Week by week stories and recaps of the 2002 Estacada Ranger Football season. Each week Coach Freeborn writes a story about the game for the local newspaper. They are republished here FYI:
Thought I would give you some facts on the 2002 Estacada Rangers and how the EQualizer was able to get them into position to be successful. Starting offense: Tight End, SR, 6'2 - 180, 2nd Year Varsity TE.
WG: SR 5'9 - 200, 1st yr at WG. Played some at center last year.
C: 1st YR @ Center 5'9 - 195.
SG: JR, 1st year to start at SG, played some last year, 6'4 - 205.
IOT: SR, moved to this position halfway through last year from center, 6'-215; Line leader.
OOT: SR, 1st year to start here, played some OT last year, 6'1 - 225.
SE: 1st year to start, SR 6'1 - 170.
Flankers: flankers adn SEs are the messinger service brining in plays from the sidelines. All these guys were 1st yr Varsity players: SR 5'5 130; JR 5'8 - 140; JR 5'4 120 (this guy will wrestle 112 and the one before him will probably wrestle around 130. We had another SE who was injured during the season a JR at 6'2 - 165.
TB: JR, 1st year to start regularly, 5'9 - 185. Had another JR that split some time at TB but separated his shoulder and missed last half of the season; JR 5'9 - 175. The TB played most of the season with a hurt knee. Come to find out he had a kneecp dislocation last year - never got it fixed and kept bothering him all year. It will get fixed after wrestling season - if he does not make it worse in wrestling.
FB: SR - 2nd year to start, played some as a Soph; 5'9 - 210. Gained over 1, 000 yards. Only the second back in EHS history to do so. Played almost the entire year with a pulled groin
QB: 2nd YR to start at QB, JR 6'2 - 185. Makes good decisions on the option - better than any that I have coached.
As you can see were certianly were not huge and with the injuries to the FB nd the TB we certainly were not fast. But the EQ scheme put the kids into a position to be successful and took them to a 7-3 season and into the playoffs once again.
I have that 112 (120 during football season) wrestler and his 'larger' flanker teammates lead blocking for the FB on film. The guys they were blocking were double their size or more on many occasions.
Tackles weighing in at 215 and 225 are certainly not huge either. Most of the guys they went up against were larger as well.
Game #1 Molalla:
The EHS Rangers began the 2002 season last Friday with a 34-7 victory over the Molalla Indians. The victory kept the traveling trophy here in Estacada for the fifth consecutive year. In fact, the Rangers have kept the "Log" locked up in Estacada since the two schools resumed playing each other 5 years ago.
The game began with Estacada kicking off and Molalla putting the ball in play deep in their own territory. The first two Indian runners were gang tackled by bunches of Rangers. On 3rd down Sean Stafford came as close to an interception as possible while breaking up an Indian pass play.
Following their punt the Rangers had the ball first and 10 near midfield. Ten plays later the Rangers were scoring their first touchdown of the season with Dalton Jeffords scoring on a four yard run over the right side of the offense. Ted Noble kicked the extra point and the Rangers led 7-0. The highlight play of this drive was a 30 run on an option play by Drew Husky which took the ball inside the ten yard line.
Once again the Ranger defense limited the Indians to just three play and out. Our team put together a long time consuming, workmanlike drive for their second score. This time Dalton took it in from the five yard line. Both TDs were made possible by the strong locking of Tommy Randall, Daniel O'Meara, and Ted Noble. Ted added his 2nd PAT of the evening and the Rangers led 14-0.
The Rangers defense proved strong again forcing a punt right away allowing no 1st downs but an Estacada fumble on the second snap gave the Indians good field position deep in Ranger territory. Both teams' defenses stiffened and the ball exchanged hands a time or two. The Indians broke the deadlock with a nicely executed counter play which scored quite easily. The Ranger lead was cut in half 14-7.
But not for long! On their kickoff Todd Swan fielded the ball, cut to the middle of the field, saw an opening and squirted through to score on this 75 yard run. the half ended with the Rangers leading 20-7.
The Rangers received the 2nd half kickoff. Actually Molalla attempted to kick an onside kid but Stewart Spieth fielded the ball cleanly and got it into our hands as soon as he could. The Rangers scored quickly on just the 4th play of the drive when Drew Husky took it in from 45 yards out on an option. The Rangers led 26-7.
Molalla never seriously threatened again but the weather certainly did. An old fashioned mid-west thunder storm complete with brilliant lightening, rolling thunder and huge raindrops interrupted play for almost 30 minutes. The final TD was scored by fullback Craig O'Meara on a two yard run. Craig added the 2 point conversion and the scoring needed with the Ranger up 34-7.
Overall, the defense played well and was led by Mario Olivares' 28 defensive points which included 4 tackles for losses. Craig O'Meara and Dalton Jeffords also had good games defensively with 16 and 13 points respectively.
Dalton Jeffords led all runners with 103 yards on 21 carries while Drew Husky had 94 yards on 12 carries.
This Friday night the team travels to Tillamook. It's been three years since the Rangers have played the Mooks and they have a new coach and scheme. They are running the double wing offense with hard running backs behind some tough blocking by the line. The Cheesemakers beat Stanton last week by two TDs. See you at the game.
Game #2 Tillamook:
Estacada traveled to Tillamook last Friday night to play the Cheesemakers and the game was a spirited contest with the lead changing hands on numerous occasions. The Rangers came from behind to take the lead three different times finally pulling away in the fourth quarter to win 36-21.
We kicked off to the Mooks to begin the game and their unusual double wing offense started to march down the field immediately. Their offense is unusual in that not only do they have a good running attack (which the double win usually is) but they also have an excellent passing attack as well which you hardly ever see with a true double wing team. On their fourth play from scrimmage they threw a nifty play action pass and run that went for 60 yards and a touchdown to take the early lead 7-0 on the made PAT.
After the kickoff we began our first offensive drive from deep in our own territory and were unable to move the ball so we punted it back to them. Matt Lewis intercepted a pass on their first play from scrimmage our of his linebacker position and gave us super field position deep in their territory on the 15 yard line. Five plays later Fullback Dalton Jeffords took the ball in from the three. The try for point after was blocked and the Cheesemakers still led 7-6.
Tillamook took the kickoff and began another march but downed out deep in our territory. We took over the ball and marched down the field and scored in six plays, the big one being a 50 yard scoring pass play from quarterback Drew Husky to SE Riley Lemons. We now led 12-7.
Not to be denied, Tillamook took the ball and began a long march down field featuring some strong running behind some hard blocking. They were unable to score, however, as once again they downed out deep in our territory. We were unable to sustain a drive and punted the ball back to them right before the half. The Rangers put up another good stand but on the very last play of the half Tillamook's end made a fantastic leaping catch in the end zone between two Ranger defenders to put the Mooks ahead 14-12 at the half.
The teams exchanged punts to open the third quarter. Starting from our own 15, we put together a long time consuming drive with quarterback Drew Husky engineering the Ranger option offense. This drive featured a 40 yard completion to Ryan Youngberg setting the Rangers up deep in Mook territory. Husky scored on an option play to the right and tossed a pass to Lemons and once again the Rangers led 20-14.
Tillamook would not go away easily and once again marched down the field and scored to resume the lead with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. WE got the kickoff and began our own scoring drive with a nice blend of running and passing. It was here and the beginning of the fourth quarter that the offensive line started to take control and establish dominance opening huge holes for Dalton Jeffords to break off big gains and finally scoring from three yards out. Husky scored the points after on an option to the left and the rangers led 28-21.
Tillamook's next series was stopped cold in three plays. They punted and Estacada put together the back breaking game winning drive. Marc Doran scored from 60 yards out only to have it called back by a blocking penalty. This put the ball back in Husky/s hands who scored from 25 yards out only to have it called back via a holding call. An offensive face masking put the ball back another 30 yards (rarely, if ever, do you see an offensive player called for facemaskeing). Did I mention we played AT Tillamook?
The Rangers kept the ball in play and an obvious interference call gave us a new set of downs and that's all we needed. Three carries later, Jeffords scored the touchdown and added the points after to end the scoring at 36-21.
They tried to mount a scoring drive complete with two 15 yard penalties but Chris Lowe intercepted the ball to end the game.
Dalton Jeffords had another good night rushing the ball gaining 110 yards on 23 carries. Husky added 51 yards on eight carries and was 5 for 7 passing, 103 yards and one touchdown. Mario Olivares once again led the Rangers defense with 19 points closely followed by Matt Lewis and Kevin Moyer.
This week we come back home to play Wilsonville. This is our conference opener and will probably be the last time we play them for a while as they will be moving up to AAAA ball next fall. We certainly will want them to remember the Rangers on their way out of the league.
Game #3 Wilsonville: Conference Opener
The Ranger football team opened Tri Valley Conference play with a 22-10 victory over Wilsonville last Friday night. The game was a hard fought contest especially in the first half when the Ranger team was so fired up and excited that they took themselves out of position to make plays through numerous mistakes made primarily via nervousness.
Wilsonville took the opening kickoff and marched down the field rather easily till they got to the 10 yard line when the defense stiffened. On fourth down they attempted a field goal which was blocked by Ted Noble and the Rangers took over on their own 8 yard line. The team drove the ball out to near midfield where the drive stalled but a good Ted Noble punt put the Wildcats deep in their own territory at the ten yard line.
Again Wilsonville drove the ball deep into Ranger territory only to down out on the 25 early in the second quarter. This time the Rangers took the ball and drove the length of the field and scored on Dalton Jeffords one yard run. The drive featured some tough running by tailback Marc Doran who on one play, a 17 yard run, was hit by no less than six Wildcats but Marc broke tackle after tackle to set up Jeffords' TD run. The Rangers were in the lead 6-0.
Wilsonville returned the kickoff and marched deep into Ranger Territory again. When the defense stopped their drive, they kicked a field goal from 30 yards out, something you do not see very often in high school ball.
As time was running out in the first half, the Rangers tried passing the ball to score before the half was over. An old maxim is to never "throw the ball late over the middle" which is what we did and they intercepted it and ran it back for a score. Suddenly we were behind 10-6 with 1:55 left to go in the half.
We returned the kickoff to the 33 yard line and went back into our version of the two minute offense. Using all our time outs and good clock management, Quarterback Drew Husky too the team down to the one yard line only to have time run out before we could score.
The second half began with Estacada driving the ball down the field breaking off huge chunks of yardage with Husky, Doran and Jeffords carrying the ball well. All three of these running backs had a good night carrying the ball with Jeffords leading all rushers with 117 yards, Husky had 111 yards, Doran added 91 yards, we added 71 yards passing and had a total of 417 yards worth of offense. Missed blocking assignments stalled out this drive but the Ranger defense held right away and forced a quick punt right back to the Rangers at midfield. The Estacada offensive line led by tommy Randall, Daniel O'Meara, and Ted Noble started to take command of the game and Dalton Jeffords scored in just 4 plays from 50 yards out. Husky added the extra points on an option run and the Rangers were back in the lead for good 14-10.
Once again the defense, which allowed only 19 yards of offense for Wilsonville in the second half, stopped their drive with an interception by Matt Lewis when the ball was tipped by Nate Nicholson. On this drive Junior fullback Craig O'Meara rant he ball in from the two yard line while Jeffords took a breather. Husky again added the points after and the Rangers led 22-10 which was the final score. Even though the team did not score again, they did have another long time consuming, length of the field drive which lasted over seven minutes of the fourth quarter.
The victory puts Estacada out on top of the league with the other teams that won, Sherwood and LaSalle, next week's opponent who defeated Madras last Friday. Again this year, LaSalle features a strong passing attack balanced with a strong running game by the fullback. The game is away this week, at LaSalle; better get there early to secure a seat.
A final note: Those of you who have been to the last two games have seen the Rangers assume command of the game in the second half exhibiting the strength and conditioning built during the year with our strength and conditioning program. The equipment and facilities (the new weightroom is nearing completion and has been used by the team for the past three weeks) have been put to good use by your athletes of the Ranger athletic program. The team would like to thank you for your support and generous gifts to the strength program. It has paid great dividends already.
Game # 4 - LaSalle:
When I came to Estacada six years ago, I asked people who the arch rival was. The general answer was anybody and everybody because the Rangers hardly ever beat anyone, let alone have a rival. "But if we could just beat LaSalle; that would be nice," people said. And so we have, since I've been the coach here, we have never lost to the Falcons, last Friday night was no exception.
Estacada kicked off to LaSalle to open the game. They were forced to punt in three plays and the Rangers took over on their own 30 yard line after their punt was downed. We scored on the sixth play of this initial drive when Drew Huskey ran the option off the left side and broke free to score from 33 yards out. Drew had several runs of over 10 yards on this drive. Ted Noble added the PAT and the Rangers were out to an early lead 7-0.
After the kickoff LaSalle drove the ball into Ranger territory only to turn the ball over on downs. The Rangers put together a really nice drive that went deep into Falcon land only to fumble away an excellent scoring opportunity.
The teams exchanged punts to have LaSalle with the ball first and ten at midfield. They decided to go for the long ball and delivered a perfectly executed pass and catch to tie the score at 7.
The teams exchanged punts again with neither team able to sustain a drive. Drew Huskey got the Ranger back on track with a pass interception which he returned 15 yards to LaSalle's 35. Four plays later Fullback Dalton Jeffords scored over the left side, Noble added the PAT and the Rangers had the lead again 14-7.
With time running out in the first half, Estacada went into their two minute offense with a drive that began at midfield. Time ran out as we were driving to score.
We took the second half kickoff and marched right down the field to score. The big play in this drive was when Ryan Youngberg picked up a fumble, reversed his direction and raced 20 yards down to the thirteen yardline. A bootleg pass form Huskey to Riley Lemons set up another Jeffords touchdown from one yard out. Noble's PAT put the Rangers out in front 21-7.
Once again on their next possession, LaSalle connected on another deep TD pass with a great throw and an equally great catch. The Rangers still led, however,, 21-14.
Estacada answered with a long time consuming drive that used most of the remaining time of the third period. Dalton Jeffords scored from one yard out and the Rangers were up 27-14. The big play in this drive was a nicely executed counter play of about 20 yards run by Marc Doran behind the blocking of Ted Noble and Daniel O'Meara.
After holding the Falcons on their next possession, the Rangers put together another long scoring drive to open the fourth quarter. This drive featured excellent option football engineered by Quarterback Drew Huskey who scored from 35 yards out. Drew had almost 200 gained yards running the option. The coaching staff really thought they would not let Drew run with the all after the big night he had last ear against LaSalle but it looked like their scheme was to stop the fullback not the quarterback. The Rangers led 32-14.
An interception by Todd Swan stopped LaSalle's next drive but that opportunity was wasted with a fumble deep in our own territory. They drove the ball in to bring the score up to 32-20.
Misfortune struck again as we fumbled their kickoff and gave them great field position inside our 20. They scored again to bring the final score to 32-27. Following the kickoff we drove the length of the field and the clock expired as Dalton Jeffords was getting ready to score from the one yard line.
For the second week in a row the Rangers had over 400 yards of total offense. Marc Doran contributed 92 yards on 18 carries, Jeffords added 67 yards to Husky's totals. Mario Olivares led the defensive stats with 4 unassisted tackles (one for a loss) and 9 assisted tackles.
This week the Rangers continue conference play with a home game against Gladstone who has reentered the league. Gladstone is a team that will once again challenge the Rangers pass defense. We'll see you at the game.
Game #5: Gladstone
Did you ever have one of those time periods when everything you did clicked extraordinarily well and everything you tried worked as planned? So it was for the Estacada Rangers during the first period of play that propelled the team to a 55-12 Tri Valley Conference Victory over Gladstone last Friday night.
The Gladiators kicked off to the Rangers who put the ball in play on their own 25 yardline. The first play was a bootleg pass/run option for Drew Huskey, the Ranger Quarterback. I told Drew I thought he might be able to run for a good gain.On his bootleg, Drew hit a wide open Matt Lewis, our tight end, at the 40 yard line. Matt was bale to carry the ball down to the Gladiator 32 before a shoestring tackle by their free safety brought him down. A holding penalty brought the ball back to midfield where one the next play, a counter, tailback Marc Doran broke off a 19 yard run. On the next play, just the third of the drive, Huskey went option right with an audible called at the line of scrimmage and raced 36 yards for the Rangers' first score. Ted Noble added the PAT and the Rangers were out to an early lead 7-0 with just one minute gone in the game.
Gladstone returned the kickoff nicely up the middle and looked to be in good field position as kickoff safetyman Drew Huskey was tackling their returner on our 24 yard line. Their runner in trying for extra yardage allowed Drew to get his hands on the ball, causing a fumble which we recovered. Unfortunate for them, but a big break for us. Keep in mind, however, you make your own breaks. Drew was in position to make a touchdown saving tackle and he was strong enough to rip the ball out.
So we had the ball instead of them and on the third play from scrimmage, an option to the left, the Gladstone end penetrated too deeply allowing Huskey to beat him to the inside. Split End Kyle Dodrill and Flanker Todd Swan provided nice blocks which enabled Huskey to break into the secondary and race 63 yards to paydirt. Ted Noble added the PAT and the Rangers were up 14-0 and Gladstone had yet to run an offensive play.
When they did put the ball in play, Gladstone was forced to punt after just 3 plays by the stingy Ranger defense which held the Gladiator offense to no first downs in the first half of play. After the punt, the Rangers put the ball in play once again at their own 24 yardline. The second play in this series was a 50 yard gain by tailback Marc Doran on that same counter play over the left side. Doran had his best game ever at tailback gaining 189 yards on 16 carries and scoring two TDs. Once again QB Huskey ran the option, this time to the left and went 23 yards to score his third TD of the quarter with this just being his third carry as well. Noble's PAT put the Rangers out in front 21-0. Drew Huskey carried the ball three times, all on options, gained 123 yards and scored three TDs and the first quarter was not yet over. Drew finished the night with 147 yards on 7 carries, and outstanding 21 yard average.
Following our third kickoff of the quarter, Gladstone could not gain a single yard on the rugged Ranger defense and punted the ball once again. On the first play of this drive Huskey completed a play action pass to flanker Ryan Youngberg who had broken free at the Gladiator 40 and the Rangers had a very nice 28 yard completion. Three plays by Fullback Dalton Jeffords for a first down were followed by another counter play to tailback Marc Doran, this time to the right. Marc set up the blocks of pulling guard Ted Noble and tackle Daniel O'Meara and scampered 22 yards to the Gladiator 3 yard line. Fullback Dalton Jeffords took it in from there. Noble's PAT put the Rangers up 28-0 which completed the scoring for the first period which saw the Rangers gain over 300 yards, score four touchdowns and kick all PATs, execute the offense as well as it has ever been and play excellent defense allowing no first downs.
Gladstone tried to make their first first down on their next series gambling on 4th down and 2 at midfield, but inside linebacker Mario Olivares broke through and tackled the runner for a 2 yard loss. Once again Mario led the defensive point chart for the game with 3 unassisted tackles, 2 for a loss and seven assisted tackles.
So the Rangers opened the second quarter with the ball at midfield. A holding penalty took us back 10 yards, but two runs (a sweep and a counter) by tailback Doran gave us another first down deep in their territory. Several plays later fullback Craig O'Meara scored on a middle screen pass only to have it called back when his brother, Daniel, was whistled for holding. This is the second TD of Craig's that has been called back due to a hold by Daniel. We joke with Daniel about not wanting his brother to score. So the play was called back and the yards marched off. Two plays later, Doran, on a sweep play to the left, behind excellent blocking by Craig O'Meara, Ted Noble, and Kevin Moyer took the ball down to the 4 yard line. Two plays later Craig did score (right behind Daniel's block). Noble's PAT put the Rangers in the lead 35-0 at the 7:24 mark of the second quarter.
With the score 35-0, the Estacada coaching staff substituted freely giving much needed playing time to some players who work very hard in practice but play only sparingly during the games. These Rangers drove the ball down to the 25 yard line when the half ended.
We kicked off to start the second half. Gladstone got their first first down on the first play of the half. But a few plays later, Matt Lewis out of his linebacker position made a good break on the ball and came away with his third interception of the year returning it to the Gladstone 25 yard line. Four plays later Marc Doran scored on a blast play over the right side. The strength of the Ranger runners was well demonstrated on this series with our ball carriers breaking tackles, bouncing off other would be tacklers and striding into the end zone unscathed. The Rangers led 41-0.
In their next series Gladstone again gambled on 4th down at midfield and once again Olivares tackled he ball carrier short of the marker and Estacada had the ball in good field position. Powerful running by Jeffords and Doran behind the lien blocking of Tommy Randall, Daniel O'Meara, Ted Noble, Mario Olivares, Kevin Moyer and Matt Lewis took the ball to the house. This time Doran scored on a Blast play to the left. Noble's PAT put the Rangers out in front 48-0.
The final Ranger touchdown was scored by Freshman Quarterback Reed Huskey who in trying to gain a first down wound up with a 36 yard touchdown run on an option play to the left. Noble's final PAT of the evening pushed the Ranger score out to 55.
Gladstone was able to score two times late in the fourth quarter with some well executed passing, but it certainly was a case of too little, too late.
This week the Rangers due to a scheduling quirk, once again have to travel to The Dalles this time on Thursday night to meet the Indians. Any Estacada football fan knows how hard it is to go to The Dalles and come away with a victory. We have done it before and will implement plans to do it again.
Game #6: The Dalles -
Last Friday night the Rangers went up the Gorge to play The Dalles. Both teams were undefeated in Tri Valley League play and a hard fought games was in the offering.
The game started with Estacada fumbling away not only the opening kickoff but also good field position. They drove down to the five yard line but our defense put up a goal line stand forcing them to turn the ball over on downs. We moved the ball out to our 40 but we punted and a good Indian return set them up just past midfield. Several plays later a Dalles receiver got behind our secondary and scored on a well executed pass play. The extra point was no good and they led 6-0.
Later in the first quarter Todd Swan intercepted a pass and returned it to the Dalles 30 yard line. A big run by Nate Nickelson put the ball inside the 10. Dalton Jeffords took the ball in the rest of the way. Noble's PAT put the Rangers in the lead 7-6.
On the kickoff return, no less than five Rangers missed tackling the return man who took the ball into our territory. As well as the Rangers have looked all year long, this night was marred by repeated poor and sloppy tackling, missed assignments and being out of position on defense at crucial times in the game. After sacking their quarterback on first down, he completed a 50 yard pass on second down. The Rangers needed another goal line stand but gave up a touchdown instead on a reverse play. They led 14-7.
We got a drive going here at the beginning of the second quarter pushing the ball into their territory. On third down Drew Huskey laid the ball up for a Ranger receiver who had broken clear at the Indians 20 yard line. At the very last second, however, a Dalles defender made up the difference and was able to strip the ball our from our receiver's hands. Completing this pass and taking it in would have tied the score. Instead, on their next series of downs, they scored on a perfectly executed seam pass. The ball went right between two rangers defenders. Therein lies much of the story for the entire night. They make a play an strip away what would be a long pass for us, and we come up just inches short of making a similar play but results in a touchdown for them. They led 20-7. A holding penalty helped stall our next drive and The Dalles took over and overcame two sacks as well as a penalty to drive the ball down the field to score and lead 26-7. Herein lies another tell tale fact of the evening, on this night they were able to overcome sacks and penalties repeatedly to score while we could not.
With just 1:57 remaining we got the ball and went into our two minute offensive drill. Huskey hit tight end Matt Lewis over the middle followed with a completed pass to split end Riley Lemons in the flat. Two more quick passes to Lemons in the opposite flat took the ball inside the ten. Two option plays later took the ball down to the one where Jeffords took it in from there. Noble's PAT made the score Rangers 14, the Dalles 26 at halftime.
Whatever momentum we had generated before half was quickly negated as The Dalles took the second half kickoff and marched it down the field following yet another great kickoff return to lead 33-14.
We drove the ball out to midfield and into Indian territory only to have another holding call followed by a procedure penalty back us up and force a punt which was downed at the one yard line. We had them backed up and field position was ours, except that a 50 yard quarterback draw play just three plays later put them out to midfield again and we let field position slip away from us. It was obvious that they had more overall team speed than we had and out kids seemed out of position because of it all night long. They drove the ball 98 yards down to the one yard line where we had another goal lien stand, stopping them on the one and taking over. Unable to make a first down, we wee forced to punt. We mishandled the snap and fumbled in the end zone for a safety. They led 35 - 14. Following the free kick they scored again quickly on a seam pass which saw their receiver side step our safety and run it in.
Our next drive took us into the fourth quarter. We drove the ball down the field mixing in the pass with the run. Once again Dalton Jeffords took the ball in and Huskey's two point conversion made the score 42-22.
On their next series they hit a swing pass that went for 60 yards and a score. The PAT was blocked and they now led 48-22.
We went back into our two minute offense which produced a first half score. We moved the ball sharply down the field. Once again Huskey put the ball right on target to a Ranger receiver in the end zone. this time an Indian defender went up and took the ball right out of our receiver's hands for an interception rather than an Estacada touchdown. We had over 300 yards in offense but gave up almost twice than much defensively.
We got the ball back after forcing a punt and moved the ball down the field. We scored on a 30 yard pass from Huskey to Lemons to close out the scoring at 48-28. Our onside kick attempt failed and hey ran out the remainder of the clock.
In order for us to have won the game we would have had to play error free ball, drastically cut down on our penalties, take advantage of our opportunities and score when we had our chances because the Dalles played their best game of the year, by far. We played no where near the level we are capable of playing.
This week we play Sherwood at home in a crucial league match. Come out and cheer the team on. See you at the game.
Game 6: Sherwood
For the second year in a row the Rangers have not been able to solve the Sherwood Bowman puzzle; this year losing 38-0.
Once again Estacada fumbled the opening kickoff giving the opponent excellent field position deep in our territory. Nine plays later they punched it in from the one yard line to take a 7-0 lead. the rangers almost put up a goal line stand as it took like five plays inside our ten yard line for them to score, but it was to be a night of almosts and missed opportunities for the team.
We were forced to punt right away following the kickoff and their return set them up with good field position just inside our territory. Five play later they scored on a well executed reverse play that caught us flat footed and out of position to make the tackle. That was to be the end of the first half scoring right here at the five minute mark of the first period. Following the kickoff a pass to Riley Lemons and a 35 yard option run by Drew Huskey took the ball down to their 15 yard line. Three plays later on fourth down, Sherwood's defensive end broke through a block and stopped our Ranger runner for no gain and we turned the ball over on downs at their 6 yard line. Our first scoring opportunity was thwarted. We played excellent defense driving them back to their two yard line and forcing them to punt away to us and we would have great field position. Great field position gave way to good with a holding penalty on the return. And that good field position was lost due to a fumbled pitch moved us back 15 yards and back into our own territory. A missed block on 2nd down forced an errant pass. We completed the 3rd down pass to Ryan Youngberg for a 24 yard gain making it 4th and 1 at the 29 yard line. On 4th down our backs lined up in the wrong formation, we blocked incorrectly and we were stopped short on our 2nd scoring opportunity.
We forced them to punt and a 2nd down pass to Lemons put us at their 38 yard line 1st and 10. We moved the ball down to the 25 yard line only to lose ground and we punted the ball to the coffin corner. Our punting by Ted Noble was one of our very few highlights for the evening as he did a fine job punting the ball. This was the 3rd time we had driven the ball deep into their territory only to stall out on each drive and come away with no points.
On their next possession, the lack of a whistle by the officials allowed us to strip the ball form a Sherwood runner. We were unable, however, to move the ball and take advantage of this turnover and the half ended.
We had our chances to score in the half and did not capitalize on them. When playing a good team like Sherwood, you have to score every opportunity you can. If we would have, the score would have been 21-14 Estacada at the half, but our mistakes cost us that lead.
The teams exchanged punts several times to open the 2nd half with the Bowmen gaining field position on each exchange. We had the ball 1st and 10 at our 15 but fumbled the ball away on that play giving them superior field position on the 11 yard line. Five plays later they scored to go up 21-0.
Another lost fumble put us in bad field position again but we stopped them and forced a punt. Three dropped passes later and we punted back to them. On their next series, Marc Doran caused a fumble recovered by Ryan Youngberg giving us our best field position of the quarter but we were unable to more the ball taking the game into the fourth quarter. Following our punt they marched down the field, scored and went up 28-0.
Following the kickoff, a penalty and a sack meant we had to punt from our four yardline giving them good field position. We stopped them from scoring a TD but they were able to kick a field goal and go up 31-0.
In trying to move the ball down the field to score on our next possession they picked off an errant pass and returned it for a touchdown to close out the scoring at 38-0.
This week the Rangers travel to Madras for our last conference game of the year. A win would mean a state playoff berth which is always our team's first goal, qualifying for the playoffs. Come cheer the Rangers on to Victory.
Game #8: Madras
The Rangers got back on track last Friday night at Madras winning 34-7. On a chilly night the Rangers started out hot with Drew Huskey intercepting Madras' first pass and returning it to midfield. Estacada would score in just four plays as Quarterback Drew Huskey executed the option perfectly carrying the ball three of the four plays for 46 yards and the touchdown. Ted Noble's PAT put the Rangers up early 7 - 0.
Madras's second series was stopped when Ryan Youngberg intercepted a pass near midfield. Offensive miscues forced us to punt and an excellent punt it was as it was downed on the one yard line giving the White Buffaloes very poor field position. Forced to punt after gaining little or no yards in three plays, Estacada got the ball in excellent field position at the Buffalo 30 yard line. Several plays later Huskey scored on an option play to the left.
After yielding just one first down the Ranger defense, which played well all night and was led once again by middle linebacker Mario Olivares, forced Madras to punt once more. Eric Weekly who had a god night returning punts and kicks, fielded the punt, broke a tackle, got behind the wall and returned the punt 25 yards to the Madras 42 yardline. Huskey scored on the very first play of this series only to have it called back due to a penalty. Later in this drive, Riley Lemons scored on a pass only to have it called back due to yet another penalty. We finally turned the ball over on downs as we came within two yards of overcoming the penalty yardage.
Madras was forced to punt right away. A bad snap and a good rush by defensive ends Josh Weston and Craig O'Meara forced a really poor kick which Matt Lewis recovered on the 12 yard line. Two plays later Fullback Dalton Jeffords carried the ball into the end zone following Marc Doran's block. Noble's PAT put the Rangers ahead at the half 21-0.
Both teams exchanged punts to open the second half. Madras recovered a Ranger fumble near our 30 yard line. Several plays later, they scored on a pass play making the score 21-7.
Following an exchange of punts we once again had the ball in good field position at midfield. We drove the ball down the field in Ranger like fashion gaining 5 - 10 yards a carry. The offensive line really took charge of the game at this point and Quarterback Drew Huskey scored on the first play of the fourth quarter executing an option play over the left side.
Our final scoring drive began on our own 23 yard line. This was a 10 play scoring drive and fullback Dalton Jeffords carried the ball on all but two of the drive's plays. We wanted to have a long time consuming drive which we were able to achieve with Dalton carrying the ball behind the blocking of Senior linemen Tommy Randall and Daniel O'Meara. For the night Jeffords carried the ball 20 times for 116 yards. Huskey added 103 yards on 19 carries as the Ranger offensive piled up 343 total yards.
The victory raises Estacada's record to 6 wins against two losses and positions the Rangers in the Tri Valley Conference's third playoff spot which is matched up against Vale of the Greater Oregon League. The details of this playoff game at Vale will be worked out next week.
This is the Rangers' fourth trip to the playoffs in five years which is quite an accomplishment for our boys, especially this Senior class. Very few programs can say they have accomplished such a feat.
Our last game of the regular season is Friday night, our Homecoming Game against Woodburn. The Bulldogs are a much improved team having won 4 games this year and are led by some hard running backs on offense and hard hitting linebackers on defense. Come out and cheer the team on this their last home game of the season.
Mental Note: Try not to schedule Homecoming and Halloween the same week; strange things happen with that combination.
Principal Gary Lewis happened to be exiting the stadium the same time as I last Friday night and thanked me royally for giving the fans their money's worth. And everyone over the weekend has talked about how good the game was, very exciting. Indeed, I remember asking Doc Orth during the game if he had any of those heart nitro pills in his pocket. "I'm fine," he said. "Doc," I said. "They're not for you.. It's my heart and blood pressure they're toying with out there!"
Along with the distractions of Homecoming and Halloween the team has had the flu and several players were out this week and did not start the game due to lost practice time. Right away on Woodburn's opening drive they hit one of those substituted positions for a 50 yard pass play taking the ball down to the 12 yard line. A sweep to the one, and an offside penalty put them first and goal from the half yard line. On first down Mario Olivares stops thier runner for no gain. Mario again tackles the Bulldog runner for a one yard loss on second down. On Third down Dalton Jeffords breaks through and also posts a tackle for a one yard loss. On fourth down Daniel O'Meara assisted by Matt Lewis makes a touchdown saving tackle on a quarterback scramble - a goal line stand. What a way to open the game. It turned out to be only the beginning.
We took over and moved the ball forward notching a couple of first downs but punted only to have them return it 57 yards for a touchdown.
We tried to punt again after the kickoff but a missed block and taking too long to get the ball punted resulted in a blocked punt giving them excellent field position from which they scored to go up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
We got the offense moving at the beginning of the second quarter. Dalton Jeffords scored on a one yard run capping a nine play drive and added a run for the extra points to narrow the score to 14-8.
The defense stiffened and they punted the ball to us but after a big gain, a Bulldog defender stripped the ball out of the hands of a Ranger runner and they took over.
The Bulldogs could not sustain a drive and they punted. We got the ball deep in our territory. Implementing our two minute offense, we went to a pass on first down only to have it intercepted. Ted Noble made the touchdown saving tackle this time.
On first and goal from the one Daniel O'Meara not only met the runner for a loss, he also forced a fumble which we recovered for our second goal line stand of the half. We ran out the time in the half and went to halftime discussions trailing 18-8.
The Rangers started the second half determined to play better. Returning the ball to our 29 yard line, a 10 play drive was put together capped with a 15 yard touchdown run by Dalton Jeffords. Dalton carried the ball 8 of those 10 plays gaining 62 of those 71 yards.
Following the kickoff they were forced to punt and we once again started from the 29. On this 12 play drive Dalton carried the ball 8 times scoring on a one yard run. The Rangers now led 20-14 at the end of the third quarter.
They drove the ball down the field to score and tie the game at 20.
Now, we are firm believers that "if it ain't broke don't fix it." It was clear that Dalton Jeffords was having a great night running the ball so we gave it to him 8 of 10 times on this drive to put the Rangers in the lead 26-20 with just 1:30 to go in the game. Dalton would finish the night and the grades for 298 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns which certainly would have to rank as one of, if not the best, running back performance by a Ranger runner.
They go the ball back and drove to midfield where on 4th down they fired the ball up field where it was tipped, went high in the air and was pulled down by their receiver who took it in to score. The PAT was deflected and into overtime we went.
In the first overtime it took the Bulldogs 9 plays to score. They tried a 2 point conversion but a tackling trio of Craig O'Meara, Matt Lewis and Drew Huskey stopped their quarterback on the one.
The Rangers took only 5 plays to score with Drew Huskey taking it in from the seven. The PAT kick was just wide to the left so we would go to the second overtime period.We had the ball first this time and score in just two plays. The option run for the PAT to the left was good as Huskey (with a defender draped all over him) pitched the ball to Marc Doran.
When they got the ball their quarterback fumbled the snap on thier third play and it was recovered by Mario Olivares sealing the 40-32 Ranger victory.
This week the team enters the playoffs for the 4th time in 5 years. We will play at Vale, Sat at 1:00 pm MST. Remember, they are in a different time zone. Vale is an experience, well coached team that is a regular to the AAA Playoffs. They are a traditional power in the Greater Oregon League losing only to Ontario this year.
Game #10: State Playoffs -Vale
Sometimes the score of a game doesn't really indicate how close the contest really was; such is the case of the Rangers' 28-12 playoff loss to Vale last weekend. It was a hard fought contest beginning to end and if there would have been another 10 minutes or so in the game . . . .
Playing a football game at Vale in November could lead to a variety of weather scenarios. In face, he team encountered a severe hail storm on Friday as they traveled to Payette Idaho for practice the day before the game. (Payette is a neighboring town to Ontario Oregon where the team spent the night and Athletic Director Dave Steppe has some connections with that school.) Game day, however, was quite nice with temps in the upper 50s accompanied by partly cloudy to clear skies by the end of the game.
The Rangers kicked off to Vale to begin the game. Going into the game we knew that they possessed more speed and that we needed to leverage their offense through alignment, especially by our secondary. The very first play of the game saw our secondary misaligned which really proved to be costly. Sometimes when this happens it doesn't prove to be costly, but other times it does. On this occasion they just happened to run where we should have been but weren't for a 17 yard gain..
The second way you leverage an opponent is with proper pursuit angles. On their second play from scrimmage a Vale runner took a pitch out, cut back behind a block inside three Rangers who had over pursued the play and broke free for a 58 yard touchdown. In just 39 seconds they were up 7-0.
The Rangers first play on offense proved to be indicative of how things would go for the entire day. A nicely executed option play of about 15 yards was negated by a referee's inadvertent whistle. The official was faked out by Quarterback Drew Huskey's ball handling skills. We had informed the officials before the game how good he was at it . . . sometimes, however, you have to see it to believe it. It was much the same way for our team when the coaching staff warned of the importance of leveraging their offense. Our kids had to see it to believe it and the seeing put us into a whole so deep we could not climb our way out in the time allowed.
Marc Doran carried the ball to a first down on a sweep behind some really good blocking by Jeffords, Noble and Moyer. Another first down by Doran on an option took the ball in Viking territory. A play action pass to Riley Lemons advanced the ball down to their 25 yard line. A few plays later on fourth and one from the 12, we were stopped for no gain and turned the ball over on downs squandering our first scoring opportunity.
Vale moved the ball to the 45 where we forced them to punt. We exchanged punts to begin play in the second quarter. Mixing up the run and the pass, the Rangers drove into Vale territory with three consecutive first downs. An interference penalty took us down to the 27 yard line. A few plays later Ryan Youngberg caught a pass setting up a first and 10 on the 11 yard line. This drive stalled and ended when a field goal attempt hit the left upright and bounced back instead of through. This proved to be a psychological downer that would put us on our heels and prove costly as they drove the ball out to midfield where on third and one they guessed right on a play and behind some excellent blocking broke off a 51 yard touchdown run.
Unable to field the kickoff cleanly put us in poor field position, headed into the steady breeze with 3:30 left in the half. After a first down we went into our two minute offense, but the drive stalled and we punted the ball deliberately out of bounds to avoid a big run back.
With time running out in the half, we just were unable to cover their favorite pass receiver effectively who hauled in a short pass but received an excellent block which sprung him up the sidelines to finally be tripped up at the five. They scored three plays later to go up 21-0. They tried an onside kick but we recovered and the half ended with Huskey pass slipping through a Ranger receiver's hands at the Viking 10 yard line.
Our first drive of the second half stalled at midfield but we pinned them deep in their own territory. They did gain a couple first downs but these were negated when a punt snap sailed over their punters head back to the 6 yard line. Marc Doran scored the touchdown on a sweep to the right and we were on the board trailing now 21-6.
What we needed to do at this point was to make a good defensive stand and get the ball back quickly. Unfortunately, the Vikings put together their longest (in number of plays) and only real threat of the second half. Not only did they go up 28-6, they also took valuable time off the clock doing it.
Riley Lemons returned the kickoff to the 43 yard line and the Rangers went to work. We drove the ball down the field and scored on a 12 yard pass play to Riley form Huskey. We now trailed 28-12.
We did stop them after one first down and get the ball back on our 24 yard line. Our hurry up offense took the ball across midfield into their territory, and it looked as if we had the momentum to score and narrow the deficit to 28-20 with enough time on the clock to recover an onside kick for a chance to tie the score and send the game into overtime and a victory. But all that was not to be as we fumbled the ball away after completing a pass which had them reeling.
We got the ball back one last time and starting from our 2 yard line drove the ball the length of the field with very little time remaining. The game ended with Riley Lemons being tackled on their 7 yard line trying his best to score.
You would have been proud of the way the boys played and battled back. At the end of the game they certainly had the upper hand winning the second half 12-7.
We finished the game with 350 yards of total offense. Drew Huskey completed 19 of 32 passes for 176 yards his favorite target being Riley Lemons who caught 10 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown. We rushed the ball for 174 yards being led by Dalton Jeffords' 19 carries for 74 very tough yards. That put Dalton over the thousand yard mark for the season. Gaining a thousand yards in high school is a major accomplishment as the quarters are only 12 minutes long not 15 as in college. Plus those college players now have 12 games plus a bowl game to make their thousand. That's the equivalent of more than a 13 game season for a high schooler. At that rate Dalton would gain at least 1500 yards.
As far as yardage stats go, we out gained them 350 yards
to their 313. And if you take out the three big plays of the first half,
they had only 160 yards of offense. But poor field position, an inability
to thwart the big play and missed scoring opportunities left us short in
the most important stat - the score.
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