 |
Second-half goal salvages tie for
NHS
Slow start fails to hamper Tigers in
24-10 win over Sprague
Big second quarter boosts NHS
Canaday breaks 21-year record at
Champoeg
Roholt's
catch
gives NHS win |
The senior catches a 10-yard touchdown pass with
22 seconds remaining to give NHS a 13-7 win |
By B. Scott Anderson, Newberg
Graphic sports editor
E-mail Scott at banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
|
 Newberg High School senior Ian Roholt hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass
from junior Brad Johnson with 22 seconds remaining Friday to score a 13-7 triumph over
host Forest Grove.
With the game tied at 7-7, Newberg senior Justin Burger intercepted a Forest
Grove pass with 3:25 to go in the game. The interception gave the Tigers the ball at
Forest Grove’s 33-yard line. After working the ball down the field on the ground,
Newberg junior running back Cole Rogers picked up a big 15-yard chunk of real estate to
give the Tigers a first down at the Forest Grove 6-yard line with 1:50 left in the game.
The Tigers attempted to move the ball two more times but Rogers was stopped
on both plays, setting up a critical third down. That’s when Johnson heaved the
game-winning touchdown catch to the 6-foot-5 Roholt with 22 seconds remaining.
“He just made a great catch,” Carlson said of Roholt’s
reception.
The interception by Burger was the key, though. Carlson said it was one of
those plays that can turn a game around.
“There’s a point in the game where someone’s got to make a big
play,” he said. “We had some really big plays.”
Forest Grove was a perfect 4-0 overall and 2-0 in Pac-9 Conference play going
into the game; the Tigers stood at 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference. The win was
especially big for the Tigers because it keeps their playoff hopes alive. The win also
gives the Tigers the edge over the Vikings if the two teams tied for one of the playoff
spots.
“They were undefeated so we really needed that one,” said NHS coach
Eric Carlson. “It was a good game.”
To win the Tigers had to contain Forest Grove running back Cody Norbury. The
defense did its job, as it held Norbury to 10 yards rushing.
“Our defense was playing pretty well, particularly against the
run,” Carlson said. “They had been running the ball pretty well so our main
point was to try to stop that and we had to worry about our pass defense, too.”
With 22 seconds still left on the clock, though, the Vikings still had
a shot to win the game but Newberg’s defense held its ground. Senior linebacker Phil
Zahn, also a running back on the team, made an open field tackle on Forest Grove
quarterback Eric Renander to end the game.
Zahn ended the game with four sacks on Renander, along with three other
tackles and four assisted tackles. The sacks by Zahn proved to be instrumental. One of the
sacks was for a 14-yard loss and Renander committed a penalty to compound the problem for
the Vikings.
“Phil is just playing great,” Carlson said. “He plays with his
motor running and that’s what you want. He plays every play. He gets his reads down
at linebacker and he can focus on defense because he’s not playing much
offense.”
Since Zahn has been spending more time on the defensive side of the ball,
it’s left more carries for Rogers, who rushed 25 times for 153 yards Friday.
“It’s kind of coming together,” Carlson said.
“You’ve got a line playing well and a back starting to really play well.”
Despite the victory, the Tigers had their problems. Newberg committed 12
penalties for 115 yards, including four 15-yard penalties.
“We had a lot of penalties, but I really disagree with a lot of
them,” Carlson said. “I thought it was one of the worst officiated games
I’ve ever been a part of.”
Carlson said he feels so strongly about the lack of quality officiating that he
will file a complaint to the official’s association which monitors and provides
referees for games throughout the state.
“This is not sour grapes or anything because it didn’t cost us the
game, but it was almost an embarrassment,” Carlson said. “It was horrid and it
made us look a lit bit sloppier than it was.”
Carlson said a few of the penalties were called for holding. However,
he said after looking back over the game, he saw one legitimate holding call that the
referees correctly identified.
“The holdings weren’t the egregious calls but the others were some
incompetent calls,” he said. “It was frustrating”
The Tigers will have to get by the officiating with its next opponent —
the winless Dallas Dragons.
“I told the guys that they are desperate for a win,” Carlson
said of Dallas. “They’re going to play to win. If we don’t play, it’ll
be a tough road. If our guys don’t pay attention to detail and do what they’re
supposed to do, it’ll be tough.”
The Dragons run similar sets and formations as Newberg’s two past
opponents — Tualatin and Forest Grove. With the game being played on Thursday this
week instead of Friday because of a statewide in-service day, it makes preparation for the
Dragons that much easier. A win would definitely put the Tigers back in a position for a
playoff spot.
“It shouldn’t be a really factor for us,” Carlson said of the
shortened practice week. “We’re kind of back in the hunt and hopefully we can go
to 2-2.” |
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From Oct. 8,
2003, Newberg Graphic
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