Ken Roberts
For The New Era
The games at Central High School have been known for the appearance of a streaker in past history. Not so last Friday night at Western Oregon University, unless you consider the efforts of Travis Smith in Sweet Home’s nail-biting first victory of the year, 35-28 over the Panthers.
Smith streaked for 172 yards of rushing and three touchdowns on 14 carries, his first break out performance of the year. He streaked for a 92 yard kickoff return to open the second half.
And he was a vital part of the passing game as well. He threw a 35 yard pass to Tim Faulconer to open Husky scoring, caught a pass for 25 yards, and teamed up on another pass play when Lance Carter, after catching a Kyle Pettit aerial, lateraled the ball to Smith for a 52 yard run.
“I dedicated my game to a couple of people in my life,” said Smith, “and I wanted to prove to myself that I could execute and play better than I have been.”
The proof is in. Smith’s name was involved in every Husky touchdown, despite the fact that he entered the game with a banged up shoulder and had to have the shoulder attended to several times in the second half.
“We saw the real Travis Smith,” elaborated coach Rob Younger. “He showed tremendous heart. He was confident going in after a good week of practice. With Travis, he can turn an average play into a big play any time with his speed and athleticism.”
Facing their third consecutive ranked opponent, it appeared that it might be another long night as Central, rated 10th, moved effortlessly down the field on their opening drive, mixing up their rush with a short passing game. Trevor Fine finished off the 11 play, 66 yard drive with a seven yard run.
This time the Huskies, who had been held scoreless in their first two games, responded quickly.
Of course, Smith was involved, catching a 25 yard pass from Pettit and then throwing the 35 yard pass to Faulconer to even up the score.
“For us to come right back and score on that first possession was critical,” emphasized Younger. “I felt good about how our kids just stood in there and kept competing all night line.”
Central came roaring back again, moving the ball quickly to the Huskies’ 24 yard line. A Panther holding penalty stopped their momentum. Then on the ensuing play, Shorty Weikel recovered a fumble after a completed Central pass and the green and gold took over at their own 41.
In one quick strike, coach Rob Younger called for the hook and ladder lateral that Smith turned into the first Husky lead of the year at 13-7.
But the game continued its back and forth pattern as Central regained the lead midway into the second quarter when Joe Pratt, the heart of the Panther offense, tossed a 59 yard pass to the speedster McElravy and Logan Yliniemi converted the extra point. Pratt, who completed 16 of 31 passes for 220 yards, teamed up with McElravy on 7 of those passes for 112 yards. Pratt was also their leading rusher, often times scrambling and creating to gain 98 yards on 14 carries.
It was a night of answers for the Huskies however. Sweet Home bounced back with its best drive of the night, 80 yards in 11 plays, all on the ground with Smith once again streaking for the final 13 yards. Pettit teamed up with Matt Morneault on a two point passing play to make up for an earlier missed kick.
Perhaps the biggest play was Smith’s kickoff return to open the second half. Smith, on the advice of his coaches at half time to open with a good return, hesitated just long enough to see the hole open. Racing to the outside, he gave the last man, the kicker, a single hip juke as he went streaking by, leaving the kicker to disentangle himself from his own equipment.
Central wasn’t ready to give up though. The Panthers had an extended drive of 18 plays, aided by three critical Sweet Home offside penalties, that brought them back in the game. Pratt connected with tight end Matt Hamilton for the final 14 yards.
Unfazed, Sweet Home mounted a drive of its own. Other than one Pettit pass to Nic Moore, again it was all on the ground. They marched all the way to the 9 yard line before Central took a stand. First, they dropped Smith for a 5 yard loss. Then Troy Doeden, a defensive lineman, intercepted Smith’s tipped second pass of the night.
The Panthers had one more offensive assault left in them to start the 4th quarter. Pratt looped a 14 yard scoring pass to Alex Stockner, who caught six passes. The ball was knocked loose, but the official at the spot had fallen down. After much discussion, the officials ruled that Stockner had crossed the goal line before losing the ball.
It appeared that Sweet Home would respond quickly after Trevor Tagle raced for 42 yards, carrying a host of Panthers on the final ten yards of the run. But the Huskies fumbled, and Central wasted no time moving the ball, using a 25 yard pass to McElravy to eat up yardage to the Husky 33. At that point, when they had to, Sweet Home’s defense made big plays. On a second down and five, Pratt fumbled for a two yard loss. Then on fourth down, Matt Morneault and Ryan Elliott chased down Pratt for a 15 yard loss, the Huskies first sack.
“We have been talking about kids stepping up in critical parts of the ball game and making big plays,” noted Younger. “We made some big plays when we had to. That was a stepping stone for us this week.”
With Sweet Home starting at midfield, Central’s defense put the Huskies in a fourth and two in their first series. Smith had one more streaking, big play in him, a 42 yarder that put the Huskies on top for good.
Central made it interesting. They converted a third and ten for a first down. But Pratt began to feel the pressure of the Husky defense with two consecutive sacks, first by Brandon Martin and then a combination effort with Weikel applying pressure and Elliott making the final tackle. On third and 18, Pratt almost pulled it off with a 17 yard run down to the Husky 30. On their final play, the Panthers disdained going for the first down with just under a minute to go and went for broke when Pratt threw deep to McElravy, but the Huskies covered it well and Trevor Tagle knocked it down.
The offensive statistics showed how evenly matched the two teams were. Central, who piled up 23 first downs, held a slight edge with 397 yards to the Huskies’ 387. But it was a night of big plays from Smith and the heart of the Huskies that made the difference on the scoreboard.
When Smith was out, Elliott, Brandon Martin, and Trevor Tagle punished the Central defense for another 130 yards. The trademark brand of Husky football had returned against a very quick Panther team.
“The running backs are slashing now,” stated Younger. “They were more confident in our offensive line. I think the key to the game was the way our line just dominated. When you average over 9 yards a carry, you know the line is executing.”
Chris Kelley, who made the switch back to tackle from center, thought the line showed signs of understanding their assignments better during the previous week of practice. Jesse Aitken, originally slated to stay at guard, was switched to center due to his past experience to counter the odd front. The two sophomores initially penciled in to share the center slot, Kris Schaeffer and Nathan Whitfield, moved to guard. Guard Joey Ellis and tackle Phil Delong remained in their starting positions.
“We had a good week of practice,” said Kelley, who was especially complimentary of the play of Schaeffer and Whitfield. “I felt that I had to pick up my game just to keep up with the other linemen.”
“The win felt good because the whole team came together,” said Smith, who also credited the linemen for creating the holes. “We went and played our heart out. We won’t doubt ourselves anymore now that we know we can win.”
This game also marked the return of Martin, an all-stater, who led the Husky defense with 13 tackles followed by another stellar performance by Charlie Fitzsimons, who had 10 tackles of his own. Fitzsimons put the Husky effort in more simple terms.
“We just came to the party,” said Fitzsimons, the leading tackler for Sweet Home this year.
Calendar: The so-called party continues next week when Sweet Home begins a series of three consecutive home contests, starting with Taft, the first team they will face that hasn’t been ranked. With their break out performance, the Huskies are hoping to continue their winning streak.