Steve Lathrop | Posted: Friday, November 2, 2007 10:00 pm
Albany Democrat-Herald
Sweet Home used a relentless ground attack and a defense that got big plays when it needed to stop visiting Philomath 34-18 in the final game of the season for both teams.
The Huskies went to junior Amos Parmenter most of the night and he responded with 213 yards and three touchdowns to lead the hosts. But it was a strong performance by the entire offense.
"I was really pleased with the way we executed on both sides of the ball. I thought our offensive line did a great job of making adjustments," said Sweet Home coach Rob Younger. "It was a tough game to play."
The line didn't need to adjust much in the first half. With Parmenter running wild the Huskies appeared on the verge of blowing things open.
The junior running back broke loose for 15 yards to complete Sweet Home's first drive that covered 70 yards in just six plays.
Just before the end of the quarter, Parmenter was loose again, this time doing most of the work himself. He seemed stalled off right tackle but somehow broke free, reversed his field and outran everyone for a 62-yard score.
Philomath refused to let the Huskies pull away, however, striking quickly. In less than a minute, John Koeppe, surprised the Huskies with a 72-yard halfback pass to Bryant Davis, who slipped behind the entire Husky defense to cut the lead to a touchdown.
Sweet Home went right back to work, scoring two straight touchdowns on their first possessions of the second quarter. Parmenter did much of the leg work, but the final yards for both went to Marcus Delong, who finished drives of 69 and 50 yards.
In the final minute of the opening half Philomath struck again, this time with only 32 seconds left. Quarterback Logan Stevens hit Heath Honeycutt on a short one-yard pass to keep the Warriors within striking distance.
"We gave up some things we shouldn't have that made it closer," said Younger. "Overall though I thought our defense did a good job".
The second half saw ground give way more grudgingly for both teams. Philomath stiffened its interior defense and Sweet Home completely shut off the Warriors.
That Husky defense helped set up Sweet Home's final score forcing Philomath to give up the ball on downs. Taking over on the Warrior 40, Parmenter finished a steady drive that took only six plays with a short dive for the score.
A bad snap on a punt from the one led to Philomath's last score. The ball skipped past punter Delong and Ky Fisher recovered the loose ball in the end zone early in the fourth quarter.
Sweet Home rushed for 286 yards on the night with Delong and Nick Pitts complimenting Parmenter's 213 with 43 yards each.
Matt Hill led Philomath with 74 rushing yards and Koeppe added 33. Philomath passed for 152 yards.
"It's been a really enjoyable year for me," said Younger, whose team finished third in the ValCo but didn't make the playoffs. "It has been a pleasure working with these kids. They were a great bunch."
Sweet Home finished at 5-5 overall and 2-2 in league play. Philomath finished its season at 1-9 overall and 0-4 in the ValCo.
Huskies 34, Warriors 18
Philomath 6 6 0 6 - 18
Sweet Home 13 15 6 0 - 34
First quarter
SH - Parmenter 15 run (Johnston kick). 7:06.
SH - Parmenter 62 run (pass failed). :30.
P - Davis 72 pass from Koeppe (kick failed). :12
Second quarter
SH - Delong 4 run (Riggs pass from Graville). 9:56.
SH - Delong 5 run (Johnston kick). 3:50.
P - Honeycutt 1 pass from Stevens (run failed). :32.
Third quarter
SH - Parmenter 1 run (kick failed). 2:46.
Fourth quarter
P - Fisher recovered fumble in end zone (run failed). 10:48.
Statistics
Rushing: Philomath: 32-124. Individual: Hill - 13-74; Koeppe - 8-33; Fakhoury - 5-21; Fisher 2-7; Stevens - 1-5. Sweet Home: 40-286. Individual: Parmenter - 27-213; Pitts - 5-43; Delong - 7-43; Moyer - 1-1.
Passing: Philomath: Stevens 6-11-70-0; Koeppe 2-3-82-0. Sweet Home: Graville 5-9-51-0; Sipe 1-1-33-0.
Receiving: Philomath: Davis 1-82; Hill 3-33; Honeycutt 4-37. Sweet Home: Coone 1-33; Riggs 2-14; Delong 2-16; Pitts 1-21.