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ENLARGE
Douglas' Trinity Castner (20) and Sky Woods (3) break up a pass to Sweet Home's Sean Potter during their Class 4A second-round playoff game at Finlay Field on Saturday.
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ENLARGE
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Douglas wide receiver David Guthrie fumbles the ball after getting hit by Sweet Home's Sean Potter following a catch during their Class 4A second-round playoff game.
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ENLARGE
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Douglas running back Jered Stoffal reaches toward the end-zone while being defended by Sweet Home's Keenan Martin during their Class 4A second-round playoff game at Finlay Field Saturday. The touchdown was called back by a penalty.
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It took just one mistake and some creativity by Odysseus to undo the Trojan empire.
For the Douglas High football team, it took more than one mistake, but the result was just as devastating in a 16-14 loss to Sweet Home in a second-round Class 4A playoff game Saturday at Finlay Field.
Instead of trick horses, the Huskies used fake punts and fourth down conversions to take down the fourth-ranked and previously undefeated Trojans. Sweet Home (9-3) advances to a quarterfinal game at Phoenix next weekend, while Douglas (10-1) is left with another excruciating playoff loss.
“It took everything we had to win this game,” Sweet Home coach Rob Younger said. “We needed a perfect game to beat a team like Douglas and our kids responded.”
Sweet Home stuffed Douglas' potential tying two-point conversion run with 5:19 to play and intercepted all-star quarterback Paul Polamalu to clinch the game with the Trojans marching towards a go-ahead score.
“It was a game where we needed to play mistake-free and we didn't, and it came back to bite us,” Douglas coach Joe Polamalu said. “It wasn't from a lack of effort.”
The Trojans fell despite some amazing plays, including two fourth-down TD passes and Sky Woods' improbable 66-yard halfback pass to David Froude.
But Douglas had to scramble for its comeback from a 9-0 deficit as it didn't touch the ball in the second half until 5:40 left in the third quarter. That came after the Huskies held the ball for all but four plays in the second half.
“They kept us off the field, and that was a huge part of it,” Joe Polamalu said. “We barely touched the ball in the second quarter. (Sweet Home) executed when they had to.”
Keenan Martin was a big reason Sweet Home was able to sustain such long drives with two gutsy fake punts on fourth down.
The Huskies faced fourth-and-3 from their own 42 late in the second quarter when the junior quarterback took a direct snap, ran off left tackle and upfield for 23 yards. That set up an Alex Santana 29-yard field goal as time expired in the second half to make it 9-0.
Martin did it again in the fourth quarter, this time on a fourth-and-3 from Sweet Home's own 27. That kept alive a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ultimately gave the Huskies the points they'd need to win.
“It's a play we give Keenan the option to run every time we go out to punt,” Younger said. “I don't know if we're going to do it or not, but we have confidence in Keenan.”
Frustration began early for Douglas, which had two long touchdowns called back by penalties on the opening drive of the game. Woods had a 36-yard TD pass from Polamalu negated by a block below the knees and holding was called on Jered Stoffal's 24-yard TD run.
“That kind of took the wind out of us,” said Woods, who caught six passes for 77 yards. “It seemed like every time we'd get any momentum, something would happen — we'd get a penalty or turn the ball over.”
Paul Polamalu got Douglas on the scoreboard late in the third quarter with a 20-yard TD pass to David Guthrie on fourth-and-16. On the drive, Polamalu made four straight passes and had 10- and 15-yard keepers.
The drive stalled in the red zone before Guthrie found himself wide open in the flats for the TD reception.
Ricky Cortes ran in the two-point conversion on a sweep with Douglas' offensive line lined up on the opposite side of the field to pull the Trojans within 9-8.
But as they seemed to all game, the Huskies responded immediately, using Martin's second fake punt to keep the ensuing drive alive. Then on fourth-and-seven from the Douglas 28, Sweet Home quarterback Tyler
Holly hit tight end Zach Miller for a TD pass and an eight-point lead.
Woods, Polamalu and Froude later pulled off one of the most dazzling plays during Douglas' high-scoring season. Starting from the Douglas 32, Polamalu threw a backwards pass that bounced off the FieldTurf and into Woods' hands. As defenders converged on him, Woods heaved the ball down the sideline to Froude, who sprinted downfield before being chased down at the 2 for a 66-yard gain.
“We knew we'd be on the turf so we practiced it a few times the last two weeks,” Woods said. “The trick of it was to act nonchalant like the play was dead, but they didn't buy it. Their outside linebacker was coming at me pretty fast, so I just put it up.”
But set up at the 2, it still took Paul Polamalu heroics to get into the end zone thanks to Sweet Home's stout run defense. Running back Jered Stoffal was stuffed twice and Polamalu once on short runs. On fourth down, Dontea Escalante caught a bubble creen pass to pull the Trojans within two.
But this time Sweet Home wasn't fooled by Douglas' trick formation on the conversion and easily halted an option attempt.
The Trojans got the ball back after stopping Sweet Home on downs at their own 12 with 2:46 to play. Escalante and Woods each had big receptions on the next drive as Douglas made it to Sweet Home's 33. But out with 1:32 to play, Martin intercepted Polamalu at the 16 to seal the game.
“It feels pretty bad,” said Douglas lineman Stephen Roderick. “We played our hearts out, we did everything that was asked of us. I just feel bad for our seniors.”
Stoffal, the Far West League offensive player of the year and a 1,000-yard rusher, was held to 24 yards on 10 carries.
“We came with a few different wrinkles, using a 3-3 on defense after using a 4-2 most of the season,” Younger said. “It was a great game plan and the kids executed it well.”
Tears flowed in the Douglas locker room afterward, where 14 seniors saw their careers come to a bitter end. The Trojans were winless in 2006 and struggled to a 1-9 mark in 2007 before qualifying for a playoff berth last year. Douglas had a dream season this fall, charging through its first 10 opponents.
But the 2009 team, much like ones before it with Josh Bidwell and Troy Polamalu, were turned away in their first postseason game.
“Unfortunately, the only game you remember is the last one and this was pretty tough,” coach Polamalu said. “This is a tough lesson for our guys, but they need to be proud of the work that they did this season.”
• You can reach sports reporter Rob McCallum at 957-4221 or by e-mail at rmccallum@nrtoday.com
Sweet Home 6 3 0 7 — 16
Douglas 0 0 8 6 — 14
1st: SH — Cota 11 run (kick blocked). 2nd: SH — Santana 29 field goal. 3rd: D — Guthrie 20 pass from Polamalu (Cortes run). 4th: SH — Miller 28 pass from Holly (Santana kick); D — Escalante 1 pass from Polamalu (run failed).
S.H. Dou.
First Downs 19 15
Total Net Yards 313 319
Rushes-Yards 43-131 18-56
Passing Yards 182 263
Comp-Att-Int 15-24-0 17-24-1
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-2
Punts-Avg. 2-33.0 2-40.5
Penalties-Yards 4-20 7-75
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Sweet Home, Martin 5-52; Cota 14-45; Moyer 7-36; Coakley 6-16; Bidwell 2-3; Holly 9-(-21). Douglas, Polamalu 8-32; Stoffal 10-24.
PASSING — Sweet Home, Holly 15-23-0, 182; Martin 0-1-0, 0. Douglas, Polamalu 16-23-1, 197; Woods 1-1-0, 66.
RECEIVING — Sweet Home, Potter 5-91; Tagle 3-32; Marchbanks 2-17; Cota 2-6; Miller 1-28; Moyer 1-4; Coakley 1-4. Douglas, Escalante 6-65; Woods 5-72; Guthrie 2-43; Stoffal 2-19; Froude 1-66; Childs 1-(-2).
TACKLES (leaders) — Sweet Home, Miller 3; Potter 3; Moyer 2; Long 2; Tagle 2; Jackson 2; Cota 2; Baugus 2. Douglas, Dahl 13; Guthrie 9; Cortes 9; Stoffal 7; Dubie 6; Woods 5; Castner 5; Bodenhamer 5.
For the Douglas High football team, it took more than one mistake, but the result was just as devastating in a 16-14 loss to Sweet Home in a second-round Class 4A playoff game Saturday at Finlay Field.
Instead of trick horses, the Huskies used fake punts and fourth down conversions to take down the fourth-ranked and previously undefeated Trojans. Sweet Home (9-3) advances to a quarterfinal game at Phoenix next weekend, while Douglas (10-1) is left with another excruciating playoff loss.
“It took everything we had to win this game,” Sweet Home coach Rob Younger said. “We needed a perfect game to beat a team like Douglas and our kids responded.”
Sweet Home stuffed Douglas' potential tying two-point conversion run with 5:19 to play and intercepted all-star quarterback Paul Polamalu to clinch the game with the Trojans marching towards a go-ahead score.
“It was a game where we needed to play mistake-free and we didn't, and it came back to bite us,” Douglas coach Joe Polamalu said. “It wasn't from a lack of effort.”
The Trojans fell despite some amazing plays, including two fourth-down TD passes and Sky Woods' improbable 66-yard halfback pass to David Froude.
But Douglas had to scramble for its comeback from a 9-0 deficit as it didn't touch the ball in the second half until 5:40 left in the third quarter. That came after the Huskies held the ball for all but four plays in the second half.
“They kept us off the field, and that was a huge part of it,” Joe Polamalu said. “We barely touched the ball in the second quarter. (Sweet Home) executed when they had to.”
Keenan Martin was a big reason Sweet Home was able to sustain such long drives with two gutsy fake punts on fourth down.
The Huskies faced fourth-and-3 from their own 42 late in the second quarter when the junior quarterback took a direct snap, ran off left tackle and upfield for 23 yards. That set up an Alex Santana 29-yard field goal as time expired in the second half to make it 9-0.
Martin did it again in the fourth quarter, this time on a fourth-and-3 from Sweet Home's own 27. That kept alive a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ultimately gave the Huskies the points they'd need to win.
“It's a play we give Keenan the option to run every time we go out to punt,” Younger said. “I don't know if we're going to do it or not, but we have confidence in Keenan.”
Frustration began early for Douglas, which had two long touchdowns called back by penalties on the opening drive of the game. Woods had a 36-yard TD pass from Polamalu negated by a block below the knees and holding was called on Jered Stoffal's 24-yard TD run.
“That kind of took the wind out of us,” said Woods, who caught six passes for 77 yards. “It seemed like every time we'd get any momentum, something would happen — we'd get a penalty or turn the ball over.”
Paul Polamalu got Douglas on the scoreboard late in the third quarter with a 20-yard TD pass to David Guthrie on fourth-and-16. On the drive, Polamalu made four straight passes and had 10- and 15-yard keepers.
The drive stalled in the red zone before Guthrie found himself wide open in the flats for the TD reception.
Ricky Cortes ran in the two-point conversion on a sweep with Douglas' offensive line lined up on the opposite side of the field to pull the Trojans within 9-8.
But as they seemed to all game, the Huskies responded immediately, using Martin's second fake punt to keep the ensuing drive alive. Then on fourth-and-seven from the Douglas 28, Sweet Home quarterback Tyler
Holly hit tight end Zach Miller for a TD pass and an eight-point lead.
Woods, Polamalu and Froude later pulled off one of the most dazzling plays during Douglas' high-scoring season. Starting from the Douglas 32, Polamalu threw a backwards pass that bounced off the FieldTurf and into Woods' hands. As defenders converged on him, Woods heaved the ball down the sideline to Froude, who sprinted downfield before being chased down at the 2 for a 66-yard gain.
“We knew we'd be on the turf so we practiced it a few times the last two weeks,” Woods said. “The trick of it was to act nonchalant like the play was dead, but they didn't buy it. Their outside linebacker was coming at me pretty fast, so I just put it up.”
But set up at the 2, it still took Paul Polamalu heroics to get into the end zone thanks to Sweet Home's stout run defense. Running back Jered Stoffal was stuffed twice and Polamalu once on short runs. On fourth down, Dontea Escalante caught a bubble creen pass to pull the Trojans within two.
But this time Sweet Home wasn't fooled by Douglas' trick formation on the conversion and easily halted an option attempt.
The Trojans got the ball back after stopping Sweet Home on downs at their own 12 with 2:46 to play. Escalante and Woods each had big receptions on the next drive as Douglas made it to Sweet Home's 33. But out with 1:32 to play, Martin intercepted Polamalu at the 16 to seal the game.
“It feels pretty bad,” said Douglas lineman Stephen Roderick. “We played our hearts out, we did everything that was asked of us. I just feel bad for our seniors.”
Stoffal, the Far West League offensive player of the year and a 1,000-yard rusher, was held to 24 yards on 10 carries.
“We came with a few different wrinkles, using a 3-3 on defense after using a 4-2 most of the season,” Younger said. “It was a great game plan and the kids executed it well.”
Tears flowed in the Douglas locker room afterward, where 14 seniors saw their careers come to a bitter end. The Trojans were winless in 2006 and struggled to a 1-9 mark in 2007 before qualifying for a playoff berth last year. Douglas had a dream season this fall, charging through its first 10 opponents.
But the 2009 team, much like ones before it with Josh Bidwell and Troy Polamalu, were turned away in their first postseason game.
“Unfortunately, the only game you remember is the last one and this was pretty tough,” coach Polamalu said. “This is a tough lesson for our guys, but they need to be proud of the work that they did this season.”
• You can reach sports reporter Rob McCallum at 957-4221 or by e-mail at rmccallum@nrtoday.com
Sweet Home 6 3 0 7 — 16
Douglas 0 0 8 6 — 14
1st: SH — Cota 11 run (kick blocked). 2nd: SH — Santana 29 field goal. 3rd: D — Guthrie 20 pass from Polamalu (Cortes run). 4th: SH — Miller 28 pass from Holly (Santana kick); D — Escalante 1 pass from Polamalu (run failed).
S.H. Dou.
First Downs 19 15
Total Net Yards 313 319
Rushes-Yards 43-131 18-56
Passing Yards 182 263
Comp-Att-Int 15-24-0 17-24-1
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-2
Punts-Avg. 2-33.0 2-40.5
Penalties-Yards 4-20 7-75
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Sweet Home, Martin 5-52; Cota 14-45; Moyer 7-36; Coakley 6-16; Bidwell 2-3; Holly 9-(-21). Douglas, Polamalu 8-32; Stoffal 10-24.
PASSING — Sweet Home, Holly 15-23-0, 182; Martin 0-1-0, 0. Douglas, Polamalu 16-23-1, 197; Woods 1-1-0, 66.
RECEIVING — Sweet Home, Potter 5-91; Tagle 3-32; Marchbanks 2-17; Cota 2-6; Miller 1-28; Moyer 1-4; Coakley 1-4. Douglas, Escalante 6-65; Woods 5-72; Guthrie 2-43; Stoffal 2-19; Froude 1-66; Childs 1-(-2).
TACKLES (leaders) — Sweet Home, Miller 3; Potter 3; Moyer 2; Long 2; Tagle 2; Jackson 2; Cota 2; Baugus 2. Douglas, Dahl 13; Guthrie 9; Cortes 9; Stoffal 7; Dubie 6; Woods 5; Castner 5; Bodenhamer 5.
