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Lions spoil North Bend celebration
By Scott J. Adams, Sports Writer
Saturday, September 15, 2007 | No comments posted.
NORTH BEND — On the night North Bend High School commemorated its 100th anniversary, Cottage Grove’s football team got in on the celebration.
North Bend’s did not.
The visiting Lions spoiled the party in the second half, holding the Bulldogs scoreless on three drives inside the Cottage Grove 25-yard line before punching in a late touchdown for a 21-14 win at Vic Adams Field.
The outcome could easily have been different for North Bend (1-2), which had four beautiful drives end with goose eggs in the final 26 minutes. The worst came midway through the third quarter when the Bulldogs reached the Cottage Grove 3-yard line after a 19-yard run by Shawn Mitchell. With the score tied 14-14 in a first-and-goal situation, the offense could almost smell the fresh paint of the goal line on the newly installed artificial field. But three plays and minus 3 yards later, the Bulldogs had to settle for a 24-yard field goal try by Andy Langenstein that fell just short.
It was almost iconic of the evening.
“We had it,” said wideout/defensive back Andrew Slack. “We know it, too — this one definitely got away from us. We just didn’t execute when we needed to. It’s frustrating. When you’re inside the 5, you have to score — no excuses.”
For the first time this season, North Bend’s talented trio of running backs was outgained on the ground. Shawn Mitchell and Lane Seals, who both posted 100-plus yard efforts in the two previous games, were held to a respective 60 and 49 yards, while fullback Kale Forrester was limited to 10 on seven carries.
“Our ‘D’ did a great job,” Lions coach Randy Fisher said.
Cottage Grove’s Jacob Stanley reeled off a game-high 97 yards rushing on 27 attempts. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound senior tailback provided the game-winning score on a 16-yard touchdown run with 5:15 left in regulation.
The scoring drive was set up by a 50-yard punt by Jason Woody that pinned North Bend at its own 4-yard line. The Bulldogs punted back three plays later and Stanley returned it 14 yards, giving Cottage Grove excellent field position.
“We pinned them deep, that was big,” Fisher said.
Stanley’s touchdown run came against a North Bend defense that played a formidable second half. The Bulldogs held Cottage Grove to eight offensive plays in the third quarter.
“We didn’t think their offense was that good, but we needed to score and we didn’t,” said linebacker Cody Clark, who had a sack and five tackles behind the line of scrimmage. “I definitely think we should have won this game.”
Cottage Grove, which won last year’s meeting 40-12, took a 7-0 lead on its second drive of the game, capping a six play, 48-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Cameron Dixon to Kelly Tuerffs.
Dixon completed 12 of 20 for 147 yards with 33 of those going to Tuerffs on three catches.
“I think we came out and played well in the first quarter,” Fisher said. “Then we got the mistake bugs. North Bend did a great job once we did that. They took advantage of our mistakes.”
After Dixon’s touchdown pass, Seals responded with an 87-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff. Seals went almost untouched, breaking one tackle at the North Bend 34-yard line before turning up the sideline.
Cottage Grove (2-1) wasted little time firing back. On the Lions’ next drive, Dixon connected with David Black for 40 yards, setting up four strong runs by Stanley down to the 2-yard line. Fullback JV Bonds plowed in two plays later.
“We hung in with them and played a good first half for the most part,” North Bend coach Bill Masei said. “I think we responded well. We just need to finish drives.”
The Bulldogs managed one red-zone score, coming on a 17-yard strike from Ethan Ottemiller to Luke Clark on a fade. Clark, who was questionable to play due to a leg injury, reeled in a well-place ball in one-on-one coverage, helping to tie the game at 14-all with 4:27 left in the first half. He also broke up two potential interceptions.
Ottemiller went 7-for-20 for 85 yards. He was intercepted twice as part of three turnovers on the night for North Bend. The third turnover came late in the second quarter when Mitchell was stripped by Dixon after hauling in a 36-yard pass. Tuerffs, who started at safety, smothered the ball at the Cottage Grove 16-yard line.
“We did pretty good offensively, but we didn’t finish,” Masei said. “Our red-zone offense is bad, really bad, and we need to improve.”
North Bend’s did not.
The visiting Lions spoiled the party in the second half, holding the Bulldogs scoreless on three drives inside the Cottage Grove 25-yard line before punching in a late touchdown for a 21-14 win at Vic Adams Field.
The outcome could easily have been different for North Bend (1-2), which had four beautiful drives end with goose eggs in the final 26 minutes. The worst came midway through the third quarter when the Bulldogs reached the Cottage Grove 3-yard line after a 19-yard run by Shawn Mitchell. With the score tied 14-14 in a first-and-goal situation, the offense could almost smell the fresh paint of the goal line on the newly installed artificial field. But three plays and minus 3 yards later, the Bulldogs had to settle for a 24-yard field goal try by Andy Langenstein that fell just short.
It was almost iconic of the evening.
“We had it,” said wideout/defensive back Andrew Slack. “We know it, too — this one definitely got away from us. We just didn’t execute when we needed to. It’s frustrating. When you’re inside the 5, you have to score — no excuses.”
For the first time this season, North Bend’s talented trio of running backs was outgained on the ground. Shawn Mitchell and Lane Seals, who both posted 100-plus yard efforts in the two previous games, were held to a respective 60 and 49 yards, while fullback Kale Forrester was limited to 10 on seven carries.
“Our ‘D’ did a great job,” Lions coach Randy Fisher said.
Cottage Grove’s Jacob Stanley reeled off a game-high 97 yards rushing on 27 attempts. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound senior tailback provided the game-winning score on a 16-yard touchdown run with 5:15 left in regulation.
The scoring drive was set up by a 50-yard punt by Jason Woody that pinned North Bend at its own 4-yard line. The Bulldogs punted back three plays later and Stanley returned it 14 yards, giving Cottage Grove excellent field position.
“We pinned them deep, that was big,” Fisher said.
Stanley’s touchdown run came against a North Bend defense that played a formidable second half. The Bulldogs held Cottage Grove to eight offensive plays in the third quarter.
“We didn’t think their offense was that good, but we needed to score and we didn’t,” said linebacker Cody Clark, who had a sack and five tackles behind the line of scrimmage. “I definitely think we should have won this game.”
Cottage Grove, which won last year’s meeting 40-12, took a 7-0 lead on its second drive of the game, capping a six play, 48-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Cameron Dixon to Kelly Tuerffs.
Dixon completed 12 of 20 for 147 yards with 33 of those going to Tuerffs on three catches.
“I think we came out and played well in the first quarter,” Fisher said. “Then we got the mistake bugs. North Bend did a great job once we did that. They took advantage of our mistakes.”
After Dixon’s touchdown pass, Seals responded with an 87-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff. Seals went almost untouched, breaking one tackle at the North Bend 34-yard line before turning up the sideline.
Cottage Grove (2-1) wasted little time firing back. On the Lions’ next drive, Dixon connected with David Black for 40 yards, setting up four strong runs by Stanley down to the 2-yard line. Fullback JV Bonds plowed in two plays later.
“We hung in with them and played a good first half for the most part,” North Bend coach Bill Masei said. “I think we responded well. We just need to finish drives.”
The Bulldogs managed one red-zone score, coming on a 17-yard strike from Ethan Ottemiller to Luke Clark on a fade. Clark, who was questionable to play due to a leg injury, reeled in a well-place ball in one-on-one coverage, helping to tie the game at 14-all with 4:27 left in the first half. He also broke up two potential interceptions.
Ottemiller went 7-for-20 for 85 yards. He was intercepted twice as part of three turnovers on the night for North Bend. The third turnover came late in the second quarter when Mitchell was stripped by Dixon after hauling in a 36-yard pass. Tuerffs, who started at safety, smothered the ball at the Cottage Grove 16-yard line.
“We did pretty good offensively, but we didn’t finish,” Masei said. “Our red-zone offense is bad, really bad, and we need to improve.”
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