Maybe the highly regarded Carey High School eight-man football program was taking this defending champion and top-ranked thing too seriously.
Coach Lane Kirkland ventured a guess that the Panthers needed to make high school football more of what it should be—good fun for the boys. Fortunately, Homecoming Week and a solid team effort Friday changed some attitudes.
Scoring a season-best eight touchdowns and getting a balanced effort all the way down the line, Carey bounced back from a bitter 26-22 loss to Mackay and mercy-ruled Dietrich's Blue Devils 54-8 on a festive Homecoming Night at Derrick Parke Memorial Field.
Kirkland said, "We had some fun out there, just flying around on both sides of the ball and playing Carey football. It was a great way to rebound and come back from a tough loss. We regrouped mentally and went out and executed well."
Senior Dillon Simpson set the scoring tone with an 85-yard kickoff return to start the game and added a thrilling 70-yard punt return for his second TD in the third quarter. Senior Gonzalo Zarate scored three TDs and Wacey Barg had two.
The game ended with seven minutes and 50 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Carey (4-1 overall, 3-0 home, 3-1 Sawtooth Conference) scored twice on special teams, three times on runs, twice on passes and once on defense. The Panthers (156 yards rushing, 141 passing, 291 returns) out-gained Dietrich 571-275 and committed just one turnover to five for the Devils (1-3, 1-2).
The most telling statistic was Carey's nine sacks for 40 yards, led by senior Trevor Peck (team-high 13 tackles, 3 sacks). After Dietrich swept downfield 56 yards in five plays for an early 8-6 lead, Carey adjusted well on defense and blanked the Devils thereafter.
"We made some good adjustments on defense, changing from our four-front 4-2 and replacing it with a 5-1. We got some great penetration with it and start flying to the ball and gang tackling," said Kirkland.
Kirkland added, "Our line did a great job and our passing game was fun. We needed our special teams to step up and they did. We made substitutions to keep the kids fresh. That helped with our execution and speed. I was real proud of our seniors for taking us into the game with a good attitude."
Carey was opportunistic, turning four Blue Devils turnovers into scores. With Dietrich leading 8-6, Zarate's strong pass rush from the end forced a fumble that Wacey Barg scooped up and ran to the Devils one-yard line. Zarate then plunged for his first TD.
The game was still close, Carey leading 20-8 in the second, when Kirkland called quarterback Trevor Peck's number on the 10 power running game. Peck ran straight ahead twice for 16 yards, and then ran a perfectly executed option pitch to Zarate, who dashed home from 28 yards and a 28-8 Carey halftime lead.
Kirkland said, "The 10 power has been really effective for us. We get one-on-one blocking and go straight ahead."
Blair Peck's fumble recovery on a Trevor Peck tackle led to Carey's fifth TD, a quick out from Peck to Zarate for a 39-yard score and 34-8 cushion early in the third period. Then, Simpson caught a Walter Hansen (38.4 yards) punt at the Carey 30 and made two great cuts—leaving tacklers in his dust for a 70-yard punt return.
Kirkland was so enthusiastic about Simpson's effort that he rushed out on the field afterward and grabbed him by the shoulder pads and said, "Way to go, baby! Nice job!"
Carey made it 48-8 on the first play of the fourth quarter on a freakish play. Jacy Baird's wicked pass rush on Dietrich's Alex Heimerdinger caused the quarterback to fling the ball backwards in the air. Blair Peck caught it for an interception, ran 31 yards and fumbled when tackled by Dietrich junior star Dion Norman. But Wacey Barg was there to pick up the bouncing ball and finish the Panther touchdown, running 45 yards more to paydirt.
A Trevor Peck interception led to the final TD, made by junior QB Caleb Cenarrusa on a three-yard plunge. The game ended on the 45-point rule.
Carey now owns seven consecutive wins over Dietrich grid teams by a combined 374-86 score since Dietrich's last win, 84-48 at Carey in 2003. The Panthers have a week off before traveling to Fairfield for a Oct. 9 matinee with Camas County.
CAREY Line Score
Carey 54, Dietrich 8
DIETRICH 8 0 0 0 8
CAREY. 20 8 14 12 54
SCORING
1st half
CAREY—Dillon Simpson, 85-yard kickoff return (run failed); 11:48 1st (6-0 C)
DIETRICH—Dion Norman, 10-yard run (James McDaniel, pass from Alex Heimerdinger); 10:27 1st (8-6 D)
CAREY—Gonzalo Zarate, 1-yard run (Wacey Barg, pass from Trevor Peck); 6:00 1st (14-8 C)
CAREY—Wacey Barg, 14-yard pass from Trevor Peck (pass failed); 2:24 1st (20-8 C)
CAREY—Gonzalo Zarate, 28-yard run (Trevor Peck run); 7:53 2nd (28-8 C)
2nd half
CAREY—Gonzalo Zarate, 39-yard pass from Trevor Peck (pass failed); 9:27 3rd (34-8 C)
CAREY—Dillon Simpson, 70-yard punt return (Caleb Cenarrusa run); 3:26 3rd (42-8 C)
CAREY—Wacey Barg, 45-yard fumble return (pass failed); 11:39 4th (48-8 C)
CAREY—Caleb Cenarrusa, 3-yard run; 7:50 4th (54-8 C)
KEY STATS DIETRICH CAREY
Offensive plays 70 58
Time of possession 26:01 14:09
1st downs, rush 4 7
1st downs, pass 2 5
1st downs, penalty 1 1
1st downs, total 7 13
Rushes, yards 29-88 25-156
Yards per carry 3.0 6.2
Fumbles lost 3 1
Completions, passes 7-15 9-24
Completion percentage 47% 38%
Passing yards 67 141
Yards per completion 9.6 15.7
Intercepted by 0 2
Sacks by, yards 2-17 9-40
Returns, yards 9-160 8-291
Total yards gained 275 571
Penalties 4-35 3-30
Punts, yardage 7-269 4-152
Yards per punt 38.4 38.0
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Carey
Rushing—Gonzalo Zarate 9-80, 3 1sts, 2 TD; Trevor Peck 6-23, 1 1st, 1 conv.; Dillon Simpson 4-19, 2 1sts; Charlie Rivera 1-16, 1 1st; Shane Bingham 2-12; Caleb Cenarrusa 3-6, 1 TD, 1 conv.
Passing—Trevor Peck 6-15, 104 yards, 2 1sts, 2 TD, 1 conv.; Caleb Cenarrusa 3-9, 37 yards, 3 1sts.
Receiving—Wacey Barg 4-40, 1 1st, 1 TD, 1 conv.; Brett Adamson 2-40, 2 1sts; Gonzalo Zarate 1-39, 1 TD; Lynn Mecham 1-10, 1 1st; Shane Bingham 1-12, 1 1st.
Fumble recoveries (3)—Wacey Barg 2 with 59 yards in returns including a TD; Blair Peck 1.
Interceptions (2)—Blair Peck 1 with a 31-yard return; Trevor Peck 1.
Sacks (9)—Trevor Peck 3-3; Gonzalo Zarate 1-10; Dillon Cenarrusa 1-7; Blair Peck 1-6; Jacy Baird 1-6; Joe Laidlaw 1-5; Dillon Simpson 1-3.
Kickoff returns—Dillon Simpson 1-85, 1 TD; Caleb Cenarrusa 1-23.
Punt returns—Dillon Simpson 2-85, 1 TD; Trevor Peck 1-8.
Tackles (72)—Trevor Peck 13, Dillon Simpson 10, Blair Peck 8, Todd Peck 5, Gonzalo Zarate 5, Jacy Baird 5, Caleb Cenarrusa 5, Chance Chavez 4, Brett Adamson 3, Tyler Chavez 3, Shane Bingham 3, Dillon Cenarrusa 2, Wacey Barg 2, Joe Laidlaw 2, Charlie Rivera 1, James Gamino 1.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Dietrich
Rushing—Dion Norman 13-52, 2 1sts, 1 TD; James McDaniel 8-20, 2 1sts; Alex Heimerdinger 8-16.
Passing—Alex Heimerdinger 7-15, 67 yards, 2 1sts, 1 conv., 2 interceptions.
Receiving—Dion Norman 3-54, 1 1st; Kolton Hubert 2-20, 1 1st; James McDaniel 1-3, 1 conv.; Gray Weber 1, -10.
Fumble recoveries (1)—Miguel Vargas.
Sacks (2)—Whit Bingham 1-10; Dion Norman and James McDaniel 1-7.
Kickoff returns—Dion Norman 5-125; James McDaniel 1-26; Gray Weber 1-5.
Punt returns—Dion Norman 2-4.
All purpose yardage—Dion Norman 235.
Tackles (41)—Dion Norman 11, Brant McDaniel 7, Walter Hansen 5, James McDaniel 3, Andru Howard 3, Alex Heimerdinger 3, Whit Bingham 3, Gray Weber 2, Brody Astle 1, Jakob Howard 1, Kolton Hubert 1, Miguel Vargas 1.
