Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Panthers pound Warrenton in playoff opener
By John Gunther, Sports Editor
Monday, November 10, 2008 | No comments posted.
COOS BAY — Gold Beach got its football playoffs opener out of the way Saturday. Now things get tougher.
The defending state champion Panthers took care of Warrenton 58-0 at Pete Susick Stadium to set up a quarterfinal game against Umatilla this weekend, also at Coos Bay. Umatilla beat Colton 41-12 in the first round Saturday.
“We did all the right things,” Gold Beach coach Kevin Swift said of his team’s easy win over Warrenton. “It’s going to get tougher in a hurry and they know that.”
Warrenton was no match for the Panthers. The Warriors suited just 20 players, and didn’t have Gold Beach’s experience, size or speed.
Gold Beach’s first half included two one-play touchdown drives and another touchdown by the defense. The Panthers led 30-0 despite running just 16 offensive plays.
The Panthers had first downs on their first the offensive plays of the game — runs by Garett Wolford for 14 yards and Travis Moore for 24 and 25 more. Jeffrey Knox, Gold Beach’s quarterback, finished the drive with a 14-yard scamper around the right end. The Panthers led 7-0 just over midway through the first quarter.
Three plays later, Gold Beach was on the scoreboard again. Warrenton quarterback Josh Wheatley overthrew a receiver and Wolford intercepted the pass, and returned it 39 yards for a score.
On Gold Beach’s first offensive play of the second quarter, Knox hit Wolford in stride running behind the defense for a 65-yard touchdown.
Warrenton finally stopped a Gold Beach drive later in the quarter, but Martin booted a 26-yard field goal. After a short Warrenton punt, Moore scored on a 33-yard run.
Knox returned the opening kickoff of the second half 87 yards for a touchdown before the junior varsity offense took over, adding a pair of scores by Jaden West and one by Hugo Rosa.
West finished with 85 yards on a team-high 11 carries. Moore had 91 on just five carries.
By the end of the game, eight different Panthers had rushing attempts.
“The good thing is that we played a lot of kids,” Swift said. “They know what it’s like to be in the playoffs now.”
Warrenton, meanwhile, had just 101 rushing yards on 47 carries. Fullback Stephen Petersen led the way with 36 yards on 17 carries. Wheatley was injured in the first half. He and Tyler Miller, his backup, combined to complete just two of 10 passing attempts for 8 yards. Travis Smith intercepted a pass for the Panthers in the second half.
The Gold Beach players had plenty to be happy about.
“I think we did great,” said Wolford. “The line blocked amazing. We played tough defense.”
“We played pretty good,” said Mike Klein, who starts on the offensive line and at linebacker. “The JV played good, too.”
Klein said it was a good start to the playoffs.
“It was a way to make a statement,” he said.
Gold Beach also knows things will get much tougher against Umatilla, the runner-up in the tough Eastern Oregon league. The Vikings are averaging nearly 44 points a game, their lone loss coming 53-24 to No. 2 Grant Union.
“Next week, we’ve got to prepare even harder,” Wolford said.
Bobcats fall
Myrtle Point struggled on offense against No. 2 Grant Union, and the Prospectors ran away with a 47-0 win over the Bobcats in another first-round game Saturday.
Myrtle Point stopped Grant Union’s first possession in just three plays, but then the Prospectors kicked it into high gear.
Zane Murray had an 8-yard scoring run and then quarterback Austin Ranft scored on a 1-yard keeper. After a Myrtle Point fumble, Jake Reynolds went 19 yards to put the Prospectors up 21-0 in the first quarter.
The Bobcats gave up a safety in the second quarter on a bad snap on a punt attempt, but the Bobcats then came up with a goal-line stand.
Grant Union added three scores in just over three minutes late in the half to take a 44-0 halftime edge.
Myrtle Point didn’t have any first downs in the opening half and by the time the Bobcats got some offense in the fourth quarter, it was too late.
“They were big,” said Myrtle Point coach John Marquez.
The Bobcats finished 8-3 in Marquez’s first season as head coach.
“It was a good run, very positive,” Marquez said. “We’ll be fine. I was proud of my boys this season.”
Tigers fall
Regis rolled to a 36-6 win over visiting Bandon in the first round on Saturday.
The Tigers’ lone touchdown came on a 53-yard interception return from Gage Gant late in the fourth quarter.
Regis quarterback Dylan Bochsler had three touchdown passes in the victory.
Bandon coach Motts Thomas came into the game hoping to complete some early passes to open up the running game. A string of incompletions made that strategy problematic, though, and by the time the Tigers were able to get a good ground game going with running back Jimmy Mack, it was too late.
“We just didn’t know if we could run against those guys, and we didn’t complete the passes we thought we were going to to pull them out of their eight- or nine-man front,” said Thomas. “As coaches sometimes we can be too smart.”
The playoff loss capped a successful turnaround season for Bandon. Thomas, in his first year with the Tigers, won coach of the year honors for taking the team to the Class 3A playoffs one year after the team went winless in the Sunset Conference.
“I want to say we’ve gotten rid of 99 percent of that culture of losing,” said Thomas. “We learned, and I learned. We’ll be better next year.”
VOLLEYBALL
Mountain View and Sisters, the teams that eliminated Marshfield and North Bend from the playoffs, finished second in their respective state tournaments Saturday.
Mountain View fell to Crook County in four games in the Class 5A championship at Liberty High School. Central swept Sisters in the Class 4A final at Lane Community College. Former Coquille player Mary Jo Pflaum plays for Central after moving to Monmouth during the summer.
Valley Catholic, another team familiar to the South Coast schools after winning the inaugural Marshfield Invitational last month, was runner-up in Class 3A, losing to Sheridan in the final. Sunset Conference champion Cascade Christian was third.
The other champions were Jesuit (Class 6A), Blanchet Catholic (Class 2A) and Imbler (Class 1A).
The defending state champion Panthers took care of Warrenton 58-0 at Pete Susick Stadium to set up a quarterfinal game against Umatilla this weekend, also at Coos Bay. Umatilla beat Colton 41-12 in the first round Saturday.
“We did all the right things,” Gold Beach coach Kevin Swift said of his team’s easy win over Warrenton. “It’s going to get tougher in a hurry and they know that.”
Warrenton was no match for the Panthers. The Warriors suited just 20 players, and didn’t have Gold Beach’s experience, size or speed.
Gold Beach’s first half included two one-play touchdown drives and another touchdown by the defense. The Panthers led 30-0 despite running just 16 offensive plays.
The Panthers had first downs on their first the offensive plays of the game — runs by Garett Wolford for 14 yards and Travis Moore for 24 and 25 more. Jeffrey Knox, Gold Beach’s quarterback, finished the drive with a 14-yard scamper around the right end. The Panthers led 7-0 just over midway through the first quarter.
Three plays later, Gold Beach was on the scoreboard again. Warrenton quarterback Josh Wheatley overthrew a receiver and Wolford intercepted the pass, and returned it 39 yards for a score.
On Gold Beach’s first offensive play of the second quarter, Knox hit Wolford in stride running behind the defense for a 65-yard touchdown.
Warrenton finally stopped a Gold Beach drive later in the quarter, but Martin booted a 26-yard field goal. After a short Warrenton punt, Moore scored on a 33-yard run.
Knox returned the opening kickoff of the second half 87 yards for a touchdown before the junior varsity offense took over, adding a pair of scores by Jaden West and one by Hugo Rosa.
West finished with 85 yards on a team-high 11 carries. Moore had 91 on just five carries.
By the end of the game, eight different Panthers had rushing attempts.
“The good thing is that we played a lot of kids,” Swift said. “They know what it’s like to be in the playoffs now.”
Warrenton, meanwhile, had just 101 rushing yards on 47 carries. Fullback Stephen Petersen led the way with 36 yards on 17 carries. Wheatley was injured in the first half. He and Tyler Miller, his backup, combined to complete just two of 10 passing attempts for 8 yards. Travis Smith intercepted a pass for the Panthers in the second half.
The Gold Beach players had plenty to be happy about.
“I think we did great,” said Wolford. “The line blocked amazing. We played tough defense.”
“We played pretty good,” said Mike Klein, who starts on the offensive line and at linebacker. “The JV played good, too.”
Klein said it was a good start to the playoffs.
“It was a way to make a statement,” he said.
Gold Beach also knows things will get much tougher against Umatilla, the runner-up in the tough Eastern Oregon league. The Vikings are averaging nearly 44 points a game, their lone loss coming 53-24 to No. 2 Grant Union.
“Next week, we’ve got to prepare even harder,” Wolford said.
Bobcats fall
Myrtle Point struggled on offense against No. 2 Grant Union, and the Prospectors ran away with a 47-0 win over the Bobcats in another first-round game Saturday.
Myrtle Point stopped Grant Union’s first possession in just three plays, but then the Prospectors kicked it into high gear.
Zane Murray had an 8-yard scoring run and then quarterback Austin Ranft scored on a 1-yard keeper. After a Myrtle Point fumble, Jake Reynolds went 19 yards to put the Prospectors up 21-0 in the first quarter.
The Bobcats gave up a safety in the second quarter on a bad snap on a punt attempt, but the Bobcats then came up with a goal-line stand.
Grant Union added three scores in just over three minutes late in the half to take a 44-0 halftime edge.
Myrtle Point didn’t have any first downs in the opening half and by the time the Bobcats got some offense in the fourth quarter, it was too late.
“They were big,” said Myrtle Point coach John Marquez.
The Bobcats finished 8-3 in Marquez’s first season as head coach.
“It was a good run, very positive,” Marquez said. “We’ll be fine. I was proud of my boys this season.”
Tigers fall
Regis rolled to a 36-6 win over visiting Bandon in the first round on Saturday.
The Tigers’ lone touchdown came on a 53-yard interception return from Gage Gant late in the fourth quarter.
Regis quarterback Dylan Bochsler had three touchdown passes in the victory.
Bandon coach Motts Thomas came into the game hoping to complete some early passes to open up the running game. A string of incompletions made that strategy problematic, though, and by the time the Tigers were able to get a good ground game going with running back Jimmy Mack, it was too late.
“We just didn’t know if we could run against those guys, and we didn’t complete the passes we thought we were going to to pull them out of their eight- or nine-man front,” said Thomas. “As coaches sometimes we can be too smart.”
The playoff loss capped a successful turnaround season for Bandon. Thomas, in his first year with the Tigers, won coach of the year honors for taking the team to the Class 3A playoffs one year after the team went winless in the Sunset Conference.
“I want to say we’ve gotten rid of 99 percent of that culture of losing,” said Thomas. “We learned, and I learned. We’ll be better next year.”
VOLLEYBALL
Mountain View and Sisters, the teams that eliminated Marshfield and North Bend from the playoffs, finished second in their respective state tournaments Saturday.
Mountain View fell to Crook County in four games in the Class 5A championship at Liberty High School. Central swept Sisters in the Class 4A final at Lane Community College. Former Coquille player Mary Jo Pflaum plays for Central after moving to Monmouth during the summer.
Valley Catholic, another team familiar to the South Coast schools after winning the inaugural Marshfield Invitational last month, was runner-up in Class 3A, losing to Sheridan in the final. Sunset Conference champion Cascade Christian was third.
The other champions were Jesuit (Class 6A), Blanchet Catholic (Class 2A) and Imbler (Class 1A).
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Not already registered?
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines