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North Bend wraps up second place
By Scott J. Adams, Sports Writer
Saturday, November 03, 2007 | No comments posted.
NORTH BEND — North Bend’s Shawn Mitchell saved his best performance for his final regular-season game at Vic Adams Field.
As a reward, he and his teammates will play there again.
Mitchell rushed for a career-best 222 yards and three touchdowns Friday, helping the No. 10 Bulldogs (7-3 overall, 4-1 league) cap a stellar Far West League campaign with a 42-6 victory over Sutherlin (4-6, 3-2).
The win clinched an outright second-place finish for the brown Bulldogs and bypassed them into the second round of the OSAA Class 4A playoffs, where they’ll host Newport in two weeks. North Bend beat Newport 32-22 in the preseason.
“It’s great to end it like this,” said Mitchell, who was showered with gifts along with the other North Bend seniors afterward. “We wanted to go out with a big win and get that first-round bye.”
It was the fourth straight lopsided victory for the Bulldogs, who outscored their opponents by an average of 38 points in their four league wins.
“It’s the way we wanted to finish the regular season,” said wide receiver/defensive back Luke Clark. “Sutherlin has a lot of talent, and they gave us a good challenge for most of the game.”
After a lackluster first quarter, North Bend broke the game open on Clark’s 57-yard punt return for the go-ahead score. Clark fielded the ball at the North Bend 43-yard line, stiff-armed one defender, then cut upfield with a convoy of blockers paving his way into the end zone.
It was the catalyst for 42 unanswered points.
“That really swung the momentum,” Sutherlin coach Josh Gary said. “North Bend is a great football team, and you can only trick your way around them for so long. Eventually, they’re going to hit their stride.”
Sutherlin scored the game’s first touchdown on a 3-yard run by Jake Gilman in the first quarter. It gave the visiting blue Bulldogs a 6-0 lead after a missed extra point by Tim Cote.
Sutherlin dominated time of possession in the first half but slowly lost control after Clark’s return and Mitchell’s first touchdown, a blistering 67-yard run that put North Bend ahead 14-6.
“Shawn ran hard for us tonight, he’s a warrior,” said North Bend coach Bill Masei. “He helped us get the momentum back. It’s good to see the kids win like that and play with that emotion this late in the season.”
The blue Bulldogs answered Mitchell’s first score with a 15-play drive that ended when Steve Oman and Mitchell — who also started at defensive back — broke up a would-be 11-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Trowbridge to Jordan Cowan.
After posting 119 yards rushing in the first half, Mitchell exploded on both sides of the ball in the final two quarters. He cashed in from 1 yard out in the third, then delivered a 19-yard score and a fumble recovery in the fourth — plus a jarring hit on Cowan to break up a trick play fullback toss-pass.
“We have a lot of talent in our senior class, and Shawn’s definitely one of our emotional leaders,” said offensive lineman Trae Collins.
Mitchell’s 1-yard score came after fullback Kale Forrester pushed North Bend ahead 21-6 with a 26-yard touchdown run. Forrester rushed for 49 yards and Lane Seals 85 on 11 carries for North Bend, which tallied 431 yards on the ground against a Sutherlin defense that struggled to adjust.
“They’re everything we thought they would be,” Gary said. “Our kids did everything they could, but that’s a tough offense to keep up with.”
North Bend’s defense, meanwhile, only got stronger as the game progressed. Trowbridge completed one pass in the second half for eight of his 37 yards, but gave the brown Bulldogs more trouble with his legs.
Out of a spread look, he snaked for a team-high 89 yards on 17 carries.
“He is one fast kid,” Masei said. “We didn’t think he’d be a problem for us, but he gave us all we could handle.”
Mitchell set up his third rushing score after recovering a fumble at the North Bend 16-yard line. He found the end zone seven plays later on a sweep, patiently following his linemen to the goal line. He got a huge block from Clark, who returned the favor after Mitchell did the same on Clark’s punt return.
“We both helped each other out I guess,” Clark said. “This was a statement win — everyone stepped up. We had a great second half defensively and offensively. It was a total effort.”
North Bend’s final score came on a 15-yard run by Shane Halford late in the fourth quarter.
Sutherlin was held to 236 yards in total offense and will look to bounce back when the Bulldogs travel to play the third-place team from the Cowapa League in the first round of the playoffs.
As a reward, he and his teammates will play there again.
Mitchell rushed for a career-best 222 yards and three touchdowns Friday, helping the No. 10 Bulldogs (7-3 overall, 4-1 league) cap a stellar Far West League campaign with a 42-6 victory over Sutherlin (4-6, 3-2).
The win clinched an outright second-place finish for the brown Bulldogs and bypassed them into the second round of the OSAA Class 4A playoffs, where they’ll host Newport in two weeks. North Bend beat Newport 32-22 in the preseason.
“It’s great to end it like this,” said Mitchell, who was showered with gifts along with the other North Bend seniors afterward. “We wanted to go out with a big win and get that first-round bye.”
It was the fourth straight lopsided victory for the Bulldogs, who outscored their opponents by an average of 38 points in their four league wins.
“It’s the way we wanted to finish the regular season,” said wide receiver/defensive back Luke Clark. “Sutherlin has a lot of talent, and they gave us a good challenge for most of the game.”
After a lackluster first quarter, North Bend broke the game open on Clark’s 57-yard punt return for the go-ahead score. Clark fielded the ball at the North Bend 43-yard line, stiff-armed one defender, then cut upfield with a convoy of blockers paving his way into the end zone.
It was the catalyst for 42 unanswered points.
“That really swung the momentum,” Sutherlin coach Josh Gary said. “North Bend is a great football team, and you can only trick your way around them for so long. Eventually, they’re going to hit their stride.”
Sutherlin scored the game’s first touchdown on a 3-yard run by Jake Gilman in the first quarter. It gave the visiting blue Bulldogs a 6-0 lead after a missed extra point by Tim Cote.
Sutherlin dominated time of possession in the first half but slowly lost control after Clark’s return and Mitchell’s first touchdown, a blistering 67-yard run that put North Bend ahead 14-6.
“Shawn ran hard for us tonight, he’s a warrior,” said North Bend coach Bill Masei. “He helped us get the momentum back. It’s good to see the kids win like that and play with that emotion this late in the season.”
The blue Bulldogs answered Mitchell’s first score with a 15-play drive that ended when Steve Oman and Mitchell — who also started at defensive back — broke up a would-be 11-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Trowbridge to Jordan Cowan.
After posting 119 yards rushing in the first half, Mitchell exploded on both sides of the ball in the final two quarters. He cashed in from 1 yard out in the third, then delivered a 19-yard score and a fumble recovery in the fourth — plus a jarring hit on Cowan to break up a trick play fullback toss-pass.
“We have a lot of talent in our senior class, and Shawn’s definitely one of our emotional leaders,” said offensive lineman Trae Collins.
Mitchell’s 1-yard score came after fullback Kale Forrester pushed North Bend ahead 21-6 with a 26-yard touchdown run. Forrester rushed for 49 yards and Lane Seals 85 on 11 carries for North Bend, which tallied 431 yards on the ground against a Sutherlin defense that struggled to adjust.
“They’re everything we thought they would be,” Gary said. “Our kids did everything they could, but that’s a tough offense to keep up with.”
North Bend’s defense, meanwhile, only got stronger as the game progressed. Trowbridge completed one pass in the second half for eight of his 37 yards, but gave the brown Bulldogs more trouble with his legs.
Out of a spread look, he snaked for a team-high 89 yards on 17 carries.
“He is one fast kid,” Masei said. “We didn’t think he’d be a problem for us, but he gave us all we could handle.”
Mitchell set up his third rushing score after recovering a fumble at the North Bend 16-yard line. He found the end zone seven plays later on a sweep, patiently following his linemen to the goal line. He got a huge block from Clark, who returned the favor after Mitchell did the same on Clark’s punt return.
“We both helped each other out I guess,” Clark said. “This was a statement win — everyone stepped up. We had a great second half defensively and offensively. It was a total effort.”
North Bend’s final score came on a 15-yard run by Shane Halford late in the fourth quarter.
Sutherlin was held to 236 yards in total offense and will look to bounce back when the Bulldogs travel to play the third-place team from the Cowapa League in the first round of the playoffs.
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