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Newberg
teams set for state
Gophers oust
Tigers from playoffs
Boyd's 14th
place finish leads Tigers at state meet
|
Buckaroos claim first league title since 1999 |
St. Paul beats Perrydale 36-12 to claim Casco League
title and first win over Pirates since 2002 |
| By Jason
Horton, Woodburn Independent for the Newberg Graphic |
PERRYDALE — The St. Paul High School
football team can finally call itself Casco League champions.
The Buckaroos exorcised a few demons Friday in beating Perrydale
36-12 for St. Paul’s first league title since 1999.
It was the first time St. Paul had beaten the Pirates since the 2002
state championship game and it was the first time it beat Perrydale
in the regular season since 2001.
“We wanted it so bad,” senior
Cody Kirk said. “The seniors have never beaten this team until today
— not even in eighth grade.”
Kirk was a big reason the Bucks came out on top. He caught three
touchdown passes in the first half as the Bucks built a 22-6
halftime lead.
His first score came on a 38-yard pass from Jeff Annen with 7:47
remaining in the first quarter. On the very next possession Kirk and
Annen connected from 68 yards out, building a 14-0 lead in a game
that should have had flash-flood warnings. The rain didn’t stop the
Bucks from tossing the ball around, but it may have caught the
Pirates off guard a bit.
“We had a couple new plays they weren’t expecting, so it was nice,”
Kirk said. “The rain wasn’t that bad in the first half.”
Perrydale co-coach Dan Dugan said those routes did surprise his
defense.
“They ran a couple different routes than our (defensive backs) were
expecting,” he said. “Maybe we should have done a little better job
coaching that up.”
But he wasn’t surprised the Bucks came out slinging the ball,
despite the weather.
“They have a really good quarterback and a couple ends that can
catch the ball — same with the running backs,” Dugan said. “They
have a good all-around team and we knew they were going to come out
and throw the ball.”
Kirk was a quarterback for two years before moving to end this year.
St. Paul coach Jay Phillips said Kirk accepted the role change.
“(Kirk) is a gamer — it doesn’t matter what sport it is, what
position it is, he’ll give you maximum effort every play, every
time,” he said. “(Annen) did a good job getting him the ball and the
line did a good job protecting and he caught the ball and did a
great job in the open field in weather conditions that weren’t
great.”
In the second quarter, right after St. Paul turned the ball over
with a fumble, Kirk made another game-changing play. He intercepted
Perrydale quarterback Issac Prince’s pass, giving the Bucks a first
down on the Perrydale 49-yard line.
After Matt Anderson ran the ball 12 yards on two consecutive plays
and St. Paul converted a fourth-and-one, Annen found Kirk in the
right flat for their third scoring connection. St. Paul took a
commanding 22-0 lead with 4:56 remaining.
The Pirates would get one score with 1:48 left in the half on a
punt block. On the next play Steven Casalegno ran it in from eight
yards for a 22-6 halftime score.
The Bucks took a 30-6 lead late in the third on an Anderson 12-yard
run. Ruben Rivera caught the two-point conversion.
The Pirates were ranked No. 4 in the state for a reason and they
answered the score immediately. Casalegno had a 28-yard run and
Isaac Buhler caught a 23-yard touchdown pass to make it 30-12 with
10:57 remaining.
But the Bucks put the game away on their next possession, scoring
in two plays. Josh Kelly ran 11 yards, then took off on a 45-yard
scamper to the end zone to increase the lead to 36-12.
While the offense supplied the big plays, it was with the defense
that Phillips was especially pleased.
“I thought our defense played exceptional,” he said. “We tackled
better than we have all season and I didn’t think we had any major
breakdowns. We kept everything in front of us. It was an overall
great team effort.”
Perrydale couldn’t get its running backs around the ends to execute
quick pitch plays, a staple for the Pirates the last few season.
Dugan said there was a reason for that.
“Their defensive ends, and not taking anything away from (Chad
King), but Derek Wolf played a real physical game today and I was
real impressed with him,” he said.
Phillips said he is happy for his players, who helped the team
improve to 9-0.
“It’s a good win for our kids — they deserve it, deserve a league
championship,” he said. “It’s been awhile since we’ve won a league
championship.”
Anderson had 142 yards on 22 carries; Kelly had 106 on 13 attempts.
Annen was 5-of-12 for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Kirk caught
three balls for 114 yards and three scores.
“We had a great effort by the kids and I’m so fortunate to have a
great coaching staff that I have,” Phillips said.
The Bucks will be at home at 7 p.m. Friday against Gilchrist of the
Mountain Valley League in the first round of the Class 1A state
playoffs. |
|
From
Nov. 8, 2006, Newberg Graphic
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