Ken Roberts
For The New Era
Sweet Home put up some big numbers on the wet ground at Cascade to bang out a 33-16 victory over the Cougars.
That win, plus Stayton?s 28-0 mastery of North Marion, sends the two teams into a showdown for the second berth in the state playoffs out of the Capital Conference this Friday in Sweet Home.
With fullback/linebacker Skyler Bascom out of action due to a weightlifting injury, Shorty Weikel and Ryan Elliott picked up the slack and combined to lead a stong one-two punch out of the backfield. Weikel rushed for 147 yards in 15 carries while Elliott battered his way through the Cascade middle for another 97 yards and three touchdowns in 19 carries and Trevor Tagle added another 43 yards. Altogether, the Huskies recorded a season-high 306 yards on the ground compared to the Cougars? 112.
?I had to play a big game,? said Elliott, who had been critical of his own play. ?Our line played great. Their blocks were perfect and easy to read.?
The line play didn?t escape the attention of coach Rob Younger either.
?Our backs ran hard all night long,? stated Younger, ?but our line played exceptionally well. They had to make a lot of adjustments on their own out there.?
The Husky defensive line also played well in the first half, applying pressure on Cougar quarterback Tommy Coleman, whom they sacked four times in the first half.
The Huskies? very first possession gave some indication of how the game was going to go. After holding the Cougars on their first series, Sweet Home started at the midfield stripe and proceeded to run right through the Cascade defense. Tagle for six, Elliott for 16, Weikel for 18, and Tagle for 10 and a touchdown.
However, in the Huskies? second series, they went empty and backed themselves up with a sack and two penalties, one for intentional grounding. After Elliott?s punt, another job he had to do with Bascom?s absence, Cascade had excellent field position at the Sweet Home 44. Their only running back, J.J. Brown, caught a pass and ran three times, the final one a 12 yard run for a touchdown. Brown then ran in the two point conversion and the Cougars took the lead 8-6.
Sweet Home struck back immediately when Tim Faulconer made a good catch on a third-down Kyle Pettit pass. Using a well-timed block by Cody Shipp, Faulconer raced into the end zone for the 57 yard touchdown.
In the second quarter, it was the defense?s turn to act. After an Elliott punt and a Cascade penalty gave the Cougars the ball at their own 10 yard line, the Huskies put up a stand to force them to punt. A high snap went over punter Noah Brokaw?s head. Instead of just taking the safety, Brokaw, a 235-pound lineman, tried to escape and flipped the ball toward the sidelines, which Joe Ellis picked out of the air for an interception.
Elliott finished off the Cougar catastrophe with a short run to score his first touchdown of the year. But Elliott wasn?t done scoring for the quarter. Later, the Huskies put together a 60 yard drive with Elliott running in from 12 yards out to give Sweet Home a 26-8 halftime lead.
As has been their custom in recent games, the Huskies came right out in the third quarter and put together another impressive drive, all on the ground. In just nine plays split between four backs, the Huskies traversed 69 yards into the end zone, with Elliott once again applying the finishing touches on a four-yard run.
Just when one might think the game was over, Cascade came screaming back.
On a night when the Cougars? quarterback Tommy Coleman had trouble finding some open receivers with a slippery ball, he strung two big pass plays together, one for 22 yards and the other to Tim Frey for 38 yards and a touchdown.
Sweet Home responded on its next series when Weikel broke a 43-yard run to the Cascade 35. Three plays later though, Weikel lost the handle on the ball after a six-yard run and the Cougars recovered.
The Cougars appeared to be ready to score again as they used Brown on the ground and through the air to eventually move the ball down to Sweet Home?s 5 yard line.
But the defense stepped up with their second great play, this time an interception by Shipp in the end zone.
In the fourth quarter, both sides put together time-consuming drives. First, the Huskies used a 55-yard pass play from Pettit to Shipp to put the ball deep into Cougar territory. A personal foul penalty ended that drive.
Then it was Cascade? s turn to chew up 55 yards before the defensive secondary stiffened, including Tagle?s jarring hit on the Cougars? final passing play that allowed the Huskies to take over on downs. From that point on, Sweet Home kept the ball on the ground to close out the game with four first downs.
With the Huskies choosing to keep the ball on the ground most of the time due to field conditions, Pettit still was able to come up with a 4-8 night, good for 139 yards in crucial situations. That offset the 174 yards of passing Coleman posted for Cascade.
In their Homecoming game, the Huskies must now prove that they can beat a quality team in the Stayton Eagles for the right to host a playoff game rather than go on the road.
Elliott thinks the Huskies have steadily improved and are up for the challenge.
?We started off a little shaky like last year,? said Elliott. ?We?re starting to come together. We are so ready. We will come out on top.?
Capital Conference Football Standings
Wins Losses
Sisters 4 0
Sweet Home 3 1
Stayton 3 1
No.Marion 2 2
Molalla 0 4
Cascade 0 4
Last Week?s Scores
Stayton 28, N.Marion(H) 0
Sisters 40, Molalla(H)
Game Summary
1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
SHHS 14 12 7 0 33
Cascade 8 0 7 0 16
1st Quarter
SHHS?Tagle 10 yd. run (run failed)
Casc?Brown 12 yd. run (Brown run)
SHHS?Pettit to Faulconer 57 yd. pass (Tagle run)
2nd Quarter
SHHS?Elliott 1 yd. run (kick failed)
SHHS?Elliott 12 yd. run (pass failed)
3rd Quarter
SHHS?Elliott 4 yd. run (Villarreal kick)
Casc?Coleman to Frey 38 yd. pass (Coleman pass to Mintzer)
4th Quarter
None
Team Stats
Rushing: SHHS 44-306; Cascade 19-112
Passing: SHHS 139; Cascade 174
Sacks: SHHS: 4-18 (Weikel 1.5, Ellis 1, Whitfield 1,Schaefer 0.5)
Cascade: 1-9
Total: SHHS 436, Cascade 268
1st Downs: SHHS 14; Cascade 14
Turnovers: SHHS 1; Cascade 2
Penalties: SHHS 6-55; Cascade 7-42.5
Individual Stats
Rushing: SHHS: Weikel 15-147; Elliott 19-97; Tagle 7-43;
Pettit 2-15; Shipp 1-4
Cascade: Brown 16-86
Passing: SHHS: Pettit 4-8, 139
Cascade: Coleman 12-25-1, 174; Brokaw 0-1-1
Receiving: SHHS: Shipp 2-73; Faulconer 2-66; Cascade: Federico 3-71
Punts: SHHS: Elliott 2-63 (31.5, 31.5 net) Cascade: Brokaw 4-130 ( 32.5, 31.0 net)
Punt Returns: SHHS: Shipp 1-6
Cascade: 1-0
Kick Returns: SHHS: Faulconer 1-17; Shipp 2-6; Cascade: 6-85
Kickoff Average Yard Line:
SHHS: 31.7; Cascade 29.8
Interceptions: SHHS 2 (Ellis, Shipp); Cascade 0
Fumble Recoveries: SHHS 0
Cascade 1
Tackles: SHHS: Tagle 9, Weikel 7, Aubert 7