Jason Casey
Sweet Home took control of its matchup with Philomath from the first kickoff, when Lance Hanson returned the ball to the 5-yard line.
The Huskies won 32-14 but, the result was never really in doubt.
Hayden McDonald finished the opening drive off with a 1-yard touchdown run. McDonald finished the game with 110 yards rushing and that one touchdown.
After that, it was the Nathan Virtue Show.
Sophomore Aiden Tyler was starting in place of injured Colton Smith, but the connection that Virtue has with Husky quarterbacks continued even though it was Tyler’s first varsity start. With 5:23 to go in the first quarter on third-and-10 Tyler lobbed a deep ball for Virtue who ran under it and scored untouched from 45 yards out.
“I don’t know what they were thinking,” said Virtue. “They put their not-as-good defensive back over me on my first touchdown, and they were doing a press coverage so Aiden he just gave me a perfect throw. They put their better defensive back on me after that, but I still burnt him.”
On his next touchdown Virtue was the under route on a pump-and-go play, but Tyler threw it underneath to the senior. Virtue made one defender miss, pulled another who had a hold on his jersey for a few yards before pulling out of that and going untouched for a 73-yard touchdown.
“Nathan was playing unconscious tonight,” said Head Coach Dustin Nichol. “He had a great game. He had a highlight reel. I think he had 197 yards on offense, and I don’t know how many tackles. We subbed him out for three or four series on offense to give him a break, and I think that opened up for better wheels, longevity, and not being so tired coming down the stretch.”
Virtue came out in the second half still hot and scored on a 27-yard pass from Tyler.
The first points for the Warriors came courtesy of the right arm of Tyler, who threw an ill-advised screen pass that Marshall Brattain intercepted and returned it for the 65-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Tyler came back from that mistake and started the fourth quarter off with another touchdown to Virtue. Tyler finished the game 11 for 27 with 274 yards, with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
“He did a really good job coming out in this weather; I think it was a good time for him to come out,” said Nichol of his sophomore quarterback. “He did a good job throwing the ball. This is a good defense to come out and work against when they just in man press coverage.
“He did a good job with that giving Colton some rest on his elbow. That is why I started Aiden tonight was because Colton hit an elbow on a helmet last week.”
The Warriors added a 27-yard rushing touchdown from Calvin Snuggerud, but they didn’t ever really mount a serious comeback.
The Husky defense smothered the Philomath offense all night. The Warriors’ two quarterbacks completed three of 16 passes for 45 yards. They didn’t have much more success rushing the ball, finishing with a team total of 91 yards.
“The defense played inspired; the thing is these guys, this brings back a rivalry when we played them at our place in a playoff game,” said Nichol. Also, this group of seniors has basically owned these guys since the fifth grade. It was just a ‘let’s finish things out and sweep them,’ and that was the thing. The sweep was our thing this week.”
Tyler wasn’t without his nerves before the game.
“On the bus, I was kind of freaking out, but when we got here, and it was kind of heat of the moment,” he said. “Colton and I watched film on the bus, and we just went over coverage and defensive backs. It was a lot but going into the game, I kind of knew what I was doing.”
“He dealt with his nerves really well,” McDonald said. “When he threw that pick he was like, ‘Man, I’m ready to go back; I know what I did wrong. Let’s go.”
Statistically, McDonald led the team on the ground with 101 yards on 16 carries and one score. Virtue finished the night with six catches for 197 yards and four touchdowns, including a 73-yard reception.
He also was the second-leading tackler, with six, behind Jake Swanson, who finished with seven, including a sack and two tackles for losses.
The Huskies play their last regular-season home game Thursday, Oct. 11, against Stayton. Sweet Home (3-0, 4-2) will look to keep its four-game winning streak going going and send its 18 seniors out on a high note at home against the Eagles (1-2, 2-4), who lost 13-12 Friday at thus-far-unbeaten Newport, which will host the Huskies Oct. 19.
1 2 3 4
SH – 14 6 6 6 – 32
PH – 0 0 7 7 – 14
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
SH – 10:25 Hayden McDonald 1 run PAT missed
SH – 5:23 Nathan Virtue 45-yard pass from Aiden Tyler (2-pt Jake Swanson pass from Tyler)
Second Quarter
SH – 3:27 Virtue 73- yard pass from Tyler (PAT missd)
Third Quarter
SH – 8:24 Virtue 27 pass from Tyler (2-pt failed)
P – 1:57 Marshall Brattain 65 interception return (Logan Hannigan-Downs kick)
Fourth Quarter
SH – 10:13 Virtue 27 pass from Tyler (2-pt fail)
P – 6:07 Calvin Snuggerud 27-yard run (Logan Hannigan-Downs kick),
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Sweet Home: Hayden McDonald 16-101; Travis Thorpe 7-10; Aiden Tyler 4-(-12). Philomath: Calvin Snuggerud 13-65; Colby Roe 12-15; Michael Lundy 7-7; Dakota Kantor 5-4; Matt Workman 1-0.
Passing – Sweet Home: Aiden Tyler 11-28-2-253; Philomath: Calvin Snuggerud 3-10-0-36; Michael Lundy 1-5-0-9.
Receiving – Sweet Home: Nathan Virtue 6-197; Jake Swanson 2-25; Hayden McDonald 1-18; Casey Tow 2-13. Philomath: Michael Lundy 1-24; Jeremy Alston 2-12; Brooks Stearns 1-10.