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Tigers take care of Silverton, 2-0
St. Paul heads to playoffs
Tigers finish 3-2, take sixth in Modesto tournament
NHS rolls to win in season finale
| Focus
is key for Tigers |
Newberg
struggles in a loss to Summit but hopes
to get back on track Friday at Silverton |
By B. Scott Anderson, Newberg
Graphic sports editor
E-mail Scott at banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
|
Focus.
It is a word the Newberg High School football team discussed after Friday’s 28-7 home
loss to Summit of the Intermountain Conference. It was a word the Tigers could say but
couldn’t make happen.
“We just weren’t focused,” said running back Cole Rogers. “We were
thinking about all sorts of things except for the game. We just kind of proved what
happens when you don’t focus. I guess we basically played like it was homecoming week
— everyone got distracted by everything going on and we didn’t play the
game.”
After the game, Newberg coach Eric Carlson met with the team and said he didn’t think
the Tigers (4-3 overall, 4-2 Pac-9 Conference) focused all week in practice. Rogers
agreed.
“If you don’t come out focused, no matter how good of a team you are,
you’re going to lose,” he said. “It’s really a matter of keeping your
head with your heart because we let it get away from us tonight.”
The game was the team’s homecoming. Newberg didn’t have school on Thursday or
Friday of last week. It all helped to give Summit the edge.
“The whole homecoming and assemblies and not having school ... the whole thing was
just kind of a mess and it looked like a mess on the field,” Carlson said. “The
whole thing just gets their heads spinning and practice wasn’t a priority and the
game was kind of a secondary thought. It was just a very odd week, especially it being a
nonconference game too.”
Like the week, Newberg’s play was odd against the storm. The team’s leading wide
receiver, senior Jon Styles (18 catches, 394 yards and four touchdowns) strained a calf
muscle in the pregame warmups and didn’t play. Senior wide receiver Cyrus Hostetler,
who has a broken finger, also didn’t play.
“Those are two of our big-play guys and that kind of hurt us going in but those
things happen,” Carlson said.
The rest of the Tigers could muster little offense against the Storm. Newberg punted three
times in the first half and committed four turnovers in the game (a fumble by Rogers, two
fumbles and an interception by quarterback Brad Johnson). Simply put, the Tigers looked
lethargic. Even though the Tigers lost by 21, it seemed like more. Carlson said the Tigers
played worse Friday than they did when Newberg fell to Tigard 34-7 earlier this season.
“They’re tough to play,” Carlson said of Summit. “They handled us
worse than Tigard handled us. We were lucky it was that close. They’re very talented
and have skill players. We just, quite honestly, didn’t match up well with that kind
of team. It seems like this year’s team is better at stopping the run than the pass
and they could pass it very well and we had trouble in our secondary with that.”
The loss came off Newberg’s 35-34 double-overtime win at McMinnville last week. After
the game, Rogers and running back Nick Skaale had said they wanted to show the Storm what
the Pac-9 Conference “was all about”. Instead, Summit showed the Tigers what the
Intermountain Conference was all about.
“I respect that team,” Rogers said of Summit. “They played a good game. We
just didn’t get it done. It’s kind of embarrassing but I’m still sticking
by my teammates.”
The game left Carlson scratching his head.
“I asked (Summit coach Jerry Hackenbruck) how they ever lost,” he said.
“They’re good. They were quick, they were physical, they controlled the line of
scrimmage and we couldn’t really run very much, which I thought we would be able to
do but couldn’t.”
Despite how the Tigers played, the loss didn’t hurt the team’s playoff chances.
“I’m just glad it was a nonleague game,” Carlson said. “It didn’t
hurt us for playoffs, it just hurt our pride a little bit.”
Newberg now will have to focus its attention on Silverton, a team the Tigers have had
trouble with in recent years. Newberg defeated Silverton on the road last year but lost
the previous three times the teams met. The Foxes sit at 2-4 in the Pac-9 Conference and
3-4 overall. The Foxes average nearly 39 points per game when they win but when they lose,
they average just 7.5 points per game. Silverton comes off Friday’s 25-13 loss to
Canby.
“They’ve got a good defense and I think they’re a solid team that’s
let a few games get away from them,” Rogers said. “We’ve got to take it to
Silverton. It’s no easy win. It’s a crucial game.”
Carlson also thought highly of Silverton’s defense.
“They haven’t been scoring a lot but they want to win a defensive
struggle,” he said. “They’re always good in the kicking game and so we have
to get focused and get back to playing like we can. If we don’t practice well and
don’t play well, it’s going to be a dog fight, that’s for sure.”
Notes:
Hostetler’s return is unlikely against Silverton. Styles, Carlson said, should return
against the Foxes. Friday’s loss to Summit also marked the return of rover Austin
Casey, who missed four games with an injured arm. |
|
From Oct. 27,
2004, Newberg Graphic
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