Mistakes caught up with the Carey School football team Friday during an intense Sawtooth Conference prep eight-man football game at Mackay.
The host Mackay Miners rallied from a 22-0 first-half deficit to beat Carey 26-22 and end the two-season, 15-game winning streak of the reigning State 1A Division 2 champions.
Three Carey turnovers and an outstanding all-around effort by Mackay senior quarterback Kole Krosch sealed the victory. Krosch (84 yards rushing, 153 yards passing, 15 tackles, 1 interception) tossed three touchdown passes in the third to bring Mackay from behind.
Carey had won 27 straight Sawtooth league games since 2005, but Mackay has been equally impressive with a 46-10 overall record in the last five seasons including 26-3 at home.
In a battle of unbeaten teams, Mackay (3-0, 2-0 league) snapped a four-game losing streak to Carey teams and relegated the Panthers (3-1, 2-1 league) to second place with five conference games left.
Carey senior quarterback Trevor Peck tossed TD passes to Brett Adamson and Dillon Simpson in the first half, and Simpson (105 yards rushing) cut loose for a 65-yard TD run. Carey out-rushed Mackay 193-103 and had a 286-214 edge in total offense, but Krosch pulled out the big plays when needed.
Lane Kirkland, Carey head coach, said, "This game every year seems to be a rivalry as intense as a college football rivalry. It is going to be hard fought, close all the way and settled in the fourth quarter."
He added, "I thought we had a great first half. We executed the game plan and seemed to have our way on the line of scrimmage, and we held them to six points. But allowing Mackay to get a score before the half gave them a spark.
"You cannot go into Mackay, or into any big game, and make multiple and a variety of mistakes and expect to win every time. We survived the 2007 meeting in Mackay where we had four fumbles, two interceptions and a 107-yard interception return with no time left. The odds will simply run out, and they did for us Friday."
Kirkland complimented the play of Simpson ("he gives all he has in practice and games"), Wacey Barg ("he has made some good progress the past month") and Carey's defense led by Todd Peck (10 tackles, 7 assists) and Tyler Chavez (9/9).
He said, "The defense did a great job, holding Krosch on fourth down to give us the ball one more time in the waning minutes. By that time, all our mistakes had taken their toll on us mentally and physically."
"We have a lot of football left to play. All is not lost," said Kirkland. "We need to dig deep and do whatever it takes every day. If we win out in conference play, we can still host a first-round playoff game."
Carey's 2009 Homecoming game is set for Friday, Sept. 25 with the Dietrich Blue Devils (1-2, 1-1 league). Dietrich was idle last week after losing 38-26 at Mackay Sept. 11. The game begins at 7 p.m. at Derrick Parke Memorial Field.
A 58-12 mercy rule winner on the Dietrich gridiron with a 512-yard rushing attack last October, Carey now owns six consecutive wins over Dietrich grid teams by a combined 320-78 score since Dietrich's last win, 84-48 at Carey in 2003.
Carey's Homecoming bonfire is today, Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. The Homecoming Parade is Friday at 2 p.m., and the big dance is Saturday from 8:30-11:30 p.m. at the school. Homecoming volleyball is Thursday night with Camas County.
CAREY Line Score
Mackay 26, Carey 22
CAREY. 14 8 0 0 22
MACKAY 0 6 20 0 26
SCORING
1st half
CAREY—Brett Adamson, 31-yard pass from Trevor Peck (Peck run); (8-0 C)
CAREY—Dillon Simpson, 65-yard run (run failed); (14-0 C)
CAREY—Dillon Simpson, 29-yard pass from Trevor Peck (Peck run); (22-0 C)
MACKAY—Kole Krosch, 5-yard run (pass failed); (22-6 C)
2nd half
MACKAY—Zack Foster, 8-yard pass from Kole Krosch (pass failed); (22-12 C)
MACKAY—Zach Donnot, 16-yard pass from Kole Krosch (run failed); (22-18 C)
MACKAY—C.J. Barnhart, 34-yard pass from Kole Krosch (Juston Warner, pass from Kole Krosch); (26-22 M)
KEY STATS CAREY MACKAY
1st downs, total 12 10
Rushing yardage 193 103
Fumbles lost 2 0
Completions, passes 4-9 9-16
Passing yards 93 111
Intercepted by 0 1
Total offense 286 214
Penalties 6-55 6-45
Yards per punt 42.0 33.0
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Carey
Rushing—Dillon Simpson 13-105, 1 TD; Gonzalo Zarate 16-47; Trevor Peck 12-41.
Passing—Trevor Peck 4-9, 93 yards, 2 TD, 1 interception.
Receiving—Brett Adamson 2-46, 1 TD; Dillon Simpson 1-29, 1 TD; Wacey Barg 1-18.
Tackles—Todd Peck 10 tackles/7 assists; Dillon Simpson 9/6; Tyler Chavez 9/9; Caleb Cenarrusa 8/7; Trevor Peck 8/5; Wacey Barg 7/6; Jacy Baird 6/5; Gonzalo Zarate 4/3; Blair Peck 3/1; Brett Adamson 2/1; Charlie Rivera 1/1; and Shane Bingham 1/1.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Mackay
Rushing—Kole Krosch 22-84, 1 TD; Juston Warner 9-27.
Passing—Kole Krosch 11-18, 153 yards, 3 TD.
Receiving—Zach Donnot 4-60, 1 TD; C.J. Barnhart 2-45, 1 TD; Juston Warner 2-40; Zack Foster 1-8, 1 TD.
Kickoff returns—Justin White 2-22; Tyler McLain 2-14.
Punt returns—Riley Askew 1-10.
Tackles—Juston Warner 11 tackles/3 assists; Kole Krosch 9/6; Zach Donnot 5/4.
Carey School senior quarterback Trevor Peck carries the ball, following a Dillon Simpson block early in Friday’s Sawtooth Conference game won by host Mackay 26-22. Courtesy photo by John Peck
