: 39
Kick Returns: SH: Moyer 1-18; Santana 1-15; Cota 1-15; Stay 4-84
Punts: SH: Coakley 2, 26, 24.5 net; Stayton: none
Punt Returns: SH: None; Stay: 1-3
Interceptions: SH: None; Stay 1
Fumble Recoveries: SH: 3 (Marchbanks 2, Cota); Stay 1
Sacks: SH 1 (Marchbanks); Stay: None
Tackles: SH: Marchbanks 15, Jackson 13, Tagle 10, McDowell 9, Coleman 8, Cota 8
* * * * *
The frosh/soph team lost to 34-8 Thursday at Stayton.
Sweet Home’s lone touchdown was scored by Wade Paulus on a three-yard run and Colton Holly hit Colton Schilling with a scoring pass for a two-point conversion with only a few seconds left in the half to send the Huskies into the lockerroom trailing 21-8.
Coach Dustin Nichol said the defense tightened up in the second half, but the offense couldn’t make anything happen.
“We had guys in the right spots but we didn’t make tackles,” he said. “Our defense allowed four big pass plays to set up runs into the end zone.
“We had our moments of greatness. We need to be more consistent in our efforts. This week we are going to focus more on fundamentals.”