Week by week stories and recaps of the 2003 Estacada Ranger Football season. Each week Coach Freeborn writes a story about the game for the local newspaper. They are republished here FYI:

Game #1 Cascade: The Rangers were as hot as the weather last Friday night at Cascade High School when our Boys posted a 52-8 victory to launch the 2003 fall campaign.

We won the coin flip and choose to defer to the second half which meant we would kickoff and start the game on defense. The Cougars gained but three yards on their initial possession and were forced to punt. Drew Huskey returned the punt deep into their territory but a penalty brought the ball back to our 40 yard line. Six plays later Drew optioned to the right side of the offense and behind the strong blocking of tackle Jordan Meyers, guard Ted Noble, flanker Ryan Youngberg and split end Kyle Dodrill, Drew was able to race through a huge hole to score from 24 yards out.

Ted Noble put the knowledge he obtained at kicking camp this past summer to good use this night as he kicked and made all seven extra point attempts, booted a 17 yard field goal on our next possession and kicked every kickoff deep into Cougar territory with two of them gong into the end zone for touchbacks. Having a kicker with this kind of ability certainly is an advantage because it puts the other team in poor field position regularly.

After the ensuing kickoff, Cascade could not mount a drive due to tough defensive play highlighted by a sack chalked up by middle linebacker Mario Olivares who picked up right where he left off as on of the defensive leaders for the Rangers last year. On the very next play defensive end Craig O'Meara was able to tackle a Cougar runner for another loss and force them to punt.

We drove the ball down the field to score only to have it called back on a motion penalty. Highlights of the drive included back to back 14 and six yard pass receptions by Ryan Youngberg. We choose to kick the field goal form 17 yards out after two passes fell incomplete in the end zone.

We kicked off to Cascade who notched their only first down of the first half following a better than average kickoff return for them. The cougars were just over the midfield strip and looked like they might be capable of mounting a scoring drive of their own. On a third and one play, however, O'Meara tackled their quarterback for a two yard loss. Their fourth down pass attempt fell short and incomplete.

Estacada, therefore, took over on downs and on second down Drew Huskey found tight end Jacob Seal open in the Cascade secondary on a nicely executed 42 yard catch and run play. The next play saw Marc Doran take the pitch at the 12 yard line, cut behind a block by Gordy Grochowsky, run over a defender at the six yard line, and score his first of what we plan on being many TDs this season. The Rangers were up 17-0 midway through the second quarter.

Noble kicked the ball deep and the cougar return man was dumped on the 17 yard line. During this series of downs both defensive ends. Jordan Myers and Craig O'Meara (who led the team defensively this night with 19 defensive point), tackled their option quarterback for losses back to the 7 yards line. On third down, O'Meara batted down an ill-fated pass attempt. Forced to punt form their end zone, the ball was recovered on their 30 yard line granting the Rangers super field position. Huskey took the ball left on an option for 14 yards. Then fullback Craig O'Meara took the handoff and behind strong blocking of the the strongside, cut back to score from 16 yards out. The Ranger increased their lead to 24-0 with 3:25 remaining in the half.

Another three and out led to a Cascade punt which was returned 65 yards for a touchdown by Drew Huskey, but a penalty brought the ball back and the clock ran out as the Rangers were driving for yet another score.

The Rangers put the ball in play from the second half kickoff at he 25 yard line. A sweep left by tailabck Marc Doran with a good hand down picked up a first down on the 34. Two plays later, quarterback Drew Huskey once again found tightend Jacob Seal. This time it was a 63 yard touchdown on a bootleg pass. The Rangers were up 31-0 early in the third quarter.

Following the kickoff return Cascade notched their second first down of the evening only to have Olivares sack their quarterback for a five yard loss on the very next play followed by two short gains back to original line of scrimmage forcing yet another punting situation. Their punter was unable to field the snap and the ball was downed on the 32 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, fullback Craig O'Meara took the handoff, cut back behind some fine blocking and never looked back until he scored again. The Rangers were now up 38-0 in the 3rd.

We substituted a fresh backfield after the defense once again forced a three and out on the cougars. Quarterback Reed Huskey, Sophomore quarterback of Drew, handed the ball off to Gordy Grochowsky who had a nice first down run. A few plays later Grochowsky took the handoff and raced 16 yards to score breaking several tackles along the way as well as dragging at least two defenders along with him into the end zone.

Scoring for the Rangers ended with Jordan Meyers blocking a punt and Alan Noble recovering the loose ball from his defensive end position. The Ranger led 52-0.

Estacada substituted freely for the duration of the game. Cascade was able to score one TD against the Sophomores and Freshmen.

The Rangers racked up over 300 yards rushing with Marc Doran leading the way with 83 yards on 10 carries. O'Meara and Huskey added 66 and 62 yards respectively. With 133 yards passing, Estacaca had over 430 yards of offense. Going into the 4th quarter, Cascade had but 29 yards pushing and just 29 yards passing.

This week the Rangers open at home against Tillamook who put up 32 points to win at Stayton last week. They feature a punishing ground game with some nifty passing. We had to come from behind several times to win last year's game with the cheesemakers. See you at the game.

Game #2 Tillamook

The 2003 Ranger Football team had its home debut against the Tillamook Cheesemakers on what was a perfect night for a game. Not only was the weather perfect for the game, the Ranger defense was equally perfect in shutting out the Cheesemakers 53-0.

Tillamook kicked off to the Rangers who drove the ball into Cheesemaker territory but blocking breakdowns forced us to punt. Last year's TVL All Conference Punter, Ted Noble, dropped the ball on the seven yard line, the Tillamook receiver fumbled the ball and was downed immediately by punt coverage. Three plays later after some good defensive play, the Cheesemakers punted the ball to Ryan Youngberg who was sprung for a 10 yard return via a good block made by Drew Huskey. The Rangers were in business with good field position at the Tillamook 42 yard line. Six plays later Craig O'Meara plunged into the end zone for his first of four touchdowns of the evening from one yard out. The drive was highlighted by a nice 35 yard pass from Drew Huskey to Ryan Youngberg followed by a nine yard sweep by Marc Doran to the one yard line. Going into the game we felt that the play action passes would be open and they were, evidenced by the passing stats: seven completions in ten attempts for 133 yards and one TD.

Following our kickoff, Tillamook generated just one first down before punting the ball back to us. Drew Huskey returned the ball 15 yards to our 47 yard line.

Ten play later Craig O'Meara scored on another one yard run over the strongside blocking of Joel Elliot, Jordan Myers and Ted Noble. Most of this drive consisted of O'Meara carrying the ball and netting 7-10 yards per carry. The pass for two was batted down and the Rangers led 12-0 early in the second quarter.

Ted Noble kicked the ball into the end zone which put the Cheesemakers 80 yards away from paydirt. They drove the ball down to the Estacada 23 yard line but could not convert and turned the ball over on downs. They would never get that close again.

The Rangers drove the ball out to midfield, but the drive was stalled by a fumble recovered by Tillamook who could not move the ball. Faced with fourth and short t at midfield, they decided on a fake punt which proved to be ill-advised when Jacob Seal tackled the Cheesemaker runner sort of the first down marker.

With time running out in the half, the Rangers mounted their third scoring drive of the half. Another long pass from Huskey to Youngberg preceded by another Doran sweep for a first down put the Rangers near red zone territory. Two plays later, Huskey hit fullback Craig O'Meara on a middle

screen which could not have been more open. The sea of green in front of O'Meara was not just Randall field but also no less than five green clad Ranger blockers and no Tillamook resistance was felt till Craig had already scored. Noble added the PAT and the Rangers led at the half 19-0.

Estacada kicked off to start the second half and the defense picked up right where they left off keeping the Cheesemaker offense in check. Once again Tillamook went for it on fourth down, but Kyle Dodrill tackled the intended receiver so hard he could not hold on to the ball and the Rangers were once again in business with good field position at mid field.

O'Meara scored again, this time from two yards out. The highlight of this drive was a 35 yard bootleg pass form Huskey to tight end Jacob Seal. Did you ever see anyone happier than Jake coming off the field, or should I say skipping and floating off the field. Noble added the extra point and the Rangers led 26-0 at the four minute mark of the third.

Another Tillamook drive stalled out at midfield and the Rangers took over. On the third play from scrimmage, Drew Huskey optioned right, kept the ball, and scampered 52 yards to paydirt. Drew led

all rushers on the evening with 90 yards rushing. All toll the Rangers racked up 300 yards on the ground. Noble's PAT put Estacada up 33-0.

On the next series of downs, we witnessed one of the finest defensive plays ever

executed inside the hedges. Middle Linebacker Mario Olivares read his key, filled the hole, defeated a blocker, hit the ball carrier very hard, caused a fumble which he picked up and raced 26 yards to score a defensive TD. Mario led all defenders with well over 30 defensive points. Scoring 12 defensive points during a game is considered to be a good night. Almost three times that amount is exceptional. The Rangers led 39-0.

Following an exchange of punts which took the game well into the fourth quarter, another Tillamook ball carrier fumbled the ball which was picked up by linebacker Billy Simpkins and returned for yet another defensive touchdown. The defense has scored three TDs in two games; excellent! Nobles kick put us up 46-0 with 3:25 remaining.

The Cheesemakers, who ganged up on our Frosh-Soph team last Thursday night with their Junior Varsity, could not mount a scoring drive and punted the ball, right to Michael Coyle who fielded the ball, cut to his right, broke two tackles, cut back to his left and sprinted 40 yards before he was tackled on their 15 yard line. On the next play from scrimmage, Sophomore Quarterback Reed Huskey optioned left, kept he ball and raced into the end zone only to have it called back by an inadvertent whistle by the referee. Two plays later, however, Junior running back Gordy Grochowsky took a straight ahead dive handoff, bounced off two would be tacklers at the six, shrugged another at the two, and went on in to score. Noble's PAT was the last point scored and put us up 53-0.

This week the team plays the Papermakers from Camas WA. Their enrollment has grown significantly and they are a big school with a recently successful program. They've been to their playoffs the past year or two. They have tall, athletic players and certainly have the best team the Rangers have seen this year. It's a home game. Come on out and support the team. Eat a booster dog and support the boosters as well. After the game at the student council dance, the 2003 Yearbooks will be distributed. If you bought a 2003 Yearbook, you may pick them up at the dance or in the office next week.

Week #3 Camas:

Last Friday night the Estacada Rangers continued their winning ways with a 27-20 victory over the Camas Papermakers. this is a good win for us in that Camas' enrollment would place them as a 4A school in Oregon. They are the size of Barlow or Sandy and equally as tough especially on the line of scrimmage where the game is won. It's been my experience that the big difference between A AA, AAA and 4A football is the competitiveness on the line of scrimmage and that certainly was seen last Friday.

Camas kicked off to us to open the game. Reed Huskey had a fine return out to the 43 yard line. We moved the ball into their territory but on a 4th down we were stopped short and turned the ball over on downs. The Papermakers aligned themselves differently defensively from any other team we have faced which confused our players on blocking assignments in the early going. During the course of the game we made some adjustments to compensate and our blocking became more effective as the game progressed.

Craig O'Meara started what would prove to be a stellar game defensively on their first play tackling the quarterback for a loss. On play two, Craig forced an errant throw, and on play three he contained the quarterback on a pass, turned him inside where Jordan Myers batted down the pass.

The teams too turns exchanging the ball several times on fumbles, penalties and punts. It was not a very well played game on either side of the ball for the remainder of the first quarter. The Rangers were, however, able to maintain great field position during all this.

At the end of the first quarter, Camas went for it on fourth down on their own 44 yard line and were stopped by the interior of the Ranger defense giving us great field position. Because they were putting so much pressure on the line of scrimmage, we decided to throw some short to intermediate passes. Mixing equal parts of pass and run, we moved the ball down to the ten yard line only to be penalized back to the 24 yard line. On 4th down Drew Huskey dropped back and found Kyle Dodrill open in the end zone on a post route for a touchdown. Ted Noble's PAT put the Rangers ahead 7-0.

Another O'Meara sack of the quarterback stopped the Camas drive following their kickoff and the punted to us. Drew Huskey returned the ball to midfield giving us good field position once again. We moved the ball into their territory but blown assignments and miscues turned the ball over to Camas with time running out in the half. They mounted their only real drive of the first half. With less than a minute to go, they dipped into their bag of trick plays and pulled out the old hook and lateral play. They executed it well, we missed a tackle and they were forced out at the two. They scored two plays later but missed the extra point as it was blocked by the Ranger Defense. We stayed ahead 7-6.

The Ranger defense held Camas to just 159 yards of total offense. The Rangers had 199 yards gained but the score was very close.

The team came out after half more determined and held Camas to a negative six yards total in the third quarter while piling up a hundred yards of offense and 12 points.

A really nice 12 yards sweep by Marc Doran on third down kept our first drive of the second half alive. A Drew Huskey touchdown was called back on this drive but a pass to Dodrill put the team back into scoring position and Craig O'Meara scored over right tackle from seven yards breaking no less than four tackles on his way in. Noble's kick was wide left and the Rangers led 13-6.

Reed Huskey stole the ball from their return man on the ensuing kickoff and the Rangers were in great field position again. This time Drew Huskey scored on an option play from five yards out. The try for two failed and we led 19-6 late in the third.

The Papermakers had another third and out series meaning they had not moved the ball at all in the third. They had the ball for only six offensive plays in the 3rd quarter while we ran off 24 plays, a hundred yards and 12 points as our line establish dominance in the game.

This style of play continued into the 4th quarter when we marched down the field to score again on a five yard run by Craig O'Meara. The two point conversion was scored by Nate Nicholson. No one worked harder than Nate to get ready for the season and he was looking very good in pre-season practice. At the Green & White game, however, he suffered a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season with an operation. I made the decision before the game to taped up the knee and if the situation warranted it to sub him into the game to score just on time this year before the operation. Nate took the handoff and drive over the goal line to score the two point PAT putting us up 27-6 with 6 minutes to go in the game.

We made some substitutions, perhaps a bit too early, as Camas scored on their first play from scrimmage. Following the kick off. They tried an onsides kick but were unsuccessful. We were able to drive the ball down to the five yard line only to have the drive stall out and we were going to kick the field goal, but an errant snap negated the attempt.

Except for that one scoring play, the Ranger defense totally dominated the second half running off 18 plays to their one.

They scored another touchdown with less than a minute to go in the game, but if was a case of too little loo late.

The Rangers are now 3-0 and head into Tri Valley League play next week at Wilsonville. The Wildcats are a top 10 team and always play well at home. They have a balanced attack with a bruising fullback and 2 smaller scat type backs that present a different kind of challenge.

Week #4 Wilsonville

The Rangers went on the road to Wilsonville and lost a hard fought game 29-13 last Friday night. The game was much closer than the score indicated, especially when you consider that there were only 2 yards separating the total offense for both teams.

Estacada kicked off to the Wildcats who promptly marched down the field and scored on their first possession to take an early 7 - 0 lead.

After the kickoff, we moved the ball across midfield and into Wilsonville territory. We had the ball first and ten near heir 40, but missed blocking assignments, and incorrect pass patterns run by the receiving core stalled the drive. We punted and they started another drive which was stopped by the Ranger defense at their 40. They punted and we drove the ball back to midfield.

At midfield a Wildcat made a great break on the ball to intercept a pass and race 55 yards to score and put them up 14-0. We started the nest drive and the second quarter deep in our territory. On third down a pass slipped right through a Ranger receiver who had gotten behind their coverage. This would set the tone for the evening. The passes that we had caught in previous games we did not catch this night. Same would hold true for the blocking and tackling. We just seemed to be off, a tad under our usual level of play, and that just will not get the job done, especially against this talented Wilsonville team.

We started our next drive following a Wilsonville punt. again we drove the ball into their territory. this was a long time consuming drive with time running out in the half. We dot down to the 25 but a holding penalty put us back. On the next play, however, Huskey hit tight end Jacob Seal in the seam for a first down at the 11 yard line. Estacada was in the hurry up offense as there was less than a minute to go in the half. On second down from the 11, Drew fired a bullet to split end Billy Simpkins to put the Rangers on the board and narrow the lead to 14-7.

On the ensuing kickoff, Mario Olivares stole the ball from a Wildcat and the Rangers had the ball first and ten on their 30. On the first play Huskey threw a strike to a wide open Ranger at the 15, but the pass was dropped. A holding penalty on the next play set us back. The half ended when a Wildcat defender jumped up over our receiver's head to intercept a pass.

Wilsonville kicked off to start the second half, out of bounds, so we have good field position to start off at the 35. Again, another drive was stalled when yet another Huskey pass was dropped on third down at the Wildcat 45. Not only would that have been a first down, it had the potential to be much, much, more.

Following our punt, we experienced the biggest mistake of the evening. with the score just 14-7, we completely blew a coverage we had discussed all week with the boys, let a Wilsonville receiver get way behinds us to gather in a pass at the 35 and race in for the score to put them up 21-7 early in the second half.

Once again we mounted another drive. Another play action pass completion to Billy Simpkins took us into Wildcat territory, yet again. We drove the ball down to their 30 only to have another drive stalled with a dropped pass. We passed more than we would like or normally do in this game because it was not a regular night running the ball. We were not blocking well and yards were hard to come by. We punted and forced a three and out from deep in their territory. Drew Huskey returned the ball to their 22 giving us great field position to start the next drive. We drove the ball down to their eleven for a first down only to not be able to field a bad pitch on the option, resulting in a fumble which they recovered.

What wind that we might have had in our sails at that time seemed to disappear for the moment on that turnover, and they drove the length of the field to go up 29-7 early in the fourth quarter.

With time running out and being behind by that much we opened up the attack. We drove the ball into their territory again. Huskey too the ball inside their 20 on a scramble and Two sweeps by Gordy Grochowsky took the ball inside the 10 yard line. Two of the four plays inside the ten here were dropped passes in the end zone, therefore, we turned the ball over on downs.

To our kids credit we did not quit. After their punt, fullback Craig O'Meara tan the ball down to the five yard line on a 50 yard draw play. First and goal on the five. On fourth down, Huskey hit tight end Jacob Seal on a loop under for the score. The try for two failed and we trailed 29-13.

Ted Noble kicked a great onside kick, but they rrecovered and ran out the clock.

This week the Rangers host LaSalle. Our pass defense will be tested greatly. LaSalle passing leads the league.

Week 5: LaSalle

On just about a perfect night for a game the Estacada Ranger football team got back to it's winning ways with a 35-0 victory over the La Salle Falcons. This marks the seventh consecutive victory notched by the Rangers over the Falcons.

The Rangers started the game kicking off to LaSalle with Ted Noble kicking the ball into the end zone for a touchback and the Falcons had to start 80 yards away. They were forced to punt in three downs and the Rangers took over near midfield. We drove the ball down to their 35 but a missed blocking assignment led to a sack and a punt to maintain favorable field position.

A penalty for an invalid fair catch signal meant the Falcons would start this drive at their 10. On second down defensive end Craig O'Meara sacked the quarterback at the one yard line. An incomplete pass on third down meant they would punt from the back of their end zone.

Drew Huskey returned the ball to the 29 yard line and the Rangers were in business. A sweep by Marc Doran put the ball at the 10 yard line. On second down Marc took the ball on a counter play behind the blocking to tight end Stewart Spieth, guard Ted Noble and tackle Jordan Myers, burst through the hole, broke two tackles at the four and went in to score. Ted Noble's PAT put the Rangers up 7-0.

La Salle's next possession began at their 30. This time defensive end Kevin Wiese tackled a Falcon runner for a loss forcing another punt. Drew Huskey returned the ball to the 47 yard line and on the first play ran an option to the left, cut back and ran down to the 12 only to have the play called back by penalty. An 18 yard run by O'Meara and an option by Huskey gave us a first and ten at their 36. The drive stalled, however, and we choose to punt to maintain favorable field position. The Falcons notched their only first down on the last play of the quarter with a catch and run out to the 42. Two consecutive tackles for losses by middle linebacker Mario Olivares and an incomplete pass forced another punt. On the first play of this series O'Meara broke out over right tackle for a big 20 yards gain inside their 40 yard line. This opportunity was squandered, however, with a fumble on the very next play.

La Salle ran a reverse and had a ball carrier running free in our secondary. Drew Huskey ran him down form behind at the 19 yard line. The Falcons looked like they might score. They went for the home run ball on first down, but strong safety Marc Doran played the receiver perfectly and stripped the ball from him. On second down Olivares blitzed from his linebacker position, caused a fumble which was recovered by Craig O'Meara stopping their scoring opportunity cold.

On the very next play Craig made the best of the turnover by breaking out over right tackle (Joel Elliott) and out ran everyone 75 yards to score. Craig would have his best night rushing the ball this night for 135 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns. Noble's kick put the Rangers ahead 14-0.

The teams traded possessions the rest of the quarter. One serious drive was stopped by a fumble on the 17 yard line right before the half ended with Estacada leading 14-0.

A fumble by the Rangers at the start of the second half meant the Falcons would have the ball deep in our territory. Drew Huskey, however, intercepted a pass at the goal line and returned it out to the 40. On the next play from scrimmage, Drew optioned right and pitched the ball out to tailback Marc Doran who broke away for a 60 yard TD run. Marc would lead all rushers on the evening gaining 178 yards on 12 carries for a 14.8 yard average. Noble's kick put the Rangers up 21-0.

After trading possessions, Ryan Youngberg fielded a punt on the 15 yard line. Ryan made the first guy miss, picked up a block from Drew Huskey, broke to his right across the field to get to the return wall. The first big block was by Joel Elliott followed by blocks put down by Craig O'Meara, Mario Olivares and Billy Simpkins. Ryan went on to score. It's been a long time since we have run a punt back for a score, even longer form 85 yards away. It was a great team effort. Noble, a perfect 5 for 5 this night, put us up 28-0.

Drew Huskey's second interception of the evening stopped the only other serious Falcon scoring opportunity. He returned it 25 yards to their 42 and a tacked on penalty took it down to their 27. Six plays later Craig O'Meara took it in from 5 yards out. Ted Noble ended the scoring with his final PAT putting us ahead 35-0.

This week we travel to Gladstone and play on Thursday night due to teacher workshops and no school on Friday. The Gladiators are a much improved team this year evidenced by their 41-21 pasting of The Dalles a few weeks ago.

Week #6: Gladstone

The Estacada Rangers overcame a whole bunch of adversity to come from behind, go ahead and win with the second goal line stand of the evening to defeat the Gladstone Gladiators 25-19 in a driving rain storm. We over came playing away, the rain (boy did it rain), some questionable calls, unbelievable circus catches, injuries, a rash of fumbles and still dominate in the fourth quarter to win.

The Gladiators kicked off to the Rangers to start the game. Reed Huskey returned the ball 55 yards past midfield down to their 30 yard line. Fullback Craig O'Meara carried the ball on first down for 7 yards. Our scouting report indicated the might possibly be in a certain defense in this particular situation. Years ago I ran this same defense and knew of a weakness in it we might be able to exploit. On second down we caught them in the defense, our boys executed perfectly and behind the blocking of Mario Olivares, Ted Noble, and Kevin Wiese, O'Meara was able to burst up the middle to score untouched from 23 yards out. Ted Noble's extra point put us ahead early 7-0.

After our kickoff, Gladstone scored on their second play from scrimmage just as we did when their quarterback optioned left and took off on a 74 yard touchdown run. We helped him along with some poor angles of pursuit as well as a slip and fall down in our secondary. So early in the first quarter the score was tied at 7.

On our first play following the kick off a missed blocking assignment resulted in an unexpected hit which produced a fumble that we lost deep in our territory. Even though they had the ball on our 37, the defense was able to stop the drive after giving up just two yards at the 35. They chose to punt and we made our first defensive stand of the evening deep in our territory.

We started the next drive deep in our territory. Another missed blocking assignment allowed a defender to blind side our quarterback causing a fumble which they recovered. They scored a few plays later, but Craig O'Meara broke through to block the extra point and they led 13-7.

Neither team was able to sustain a drive for the remainder of the first and into the second quarter as punts were traded back and forth.

About a third of the way into the second quarter the Gladiators were bale to complete a long pass down to our four yard line. On first down their quarterback was sacked by Stewart Spieth back to the four. On second down Free Safety Drew Huskey intercepted a pass in the end zone for a touch back and the Rangers turned in their first goal line stand of the night. It would not be the last.

The team marched the length of the field with big chunks of yardage being picked up by O'Meara and tailback Marc Doran. Marc ran particularly hard when called on this evening carrying the ball 16 times for 90 yards - that's a 5.6 yard average. More importantly, with what the defense was giving us, Marc was called on to be a lead blocker for O'Meara early and often. Marc performed these blocking duties admirably. Doran's blocking was a major reason Craig O'Meara was able to rust for 181 yards and score three touchdowns. On second down from the 6, O'Meara took the ball over the left side and dove all 6' 4" of himself over the goal line into the end zone. Now we all know that when the ball crosses the plane of the goal line, a touchdown is scored and the ball becomes dead. We all also know that the ground cannot cause a fumble. But alas the officials did not see it that way. None of them (except for the referee who signaled a touchdown only to be talked out of it) saw the ball cross the goal line even saying that he did not "get in" when it was obvious that he did. My answer to the team when confronted with poor officiating is, "Score more points, i.e., score more points than poor officiating can hurt you" which we were eventually able to do this evening. Poor officiating over the course of a season tends to even itself out because poor is poor and you will be the beneficiary of a blown call somewhere down the road.

After only one first down, they were forced to punt from deep in their territory and the Rangers went back on offense ready to work. We marched down the field overcoming two penalties along the way. Marc Doran on a sweep and Drew Huskey on a scramble picked up two key first downs on this drive. With just :19 seconds to go in the first half, Huskey hit Ryan Youngberg over the middle with a pass for a 10 yard touchdown. The PAT was no good and the halftime score was tied at 13.

The second half opened with the teams trading punts back and forth. One of our punts was returned by a Gladiator to our 6 yard line. On first down the officials awarded a touchdown on another questionable call. They went for two, didn't completed the pass and led 19-13.

Following the kickoff we marched the ball all the way down the field to their 10 yard line were on fourth down we missed a wide open receiver in the end zone on a play action pass and turned the ball over on downs. They were unable to mount a drive and were forced to punt. Drew Huskey returned the ball into Gladstone territory.

This time the team would not be denied and fullback O'Meara behind some good blocking took the ball over the left side and raced 25 yards to score. The PAT was wide left and the scored was tied early in the fourth quarter at 19.

The teams traded punts to take the clock down to the 5 minute mark when we recovered a Gladstone fumble near midfield. I took a time out, went out on the field and told them that this drive would be the ball game; march the ball down the field taking time off the clock, score and win the game. The idea here was to have a long sustained drive that would take all the time off the clock and leave them with no time. After the game I accused O'Meara of being "uncoachable" because he scored "too soon" when he took the ball over the left side behind the blocking of Joel Elliot, Jordan Myers, Ted Noble and Marc Doran got through the hole, cutback and scored from 33 yards out leaving them time for some last minute heroics. We led 25-19 with not much time on the clock.

We squibbed the ball in the mud and the rain. They got a first down near midfield where on fourth down they made a diving, leaping, juggling catch. And the rain came down even harder making the ball slippery. So slippery in fact that on the very next play a Gladstone receiver was able to make a catch after the ball had slipped through our defender's hands, hit him in the chest and bounce up into his hands at the 6 yard line. With to time outs left they had an incomplete pass on first down. We committed pass interference on second down giving them a first down at the three. On first down Ted Noble helped Stewart Spieth contain the quarterback. Once again, on third down after they had spiked the ball on 2nd down to stop the clock, Stewart Spieth sacked their quarterback back at the 11. On the 4th and final play of the game, Jordan Myers and Craig O'Meara sacked the quarterback again, this time back at the 20 and the game was over. It is always exciting to end the game with a goal line stand - our second of the evening.

This week the Rangers host The Dalles as we move into the toughest part of our regular season schedule. The Dalles has had some injuries early in their season which contributed to a couple losses. Those players are healed up and back. We expect another hard fought contest at Randall Field Friday Night. Come out and support the team.

Week 7: The Dalles

What could be more exciting than ending the game with a goal line stand to win like last week against Gladstone? How about ending the game with another great defensive effort on the goal line by stuffing an extra point attempt and winning 7-6, which is exactly what the Rangers did when Marc Doran tackled The Dalles' QB short of the goal line with just under 30 seconds to go in the game.

Estacada kicked off to the Indians to start the game. One running play for no yards was followed by two pass completions and a first down. These passes are significant, in that, they would be the only two pass completions for the night for them. These two were followed by 18 incompletions and one Ryan Youngberg interception as the Rangers played great pass defense the entire night. For those of you who do not remember, The Dalles had a passing festival against us last year for over 400 yards. This year 13 yards passing period. Just an absolutely great job turned in by the secondary of Drew Huskey, Ryan Youngberg, Marc Doran, Reed Huskey and Kyle Dodrill coached by Tim Brink, Randy Ealy and Defensive Coordinator Mike Freeborn. In addition to the secondary play the D-Line coached by Terry Nimz, James Taylor and Ted Noble tallied five sacks, six hurries, two knock downs and two tipped passes to further thwart their passing game. This effort was probably even better than the effort put in against La Salle two weeks ago.

The Indians punted the ball and we took over at our 38 yard line. We could not move the ball and Ted Noble punted the ball deep into their territory. We held them to 3 and out but we muffed the punt and they recovered on their 40. A running play on first down took the ball into our territory where the drive was stopped cold. They punted down to our 20 and we started again.

We put together a long time consuming drive down to their 15 yard line early in the second quarter. At that point we broke down in our blocking assignments, our play path responsibilities and a hold penalty on three consecutive play which resulted in a stalled drive. Even though we did not score, we established good field position with that drive.

We forced another 3 and out. They punted, we started another drive, threw an interception; they had the ball on our 40. A Ted Noble sack and knock down put them into a punting situation. They faked it and made a first down at our 29. A Jordan Myers sack on 4th down ended that threat. Once again we drove the ball deep into their territory only to lose the ball on what the officials called a fumble. It clearly wasn't, but they were not in position to see what happened and the Dalles got the ball again. This time their drive was stopped by a Ryan Youngberg interception and return to our 45 yard line.

With time running out in the half we could not connect on some passes and lined up to punt. A high snap from center sailed over Noble's head. Ted quickly recovered the ball, deftly side stepped a defender and, on the run, kicked the ball out past midfield. Several plays later, Ted ended the half with another sack of The Dalles' QB.

They kicked off to us to start the second half. We drove the ball down to their 40 yard line where on third down, QB Drew Huskey connected with Fullback Craig O'Meara on a screen pass down the the 5 yard line. A penalty, however, brought it back. The next play saw Ryan Youngberg make a spectacular catch at the 18 yard line keeping the drive alive. Ryan had a great night on both sides of the ball playing well defensively and also being our leading pass receiver with 4 catches for 52 yards. A sweep by Doran took the ball inside the 10, only to be called back by another penalty. After two Marc Doran sweeps took the ball back down to the 5 yard line, the Ranger lined up for what looked like another sweep. Only this time the ball was pitched back to "emergency quarterback" Craig O'Meara who ran right, pulled up to throw a perfect ball to split end Billy Simpkins in the end zone for a touchdown. Ted Noble added what proved to be the game winning PAT and we led 7-0.

The teams exchanged punts for the remainder of the game. We were able to drive the ball enough to maintain excellent field position for most of the remainder of the half.

Very late in the 4th quarter, the Indians put together their only successful drive that had one big play, an option, that took the ball down to the 4 yard line. Three plays later, they scored. Rather than kicking the extra point and going into overtime, for the second week in a row they decided to go for 2 to win. They lined up in a spread formation, the QB took the snap and ran to his right where Marc Doran had defeated a would be Indian blocker to come up and make a great open field tackle to preserve the 7-6 lead and victory.

This victory is specially significant not only to avenge last year's disappointing loss but to win the last game to be played by Estacada and The Dalles. The consolidation of schools in The Dalles will push their enrollment up to 4A levels and they will be dropping out of our league next year barring any last minute changes.

Next week the team travels to Sherwood to play the Bowman who have lost , uncharacteristically, 3 games this year. This is a very important Tri Valley game. The Bowman lost last week to Madras and cannot afford another league loss. There are some very interesting games to be played in the Tri Valley over the next two weeks. Come out and support the team.

Week #8: Sherwood

The Estacada Ranger Football team clinched another playoff berth with a 14-6 victory over the Sherwood Bowmen last Friday night. This marks the 5th playoff appearance in the past 6 years for the team.

The game started with the Bowmen kicking off. Unable to mount a drive we punted to them, and the had very good field position to start their initial drive, but after 3 running plays and a penalty, they attempted a long field goal which bounced off the upright - no good.

We put the ball in play on our 20 and started to drive the field only to have penalties and miscues put us into another punting situation. Ted Noble got off a very good punt and were stuck back on their 20. They notched 1 first down and were forced into a punting situation. A high snap from center and a great speed rush by defensive end Craig O'Meara saw him block the punt with such force that the ball was recovered back inside their 10 yard line. On second down quarterback Drew Huskey optioned expertly to his left and our tan all defenders to score. Ted Noble's PAT put the Rangers in the lead 7-0. That particular option play was the first time we had run that particular play during a game.

The defense once again turned in an exceptional performance this night effectively shutting down what had been a potent Bowman running game. Middle linebacker Mario Olivares and DE Craig O'Meara both chalked up 33 defensive points to lead the team. Such numbers are more than twice what one would consider a good game.

After their punt, we mounted another drive taking the ball down to their 15 yard line and downed out. What we gained here was favorable field position. They mounted a drive to our 40 yard line but Mario made a bone jarring tackle on a 4th down, Bowman reverse well short of the first down marker. The teams traded punts for the remainder of the half.

Neither team could sustain much of a drive until long into the third quarter when Drew Huskey intercepted a deep Bowman pass on our 40 yard line. But our subsequent drive faltered as did theirs and punts were exchanged to end the period.

The opening drive of the 4th quarter was more fruitful for our boys. Fullback Craig O'Meara took the option handoff and bolted 55 yards for another Ranger touchdown. The scouting report stated that if a back could breech the line of scrimmage with momentum, he could go all the way due to their defensive alignment. We ran more Veer Option than perhaps at any other time in the past. Sherwood had some huge, experienced people and with the Veer you do not block 2 defenders-you option them. Their defense was not going to let Huskey or tailbacks Doran and Grochowsky carry the ball on the outside. That meant that it would be up to tackles Joel Elliot and Jordan Myers to pave the way for the fullback. Which they did to the tune of 150 yards rushing and one TD. Jordan and Joel blocked consistently wee the entire evening. Of course, quarterback Drew Huskey had to "read, ride, and decide" on each of those options which he did expertly. Noble's PAT put us up 14-0.

On their next penalty assisted possession, a long pass took the ball down to the three yard line where on 4th down they just barely were able to score. We led 14-6. After taking some time off the clock we punted to them. They drove the ball with time running out into our territory where Craig O'Meara teamed up with Mario Olivares to end the threat. Craig rushed the Bowman passer, hitting his arm just as he let go of the pass. It sailed high into the air and off line. Mario intercepted and returned the ball 35 yards to midfield where we ran out the clock.

This is Homecoming week and we play on Halloween against Madras. The buffaloes are a much improved team and will be the other playoff team for our league. They feature a strong passing attack and an improved running game. We look forward to seeing you at the game.

Game #9: Madras, a playoff team

There was a chilly wind that blew into the football stadium last Friday night, but the Rangers sizzled throughout the evening beating playoff bound Madras 32-0.

The Rangers kicked off to Madras and forced them to punt after just 3 plays. The Rangers took over and drove the ball down to the Buffalo 25 where we downed out. Madras took over but could not gain a yard and punted once again. This time the Rangers drove down to the 12 yard line featuring fine running by tailback Marc Doran. On fourth down Ted Noble kicked a 29 yard field goal to put the Rangers up 3-0.

Madras mounted their only serious drive of the evening on its next possession taking the ball deep into Ranger territory. They line up to kick a 27 yard field goal of their own, but Jordan Myers reached up and blocked the attempt thus ending the threat.

Estacada took over and drove the length of the field. this drive was highlighted with fine passes completed to Tight End Jacob Seal and Flanker Ryan Youngberg. The drive was capped with a 6 yard TD run by Craig O'Meara. Craig ran right over 2 Madras defenders to score. The sound of the collision echoed throughout the stadium

The teams traded turnovers late in the 2nd quarter with Estacada getting the better one when Mario Olivares stripped the ball away from a Buffalo runner, picked up the loose ball and returned it deep into Buffalo country. This drive ended with O'Meara scoring from 2 yards out. Noble's extra point attempt was no good and the Rangers led 16-0 at the half.

We received the 2nd half kickoff and set about driving the ball the length of the field again right down to their one yard line where we stalled and downed out. Madras was playing a stunting defense which confused our blocking assignments which led to this breakdown on the goal line. On the very next play, however, Billy Simpkins blitzed form his linebacker spot to sack their quarterback in the end zone for a safety to push the lead to 18-0.

When a safety is scored the team has a free kick from their 20 yard line. Reed Huskey fielded the kick and returned it 35 yards to the 35 Buffalo 35 yard line. Several plays later, Marc Doran took a pitchout around left and to score from 6 yards out. After Noble's PAT the Rangers led 25-0.

Once again the Ranger defense completely sniffled the Madras offense. For the night, Madras only gained a total of 78 yards-ironically 39 rushing and 39 passing. That less than 2 yards a play for them. And with the shutout Estacada finishes the regular season as the 2nd ranked defensive team in the state. only Vale had given up fewer points than the Rangers this year.

Our last scoring drive ended with a 46 yard scoring pass from Drew Huskey to Tight End Jacob Seal. I have called the game offensively the past 2 weeks from the pressbox and not the sidelines. You can see things so much more clearly from up top. We saw that in certain situations they would not cover the tight end well. We made the call and Huskey delivered the ball right on time, Jacob hauled it in and outran the secondary to score. Noble's PAT finished out the scoring at 32-0.

This week the AAA State Playoffs begin. We will host North Marion in the first round Friday night. They are the 3rd place team from the Capital Conference. The winner of Friday's game will travel to banks the following week to play the Cowapa League Champs. Playoff games are always exciting. come out and support this year's team in what will probably be the last home game of the season. We would play away in the 2nd round and then all rounds after that are played in artificial grass stadiums.

This year's team finishes the regular season 8-1. As the playoffs begin, there are only 2 undefeated AAA teams and 4 teams with just one loss including us. Everyone else has 2 losses or more. The boys have worked very hard to notch a season that they and you can be proud of, and the best thing about it is that it's not over and continues Friday night.

Game #10 - AAA Playoffs - North Marion

The Ranger football team began the Oregon AAA Playoffs with a convincing 38-21 victory over North Marion last Friday night at Randall Field.

Neither team could sustain a drive in the early going and punts were exchanged to open the game. The Rangers were able, however, to move the ball well enough offensively to establish good field position to open the 2nd quarter of play. With the ball at midfield Quarterback Drew Huskey optioned left handing off to Fullback Craig O'Meara who broke free over left tackle behind the excellent blocking of Joel Elliot, Jordan Myers and Ryan Youngberg for a 45 yard gain down to the 6 yard line. On the next play Huskey optioned this time to his right, kept he ball himself and ambled through another huge hole to score. Ted Noble added the PAT and the Rangers led 7-0.

After making a defensive adjustment in the first quarter, the Huskies were unable to run the ball against the Rangers. In face, from about midway through the 2nd quarter they went almost exclusively to the pass. For the 2nd half of the game they netted a -21 yards rushing.

After holding North Marion deep in their territory with the score 7-0 in our favor, Drew Huskey returned a punt to their 45 yard line with 5:00 to go in the half. With everyone contributing and with a nice mixture of run and pass, Craig O'Meara took a handoff and plunged into the end zone from 2 yards out with just 30 seconds to go in the hal. A high snap thwarted the PAT attempt and the Rangers led 13-0 at half.

Just a couple of plays into the second half saw Tailback Marc Doran bust a 15 yard sweep to the left followed by a 35 yard trap play by O'Meara that took the ball deep into their red zone. On second and goal Drew faked the handoff to Craig, pulled up and hit Kyle Dodrill at the 5 yard line with a pass. Kyle wheeled to his right and ran over 2 defenders at the 1 yards line to score. Huskey optioned to his left for the PAT, and the Rangers led 21-0.

North Marion's next drive was stopped at midfield when Ryan Youngberg

stole a pass right out of their receiver's hands. The Rangers scored in just 3 plays. First was a 5 yard run by Fullback Craig O'Meara which was negated by a procedure penalty. Then came a 32 yard pass completion to Ryan Youngberg.With the ball at the 25, Huskey optioned to his left and ran in for the score. Noble's PAT put the Rangers up 28-0.

North Marion proved why they were in the playoffs on their next offensive series which saw them complete a long TD cutting our lead.

They tried an onsides kick but we recovered. Another 20 yard sweep by Marc Doran took us down to the 26 where a couple plays later Drew dropped back and passed the ball to Craig O'Meara on a middle screen which worked perfectly. Craig scored easily behind the blocking of the offensive line. Noble's PAT put us up 35-7.

Their next punt was returned by Ryan Youngberg 30 yards to their 35 yard line. Not picking up a first down we decided to kick a field goal from the 30 yard line. The snap and hold were good as was the field goal, Ted's longest, and the Rangers led 38-7.

While North Marion was able to score on a couple pass plays, for all intents and purposes the game was over. The only question was by how much we were going to win by. O'Meara finished the game with 130 yards rushing. Huskey added 110 of his own. Drew completed 5 passes to 5 different receivers-two for TDs.

This week the team travels to Banks (8-1) for a Friday night 2nd round playoff game against the Cowapa league Champs. They are a big bruising smash mouth football team that features a very strong running game. Our line and defense will be severely tested this week.

Week #11 - Banks

The Football Rangers pushed their record to 10-1 with a hard hitting 28-7 victory over the Cowapa league Champion Banks last Friday night.

Estacada won the toss, choose to defer and kicked off to the Braves to start the game. On just the third play of the game, they pitched out to their tailback who swept to the left and ran 75 yards to score. That certainly was not the way we had planned the beginning of the game.

Reed Huskey returned the kickoff to our 45 and an additional face mask penalty put the ball into their territory. Our drive stalled; we punted to them. They tried to run that sweep play again. This time we stopped the runner for a loss as we properly aligned defensively this time not like before. They punted to us. A counter play by Marc Doran gave us a first down inside their 40. Two option runs by Quarterback Drew Huskey too the ball inside the 10. The nest play saw Drew firs a strike to tight end Jacob Seal on an 8 yard Touchdown pass. Ted Noble's PAT tied the score at 7.

On Bank's 3rd play following the kickoff, the Braves' quarterback fumbled the ball which defensive end Ted Noble pounced on immediately.

On second down following a 15 yard run by Craig O'Meara, Tailback Marc Doran swept left behind the blocking of Ryan Youngberg, Kyle Dodrill, Craig O'Meara and Drew Huskey and scored from 11 yards out. Noble's second PAT put the Rangers out in front for good 14-7 with 1:42 left in the first period.

During their next possession Banks was able to move the ball into Ranger territory only to fumble it away on the next play and have it recovered by Reed Huskey.

Our balanced running attack saw the Braves crowd the line of scrimmage which left Ryan Youngberg open on a 30 yard play action pass which took the ball deep into Banks territory at the 24. Doran too the ball inside the 20 on a counter play. Huskey optioned to the right to get the ball down to the 6; then optioned left to score on the next play. This Noble PAT finished the first half scoring at 21-7.

Neither team could mount a scoring drive in the third quarter. Most of the yardage gained during the quarter was by the Rangers, however. Banks never mounted a serious scoring drive in the second half. The time that our boys have put in conditioning paid great dividends as the second half wore on. The extremely hard running of Marc Doran in the second half certainly demonstrated our team's determination, strength and conditioning. On one particular play, six different Brave defensemen hit Marc but none were able to bring him down until the 7th jumped on his back while number 8 cut his legs out from under him. Marc finished the night with 82 yards rushing. Drew Huskey led the team with 113 yards . But balance was shown when Craig O'Meara added his 96 yards to the total. having all three backs right at 100 yards gained each means the defense would be kept off balance the entire evening.

our balanced running attack and their inability to adjust gave us the edge in what I called the "formation wars." We, by formation, were able to gain an advantage over some of their defensive alignments which they never adjusted. That enabled us to move the ball easily down the field, especially on our last scoring drive. All 3 backs took turns carrying he ball down the field chewing up big chunks of yardage with each carry ending with O'Meara taking the ball in from the 6 yard line through a huge hole opened on the left side of the line. Joel Elliot drove his man 5 yards back into the end zone; Ryan Youngberg knocked his man right to the ground with a spectacular block; Marc Doran led on the linebacker and Jordan Myers drove his man to 3 holes away. Noble's 4th PAT put the game way out of reach, 28-7.

This was a particularly gratifying win for the boys, defeating a league champion, but more than that the boys proved which team should have been ranked higher throughout the season. Finally, Banks had a line that was highly regarded. Most people believed that they had 2 or 3 division 1 caliber linemen who would prove to be too much for our guys to handle. All that proved to be a non factor, however. Take away the 2 big gains of the first quarter where we were improperly aligned and they gained only 60 yards on 25 carries. that's only 2.4 yards per carry. Our team on the other hand, carried the ball 50 times for right at 300 yds gained or a 7 yard average. The strength that the boys have developed in the weightroom continued to be evident , especially as the game wore on into the fourth quarter.

This week the Ranger advance to the Quarterfinals and a game against Junction City, the third place team form their conference. The tigers like to spread the field and pass the ball around to many different receivers; then hit you with the run with a very talented running back when you are not looking.

Quarterfinals: Game 12 - Junction City

The Rangers' season ended last Friday night with a hard fought 14-6 loss at the hands of the Junction City Tigers in the Quarterfinals.

After exchanging punts to begin the game, the Rangers got on the board first near the end of the first period. Drew Huskey hit Ryan Youngberg with a 30 yard pass completion on a fake punt to take the ball deep into Tiger territory. Several plays later, fullback Craig O'Meara took it in over left tackle to score. The PAT hit the right upright and bounced wide. The Rangers had the lead 6-0.

Following the kickoff, Junction City drove the ball out to midfield. On 2nd down, however, Craig O'Meara sacked their quarterback for a 14 yard loss effectively ending that drive.

A really poor punt gave us the ball at their 47 yard line. A missed blocking assignment on third down, unfortunately, resulted in our quarterback being sacked, and we were forced to punt the ball away.

Good defense forced them to punt the ball to us and we started in good field position again on our 47. After gaining 8 yards on first down, a penalty put us back. A slant pass to Ryan Youngberg made up the difference and we had a first down on their 45. Two fine runs by Marc Doran took the ball inside their 30 with 3 minutes to go in the half. With 1:43 to go we had the ball 3rd and 5 on their 25. A score here right before halftime would have loomed very big, but we were unable to convert and lost a golden scoring opportunity.

They started to drive the ball but a sack by Joel Elliot ended the half with the Rangers leading 6-0. They kicked the ball off to us to begin the second half. We drove it out to midfield where our drive stalled. A blocking error on the punt led to it being blocked and the Tigers gaining possession at our 30 yard line. Up until this point in the game we were the team that had momentum. But this play saw it begin to shift away from us. On first down a tiger split end made a spectacular catch falling out of bounds just getting the required 1 foot in at the one yard line. On first and goal the tiger tailback was hit for a 1 yard loss. On second down he was stopped again for another 1 yard loss. Their third and goal pass fell incomplete into the end zone. So here it was 4th and goal from the 3. This became the defining moment in the ball game. We stop them here and we will have the lead and get back some momentum. Each team is required to exchange films of previous games with opponents during the playoffs. The films we had of them indicated they would run a certain play in the goal line in this situation. Unfortunately, in the heat of the battle and the stress of the situation, we forgot about our responsibilities, lost our focus, got distracted and did not get an adequate rush on their quarterback or cover their back out of the backfield which resulted in them completing the pass and gaining the lead 7-6 as well as the momentum.

Hard running by Craig O'Meara and Marc Doran behind the blocking of Joel Elliot, Jordan Myers, Ted Noble and Ryan Youngberg took the ball inside their 30 yard line in just 4 plays following a good kickoff return by Reed Huskey. The drive stalled at the 23 yard line with a sack of the quarterback on 4th down. They were unable to move the ball and were forced to punt.

Once again we got the ball with good field position at their 47. A bootleg pass to Billy Simpkins took the ball inside their 30 again. The drive ended with an interception at the 24 yard line two plays later ending the third quarter.

Their subsequent drive ended also with an interception when Ryan Youngberg intercepted and returned the ball 20 yards to their 45 yard line. We drove the ball down to their 26 yard line where a holding call put us back into a 3rd and 20 situation, not a good place to be when you are trying to catch up. Our third down pass was just off the finger tips of a Ranger receiver.

We punted the ball to maintain field position. They put it in play at their 15. On 2nd and 5 they handed off to their tailabck who started to his left. He was forced to bounce it outside by our defensive end where two Rangers collided with the ball carrier. As sometimes happens in football our 2 boys knocked each other off while the ball carrier continued to run downfield. Our defensive safety had over run the play by this time and the door was open for the runner to go the distance from 80 yards out. He scored at the 6:33 mark of the 4th.

After driving the ball out to midfield and downing out, we got the ball back when Ryan Youngberg intercepted another pass setting us up for yet another chance to score and tie the game. With 2 minutes to go, we got the ball down to their 30 yard line but just could not connect and turned the ball over on downs.

We would get the ball again when Marc Doran would scoop up a fumble with just 26 seconds to go. Perhaps if he could have just kept his feet, he could have run it in for the tying score. It would have been a great birthday present for Marc who turned 18 this night. The gamed ended when they intercepted a pass in the end zone.

What hurts is the fact that our defense played so well except for just 2 plays. Take away the spectacular catch and the 80 yard run and they had just 80 yards of offense for the whole night. We on the other hand had 250 yards of offense for the game. Their rushing totals for the first three quarters was but 6 yards net. On the scouting report for this game we talked about "capitalizing on our opportunities and converting them into scores-points on the board." Unfortunately we were unable to do this.

When you get to the playoffs, you have to bring your 'A Game" with you. We did not have our A Game on evidenced by the missed blocking assignments, dropped balls, being out of position leading to penalties and other missed assignments or instructions. We knew they had a very talented back who, as Coach Ritzer remarked, "Can score from any point on the field" which he did. You have to give them credit. They did just enough to win the game and we were not able in this game to break a tackle or get that one more block that was needed to breakaway and score.

So our season ends at 10-2. And a very good season it was. It has been a joy to coach these Seniors throughout their years at Estacada High. Once again it is time for the them to move on to other opportunities, but they leave behind some pretty good shoes to be filled. Only one other team in the past 50 years has made it to the Quarterfinals. We are proud of their accomplishments and their excellent play, especially on defense, will be remember for many years to come.

RUN OFFENSE DEFENSE MOTIVATION

PASS OFFENSE FEEDBACK LINKS

ABOUT FREEB ORDER

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Copyright 2003

by Roger A. Freeborn

All Rights Reserved