Vikings rally by Billies 24-6 to go 2-0
Siuslaw Coach Tim Dodson reminded his Vikings of the special meaning of playing football on Sept. 11, a date that will live in infamy. Stan Pusieski/EWSThere was a moment of silence to remember Sept. 11, 2001, before the game, and another moment of silence before the afterglow at game's end.
In between there was a whole lot of shouting going on as the Siuslaw Vikings improved to 2-0 on the young high school football season with a 24-6 victory Friday night over the Pleasant Hill Billies at Hans Petersen Field.
"We talked yesterday (as a football team) about Sept. 11," Dodson told those gathered for the afterglow, the tradition of giving thanks at Siuslaw. "We're a football team. We walk in here safely. There's no barbed wire around.
"We live in a great place, and we are safe. No matter what the scoreboard has, what it says, it's good. Living here is good. Being in Florence is great. And being a member of Siuslaw High School is absolutely awesome."
And noisy. Just ask the Billies, who had to contend with a vocal crowd and the rallying sounds of Siuslaw's high-energy pep band. The Billies took a timeout early in the game so their coach could complain to the officials about the Siuslaw band's loud play while Pleasant Hill was on offense.
"The student section was really loud, really awesome, and it helped us out," senior running back/linebacker Kenneth Thrall said at the afterglow. "It really helped us out."
Thrall gave his "attaboy" to junior running back Cade Clawson, whose first varsity touchdown with 8:44 to play and Thrall's point-after kick sealed the deal, giving the Vikings their final 24-6 lead.
Pleasant Hill turned the ball over on downs on its next series, with 6:08 to play. The Vikings then mounted a 12-play (all runs), 51-yard drive to run out the clock.
That capped a dominating second-half performance by the Vikings, who had clung to a 7-6 halftime lead, thanks to a fumble recovery at the Siuslaw 1 by senior linebacker Marshall Teter. Teter returned the fumble to the Siuslaw 14, and the Vikings took a knee to run out the final 21 seconds of the half.
"I just had the ball in my hands, and I was grateful for it," Teter said. Teter on Tuesday was named Coast Radio's Athlete of the Week.
It was a critical stop by a Vikings defense that had been bending but not breaking after the Billies raced to a 6-0 lead on their first possession.
"There's was a little too much bend, but yeah, I think we had two good stops," Dodson said. "Obviously the one just before the half. And I think they had the ball down inside the 10, or 15, and we got a stop."
That was on Pleasant Hill's final series of the game, which ended with Billies' sophomore quarterback Kaleb Miller being sacked for a loss of four yards on fourth-and-6 from the Siuslaw 15.
It was the Billies' fourth and final series of the second half, with three ending on failures to convert fourth-down plays, and the fourth on a punt.
"We made adjustments at halftime, and we came out strong in the second half and got it done," said senior linebacker Reese Siegel. "We listened to the coach. He really knows what he's talking about. So we've got to give him this one."
The second half was a marked turnaround on both sides of the ball for the Vikings, who were out-gained 175 yards to 156 in the first half but finished the game with a 378-258 advantage, including 222-83 in the second half.
Thrall's 25-yard field goal capped a 63-yard, 10-play drive to open the second half and give the Vikings a 10-6 lead. Thrall and Clawson each scored on 1-yard runs in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Siuslaw had taken a 7-6 lead into halftime on a one-play drive when senior quarterback Preston Mitchell connected with senior wide receiver Scott Mitchell for a 32-yard scoring strike with 4:59 to play in the second quarter.
Gordon has eight catches in each of the first two games of season, and a touchdown in each. His eight catches, TD and solid defense earned him Coast Radio's Athlete of the Week honor after the season-opening, 29-6 victory at Newport. Gordon also had an interception to stop a promising drive on the Billies' second series.
Pleasant Hill opened the game with a six-play, no-huddle drive of 65 yards, capped by senior running back Sam Jones' touchdown from the 5. The conversion pass failed, but Pleasant Hill was up 6-0 just 1 minute and 37 seconds into the game.
"We knew it was hurry-up, we just didn't know how fast," said Thrall. "It was faster than we thought. We settled down, and it was good we stopped their two-point conversion."
Jones would finish a game-high 101 yards rushing on 25 carried. He also caught a pass for 30 yards.
"He's a great running back, and he's going to do great things for Pleasant Hill," Siegel said. "We did the best we could, but with a great running back you're going to win some and lose some."
The win gives the Vikings a 2-0 record as they travel to Grants Pass this coming Friday for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with Hidden Valley of the Skyline Conference.
"It was 93 degrees today in the valley," Dodson told the afterglow gathering. "So we're heading into the valley and heading into the heat."
And they're heading into a hot team. The Mustangs are 2-0 at the expense of Far West League teams. Hidden Valley opened the season with a 24-7 victory over Brookings-Harbor at Grants Pass, then beat Douglas (1-1), 34-18, at Douglas on Friday night.
Hidden Valley is No. 3 and Siuslaw No. 19 in the Oregon School Activities Association 4A rankings. Phoenix is No. 1 and Stayton No. 2. Marshfield is No. 5 and North Bend/Oregon Coast Technology No. 26.
In other games Friday involving Far West League schools, Marshfield (2-0) beat Sutherlin 53-6 in Coos Bay, North Bend/OCT (1-1) lost to Astoria 22-20 in North Bend, South Umpqua (1-1) beat North Valley 58-6 in Grants Pass and Brookings-Harbor (1-1) beat Illinois Valley 40-14 in Brookings.
Siuslaw opens league play at home on Friday, Sept. 25, hosting South Umpqua at 7 p.m. at Hans Petersen Field.
OFFICIAL GAME STATISTICS BY JO DE AND BOB HYLTON
SCORING
At Hans Petersen Field, Florence, Friday, Sept. 11
PLEASANT HILL 6 0 0 0 — 6
SIUSLAW 0 7 3 14 — 24
First Quarter
Pleasant Hill — Sam Jones 5-yard run (pass field), 10:23
Second Quarter
Siuslaw — Scott Gordon 32-yard pass from Preston Mitchell (Kenneth Thrall kick), 4:59
Third Quarter
Siuslaw — FG Kenneth Thrall 25 yards, 7:25
Fourth Quarter
Siuslaw — Kenneth Thrall 1-yard run (Kenneth Thrall kick), 10:13
Siuslaw — Cade Clawson 1-yard run (Kenneth Thrall kick), 8:44
TEAM STATISTICS
Pleasant Hill Siuslaw
First downs 13 18
Yards gained rushing 123 268
Yards lost rushing 29 1
Plays-net yards rushing 35-94 43-267
Passing yards 164 111
Total yards 258 378
Passing 14-25-1 9-18-1
Punts-yards-ave. 3-97-32.3 1-38-38
Fumbles-lost 3-1 4-0
Penalties-yards 6-50 2-15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Pleasant Hill—Sam Jones 25-101.
Siuslaw—Preston Mitchell 16-129, Kenneth Thrall 12-87, Nick Steinman 8-34, Cade Clawson 5-17, Trent Reavis 2-1.
PASSING
Pleasant Hill—Kaleb Miller 14-25-1.
Siuslaw—Preston Mitchell 9-18-1—111.
RECEIVING
Pleasant Hill—Charlie Willett 8-99, Tyler DuBell 3-41, Sam Jones 1-30.
Siuslaw—Scott Gordon 8-108, Brogan Cornish 1-3.
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