For the week of November 7 - 13, 2001

Great start for Carey, then things unravel

Castleford explodes for 54-8 playoff win

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It happened so fast. Seven touchdowns in just 16 minutes. An explosion of points by the undefeated Castleford Wolves.

Carey School football coach Lane Kirkland said Castleford’s spurt was "like a rock that rolled off the top of a hill and wasn’t going to be stopped."

The result was a 54-8 Castleford victory Friday night in a State 1A eight-man playoff football game at Castleford.

It put Castleford up against unbeaten Horseshoe Bend (10-0, outscoring opponents 544-71) in the state semi-finals Saturday, Nov. 10 at Horseshoe Bend.

Castleford (9-0) raced to its ninth mercy-rule slaughter of the season with a 353-yard rushing attack that dismantled the stubborn Carey defense.

Limited to under five yards a carry by the tough Panther defenders, Wolves junior star Elvis Medina (128 yards rushing, 4 TD, 4 conversions) said Carey was the best team Castleford has faced this fall.

But five turnovers killed Carey (7-2) after a hopeful start.

Actually, it was a tale of two different games—the first 16 minutes surprisingly owned by Carey, the second 16 minutes dominated by Castleford. And everybody went home early.

Carey drove 74 yards in eight plays on its opening drive—the big pushes a 31-yard pass from Sean Cenarrusa to John Saili and the TD toss covering 28 yards, from Cenarrusa to Shawn Hennefer.

"We mixed things up and our passing game was going well," said Kirkland. "I think we surprised them a little."

Carey’s 5-3 defense, an unusual alignment for the Panthers, stopped Castleford once on fourth down, once on a fumble recovery and once on Hennefer’s interception.

The Wolves, averaging 57.8 ppg, were still scoreless midway through the second period. Castleford fans were restless. Wolves coach Shawn Scow (29-2) was livid at the play of his slow-starting offense.

Credit Carey’s defense. "The first 16 minutes was Carey football—the kind of good football we’ve been playing all season," Kirkland said.

Then the floodgates opened about the time Castleford decided to switch Medina from running back to quarterback—opening up the devastatingly-effective Wolves’ option pitch.

Gaining 108 yards on just nine carries, mostly on well-timed pitches from Medina, was quick Wolves scatback Seth Blick, a 135-pound soph.

"After they figured out our 5-3, they went to the option, sweeping it wide and forcing us back into a 4-2 and keeping us honest up the middle," Kirkland said. "They just pitch so wide it’s hard to key on it."

Great field position enabled Castleford to tie the game 8-8. A Panther fumble led to the go-ahead score, and then Carey suffered a bad break. It became the game’s turning point.

Junior end Saili (4 receptions, 74 yards) turned a down-and-out catch into a 27-yard gainer to nearly mid-field. Unfortunately Saili stayed down on the field. Carey’s hopes went down with him.

Kirkland said, "John dislocated his elbow when his arm was trapped after he was tackled by two guys. It was the turning point of the game. He’s the heart of our team, one of our captains. When we need a big play, we go to John."

Castleford got most of the big plays the rest of the way.

One of two Ben Rodgers interceptions led to the third Wolves TD shortly before the half. A five-minute, 11-play Castleford TD drive starting the third quarter was a back-breaker, then the home team turned two more Panther turnovers into quick scores.

"We had five turnovers, which is about 30% of the turnovers we had the entire season," said Kirkland. "That was a real key drive for Castleford starting the third."

After the game, Kirkland brought the Carey fans and players together on the field.

"I told them the heart of the Panthers is still alive and will be back next year," he said.

·  PANTHER NOTES—Coach Kirkland predicted that Castleford will beat Horseshoe Bend in Saturday’s semi-final, and then Castleford will lose to defending champion Kendrick in the state title game. "Castleford and Kendrick are two teams with 38 players on each team," Kirkland said.

Castleford had seven seniors, and Carey had just two seniors on its 16-player roster….Although the Wolves didn’t score, they outrushed Carey 111 to 11 in the first period….Carey’s defense had allowed only a combined 36 points in the middle quarters all season. Castleford scored 54.

Kole Peck’s bruised knee didn’t stop the sturdy junior from playing a solid game against Castleford….The Sawtooth Conference meeting where they pick All-League teams and remind Murtaugh its field is only 80 yards long will be Tuesday, Nov. 20.

 

 

Castleford 54, Carey 8

Carey 8 0 0 x 8

Castleford. 0 24 30 x 54

 

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SCORING

Carey—Shawn Hennefer, 28-yard pass from Sean Cenarrusa (Robbie Ellsworth, pass from Sean Cenarrusa); 9:17 1st quarter (8-0 C)

Castle—Ben Rodgers, 18-yard pass from Elvis Medina (Elvis Medina run); 6:48 2nd (8-8)

Castle—Elvis Medina, 2-yard run (Elvis Medina run); 3:41 2nd (16-8 Castle)

Castle—Elvis Medina, 5-yard run (Elvis Medina run); 0:52 2nd (24-8 Castle)

Castle—Elvis Medina, 16-yard run (Ben Rodgers, pass from Elvis Medina); 6:47 3rd (32-8 Castle)

Castle—Ryan Blick, 28-yard fumble recovery (Ben Rodgers, pass from Elvis Medina); 6:35 3rd (40-8 Castle)

Castle—Elvis Medina, 1-yard run (Elvis Medina run); 5:25 3rd (48-8 Castle)

Castle—Ben Rodgers, 21-yard pass from Drew Maves; 2:40 3rd (54-8 Castle); game called on the 45-point mercy rule.

 

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KEY STATS CAREY CASTLE

Off. plays 45 64

Possession time 11:50 21:30

1st downs, rush 2 15

1st downs, pass 3 1

1st downs, penal. 1 0

1st downs, total 6 16

Rushes, yards 16-5 52-353

Yards per carry 0.3 6.8

Fumbles lost 3 1

Comp., passes 10-18 5-10

Comp. percentage 55% 50%

Passing yards 114 60

Yards per catch 11.4 12.0

Intercepted by 1 2

Sacks by, yards 0-0 0-0

Returns, yards 6-60 5-95

Tot. yards gained 179 508

Penalties, yards 0-0 3-26

Punts, yardage 4-116 0-0

Punt average 29.0 0.0

 

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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Carey

Rushing—Destry Simpson 6-26, 1 1st.

Passing—Sean Cenarrusa 10-17, 114 yards, 3 1sts, 1 TD, 1 conv, 2 interceptions.

Receiving—John Saili 4-74, 3 1sts; Shawn Hennefer 2-31, 1 TD; Robbie Ellsworth 3-6, 1 conv.;

Stephen Jurgensmeier 1-3.

Fumble recoveries (1)—Blake Surerus 1.

Interceptions (1)—Hennefer 1 with 7-yard return.

Kickoff returns—Randy Lundergreen 3-39; Hennefer 1-10; Simpson 1-4.

Tackles (65)—Hennefer 10, Bryson Ellsworth 10, Robbie Ellsworth 10, Simpson 9, Jurgensmeier 8, Seth Adamson 7, Kole Peck 6, Saili 4, Lundergreen 1.

 

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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Castleford

Rushing—Elvis Medina 28-128 (4.6), 7 1sts, 4 TD, 4 conv.; Seth Blick 9-108 (12.0), 4 1sts; Drew Maves 6-62, 3 1sts; Ryan Blick 8-61, 1 1st.

Passing—Elvis Medina 4-6, 39 yards, 1 1st, 1 TD, 1 conv.; Drew Maves 1-4, 21 yards, 1 TD, 1 interception.

Receiving—Ben Rodgers 4-45, 2 TD, 2 conv.; Seth Blick 1-15, 1 1st.

Fumble recoveries (3)—Ryan Blick 1 with 28-yard TD return; Seth Blick 1; Mike Potucek 1.

Interceptions (2)—Ben Rodgers 2 with 7 yards in returns.

All-purpose yardage—Elvis Medina 181.

Tackle leaders—Mark Hatch 8, Robert Comer 6, Ben Rodgers 5, Elvis Medina 4.

 

 

 

 

2001 CAREY 
FOOTBALL COMPOSITE

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TOTAL SCORING

Opponents 14 44 46 40 144 (16.0)

Carey 90 80 76 94 340 (37.8)

 

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RESULTS 

(7-2 overall, 4-0 home, 
3-2 away, 4-1 North Division)

Aug. 31 (Home) Carey 38, Rockland 12

Sept. 7 (Away) Carey 34, North Gem 6

Sept. 14 (Home) Carey 48, Richfield 0

Sept. 21 (Home) Carey 42, Dietrich 30

Sept. 28 (Away) Carey 48, Clark County 0

Oct. 12 (Home) Carey 42, Shoshone 8

Oct. 19 (Away) Camas County 20, Carey 18

Oct. 26 (Murtaugh, Sawtooth playoff) Carey 62, Murtaugh 14

Nov. 2 (Castleford, State 1A playoff) Castleford 54, Carey 8

 

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SCORING TD CONV PTS.

Shawn Hennefer 18 2 112

Destry Simpson 15 2 94

John Saili 9 2 58

Robbie Ellsworth 5 7 44

Stephen Jurgensmeier 2 2 16

Seth Adamson 1 0 6

Bryson Ellsworth 0 3 6

Safeties 0 0 4

 

Touchdown passes—Sean Cenarrusa 11, Hennefer 9. Conversion passes—Cenarrusa 9, Hennefer 6. Notes—Carey scored in 29 of 35 quarters....Carey successfully made 18/48 conversions (37% success rate)....Carey scored 50 TDs—28 on runs from scrimmage, 20 on passes, 2 on defense.

 

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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Total rushing—353 attempts for 2,037 yards (5.8).

Total offense—3,964 yards (440.4 per game).

Rushing—Shawn Hennefer 141-839 (6.0), 13 TD, 2 conv.; Destry Simpson 99-651 (6.6), 11 TD.

Total passing—118-205, 1,452 yards, 20 TD, 15 conv.

Passing—Cenarrusa 75-130 (57%), 885 yards, 11 TD, 9 conv.; Hennefer 42-74 (56%), 559 yards, 9 TD, 6 conv.

Receiving—Saili 35-534, 8 TD, 1 conv.; Simpson 27-381, 4 TD, 2 conv.; Robbie Ellsworth 27-189, 3 TD, 7 conv.; Hennefer 21-279, 4 TD; Stephen Jurgensmeier 5-60, 1 TD, 1 conv.; Bryson Ellsworth 3-9, 3 conv.

 

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PREVIOUS STATE A-4, 1A EIGHT-MAN CHAMPIONS

1984—Council 55-20 over Shoshone at ISU. 1985—Council 44-0 over North Gem at ISU. 1986—Richfield 20-6 over Council at ISU. 1987—Garden Valley 48-22 over Rockland at Kibbie Dome. 1988—North Gem 45-32 over Highland-Craigmont at ISU. 1989—Garden Valley 64-14 over Highland-Craigmont at Kibbie Dome. 1990—Garden Valley 42-22 over Kendrick at Kibbie Dome. 1991—Kendrick 56-28 over Council at Kibbie Dome. 1992—Council 30-16 over Carey at ISU. 1993—Deary 36-22 over Carey at Kibbie Dome. 1994—Carey 58-26 over Deary at ISU. 1995—Deary 54-14 over Carey at Kibbie Dome. 1996—North Gem 26-14 over Deary at ISU. 1997—Deary 50-28 over Cambridge at Kibbie Dome. 1998—Carey 44-42 over Deary at ISU. 1999—Salmon River 31-28 over Notus at BSU. 2000—Kendrick 66-46 over Idaho City. (Start 1A) 2001—

 

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