Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Fight to the finish: Savages, Carey wage epic battle

Salmon River?s 18-point fourth quarter overcomes Carey 46-42 in title game


By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer

Carey senior quarterback D.J. Simpson spots a receiver downfield behind Heith Adamson?s pass block during Thursday?s State 1A Division 2 championship game at Boise?s Bronco Stadium. Simpson (374 all-purpose yards) was the title game?s top offensive player. His interior line of center Tyler Parke and guards Todd Peck and Tyler Chavez gave Simpson some decent protection. Photo by David N. Seelig

Last weekend, the so-called smallest game in Idaho football was the biggest of them all.

Tens of thousands of football fans filed into Boise's Bronco Stadium to watch the renewal of the Boise State-University of Idaho college football rivalry Saturday and also to see Meridian trounce Capital of Boise 44-14 in the State 5A high school championship game Friday.

But the best game of the three played on successive days on BSU's Lyle Smith Field occurred Thursday before the smallest crowd. Let's say there were around 1,000 on one side of the 31,000-seat stadium's lower tier—mostly fans and relatives of tiny Salmon River of Riggins (63 students) and Carey School (about 75).

It was the State 1A Division 2 eight-man title game. And what a remarkable back-and-forth battle it turned out to be on a mild evening at the home of the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Champion BSU Broncos.

Determined to avenge its second-half meltdown and 30-point loss to Carey in last year's State 1A Division 2 championship game at Pocatello, Salmon River scored three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter and rallied from a 14-point deficit to topple #1-ranked Carey 46-42.

Yelling and screaming from the opening kickoff for its 12-player team, Salmon River fans went about as bonkers as they get in Riggins.

Salmon River's comeback victory prevented Carey (10-2) from claiming its second consecutive state eight-man title and elevated the Savages (10-1) to their first state football championship since 1999.

The winning touchdown, a seven-yard pass from Salmon River sophomore quarterback Charles Jaramillo-Swan to junior Cody Carlson, came with three seconds left in the tense and climactic fourth period.

Carey essentially had the game won, but Savages senior star Trevor Medley recovered an onsides, cluster kick with two minutes and 40 seconds left and fired-up Salmon River still trailing by a 42-40 score.

Medley, sidelined by a knee injury in last year's Holt Arena title game, was monstrous in his final high school contest. He scored three touchdowns, rushed 26 times for 139 yards and nine clutch first downs, caught four passes for 91 yards and made a team-high nine tackles Thursday.

Carey assistant coach Lee Cook said, "Trevor Medley was the heart and soul of that Salmon River team. He had a real will to win."

Sure enough, 6-0, 180-pound Medley, one of three Riggins seniors, figured in the game's controversial conclusion.

After Salmon River took its final time out with 24 seconds left and the ball sitting at the Carey 12, Medley's hard-charging five-yard run was so close to a first down that the officials stopped the clock and deliberated about the placement of the ball.

For some unexplained reason, the officials didn't measure for a first but the clock stayed stuck at 12 seconds and gave the Savages a chance to set up their final, game-winning play.

Coach Cook said, "They (Salmon River) didn't have a time out, they didn't have a first down and they didn't get the ball out-of-bounds. But the clock stopped and enabled them to set up their final play. The clock was just too slow for us at the end."

Head coach Lane Kirkland of Carey, acknowledging the officials never explained the crucial situation to him, said, "It looked to me like they spotted the ball outside the hash mark, then they moved it over and moved it again. The stoppage gave Salmon River a chance to set up a final play."

Filled with a multitude of major moments and big game-turning plays, the title contest was a rare gem that could have gone either way.

Certainly it was a lights-out offensive showcase featuring 13 touchdowns and 1,127 total yards. The stats compared favorably to last year's title game match-up between the District 3 and District 4 champions that had 11 TDs and 1,057 yards.

For the second straight year, neither team punted. Think about it—two championship games on two fields, 96 minutes, 244 plays and not one punt. It was smash-mouth football, stop me or pay the price.

How about a rubber game!

After the respective defenses stopped opening drives in the red zones, the teams went in lockstep and put up 11 straight touchdowns. There was no stopping anyone. Six of the TDs covered 40 yards or more.

Kirkland said, "We had our chances. But it was pretty much an epic battle between two great teams. There were very few penalties and turnovers and it was pretty even all the way down the line.

"It seemed like whoever scored last would win. It was kind of like Salmon River's destiny to win. They had been there before in the playoffs this year and were calm under pressure and knew how to execute in the playoffs. But I thought we played the best we could, a great effort."

Salmon River's drive to the 2007 state championship was the stuff of movies, starting with the effort of Riggins citizens to fund the school's football team and sports programs after the failure of an override levy two years ago. The whole community of about 500 central Idaho people became involved.

After Salmon River (suiting 13 players to Carey's 27) withered in the second half last year and Carey scored the final four TDs for its 30-point rout, the Savages put in the off-season weight training and camp time needed to build up players.

Kirkland said, "I thought Salmon River really trained hard in the off-season and were better prepared. We still had them out-manned in numbers, but they were a lot bigger and stronger than we were.

"It sure looked good for us going into the fourth—the tide had turned in our favor—and we were almost there, but Salmon River controlled the clock in the fourth and stopped us with a sack on our only drive. We needed one more possession, but they got it back with the onsides kick."

Salmon River, in its two playoff games before Thursday's final, had shown the requisite ball-control offense and never-say-die spirit that win championships in any season.

In their 52-40 home win over Garden Valley Nov. 3, the Savages ground out their running game using Medley (160 yards, 3 TDs) and sophomore Dustin Rinker (200 yards, 4 TDs).

More dramatically, host Salmon River overcame a two-touchdown deficit with four minutes left and beat Kootenai 20-18 Nov. 10 on a last-second TD pass from Jaramillo-Swan to Dylan Rinker. That put the Savages into the title contest.

Dylan Rinker, a 6-0 junior who caught eight passes for 202 yards Thursday, was a thorn in Carey's side from the outset. But it was Medley cashing in. The senior grabbed a swing pass and avoided one tackler for the first Savages TD after a turnover. Medley went three yards on a dive for a 16-8 lead.

Carey had immediate answers for Salmon River's opening offensive salvos.

Panther senior quarterback D.J. Simpson (13-of-21 passes for 227 yards and 3 TD, plus 115 yards rushing and 1 TD) connected with senior Scott Ellsworth for a 71-yard TD. Senior Blake Whitby capped an eight-play, 58-yard drive with a three-yard run for a 16-16 game.

Simpson (374 all-purpose yards compared to Medley's 264) was huge in his final game. In Carey's final scoring, Simpson was the top scorer (17 TDs for 118 points plus 21 TD passes and 25 conversion passes).

Kirkland said, "D.J. had a great game and a great career, six years as a starting quarterback for Carey. I was so proud of him. Both D.J. and Scott (Ellsworth) had great games."

Ellsworth's second TD catch from Simpson with three minutes left in the second quarter tied the score 22-22. Carey took its first lead 30-22 when junior Heith Adamson intercepted a tipped Jaramillo-Swan pass and ran 66 yards for a touchdown with one second left.

Sophomore Gonzalo Zarate's rush on Jaramillo-Swan made the pass theft possible and gave Carey a head of steam going into halftime, up eight points.

Another Zarate pass rush on Jaramillo-Swan during Salmon River's opening possession of the second half got the ball back for Carey. The Panthers scored on an eight-play, 44-yard, four-minute drive capped by a 14-yard pass from Simpson to senior Kade Peterson.

Carey's defense, suddenly out in front 36-22, seemed to have Salmon River stopped with a third-and-long situation at the Savages 35-yard-line. But Jaramillo-Swan found Dylan Rinker on play action for a 65-yard touchdown to keep the Savages reasonably close.

Like they had done all season, the Panthers struck quickly for their final score of the team's 75-touchdown season. Simpson scrambled for 21 yards behind Peterson's downfield block and then ran a QB draw up the gut for a 41-yard TD with Whitby making a huge block on Medley along the way.

The flip side of scoring quickly, though, is giving your defense precious little time to regroup and catch its breath.

Carey's quick-striking offense in its semi-final game against Dietrich and championship game effort against Salmon River left its defense on the field for 32 of 48 minutes against Dietrich and 30 of 48 minutes in Thursday's finale.

The workload began to take its toll in the fourth quarter.

Salmon River, down 42-28 with 12 minutes to play, remained patient and methodical with its ball-control running game. Medley and Dustin Rinker got three yards here and four yards there. Carey, showing some weariness, had problems finishing its tackles and wrapping up the runners.

On third-and-seven near midfield, Carey safety Simpson had a bead on a Jaramillo-Swan crossing pass to Dylan Rinker. He came over to break it up and possibly pick it off, but Simpson inadvertently bumped into teammate Ellsworth. The perfectly thrown lead pass settled into Rinker's hands for a 55-yard score—one of several things to go the way of Salmon River down the homestretch.

Their lead trimmed to 42-34, the Panthers took over and moved into Savages territory on a beautiful 16-yard spiral from Simpson to Ellsworth on third-and-13. But it was evident that the Savages' pass rush was getting into Simpson's head.

Kirkland said, "They were bringing a little more pressure with their linebackers on D.J."

On fourth-and-eight at the Savages 34, Simpson tried to spin away and escape but was sacked for a 13-yard-loss by the contain rush of Jaramillo-Swan and Cody Carlson. Throwing the ball away was probably the proper play, but just try thinking straight with 365 pounds of players bearing down.

Salmon River took over at its 47 with five-and-a-half minutes left and needed only eight running plays to score including a six-yard Medley dive on fourth-and-one. Dustin Rinker broke a tackle at the 10 and finished his 15-yard TD run that made the score 42-40, Carey.

Coaches Kirkland and Cook had traveled to Notus Oct. 5 and watched Salmon River win that conference game 56-6, so they were familiar with the numerous cluster onsides kicks that the Savages used that game to rub it in against Notus.

So they were aware that Salmon River was going to onsides kick. Carey just couldn't stop it. The Savages executed perfectly, packing eight players in a tight group and punching it just a few yards ahead.

Jaramillo-Swan kicked with the right touch and distance. Medley pounced on the ball.

Kirkland said, "He's a good kicker. It was soft, in the right spot with the proper bounce. A cluster kick is intimidating because you've got 700 pounds of players coming right at one person. It's got to be a good dive to go down and get the ball."

And still, Carey's defense was tough, refusing to give up the long run.

Linebacker Whitby, whose 16 tackles tied Ellsworth for the team's high during the championship game, came up with three stops and forced a fourth-and-four at the Panther 43. Then Jaramillo-Swan tossed a swing pass to Medley, who broke two tackles at the line and ran 11 yards to Carey's 32.

"We should have made some tackles earlier in their final drive," said Kirkland.

A stay-at-home quarterback, Jaramillo-Swan hadn't scrambled at all, but he went around left end for 15 yards and up the middle for five more yards to the Panther 12 where Salmon River called its final time out.

On Salmon River's game-winning play, Jaramillo-Swan dropped back in the shotgun with his three primary receivers—Dylan Rinker, Dustin Rinker and Medley—positioned wide left. The trio ran from left to right, and Jaramillo-Swan threw a seven-yard TD pass to little used but wide-open Carlson. He had crossed from the right into the vacated area on the left side of the blue turf.

Three seconds remained, and Carey had time for one last gasp. Simpson combined on a hook-and-ladder play with receiver Peterson, who lateraled to Whitby. The play gained 23 yards from the Salmon River 42 down to the 19, where Medley knocked Whitby out-of-bounds to give Salmon River the win.

"It was a tough game and a tough loss," said Kirkland. "We let the kids know that they played all out and gave it their best. We had a good run this year and have nothing to be ashamed of. We'll really work hard and try to get back here."

Carey's loss combined with Fruitland's 19-13 loss to unbeaten Shelley (12-0) in the State 3A championship game Friday at Pocatello meant that 2007 was the first year since 1981 that Idaho didn't have a repeat winner in its Milk Cup State Championships including all classifications.

Check the Web site for Carey game stats and a composite score through 12 games, and also see the Nov. 28 Local Life edition for more of David Seelig's photos from the championship game.

PANTHER NOTES—It was the first time Carey played for the title on the BSU blue and only the fifth time since the Idaho High School Activities Association began sanctioning eight-man football in 1984 that BSU hosted an eight-man final. Kirkland said, "It's quite a field and quite a thrill for us to play here."...

Salmon River finished the season with a 10-game winning streak. The Savages scored 474 points (43.1 ppg) and surrendered 150 (13.6), comparable to Carey's totals of 540 (45.0) and 142 (11.8).....The Savages captured their only other state championship at BSU in 1999 by a 31-28 score over Notus....Carey had 29 players on its title game roster, Salmon River 12.....The Salmon River crowd noise was a ninth man for the Savages. Kirkland said, "They were loud and obnoxious the whole game. It's louder in that stadium than it is indoors at Holt Arena."...

Carey principal John Peck said the small Blaine County school filled up the team bus, a van and the cheerleaders bus and had only 12 students left in school Thursday to get rides home....Carey's sixth- and seventh-grade band did a good job playing in Bronco Stadium....

Carey senior Connor Rivera (broken foot, dislocated ankle), still on crutches with his recent football injury, was an honorary captain. The Panthers never made a big deal out of it, but Rivera's loss was significant for their state title drive. He had rushed for 156 yards in last year's championship game and was Carey's top scorer in the 2006 title season with 15 TDs and 102 points....Simpson (118 points), Adamson (102), Whitby (98) and Ellsworth (80) all scored 10 or more touchdowns this fall for Carey.




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