The Dietrich Blue Devils left Carey's Derrick Parke Memorial Field on Friday with a new appreciation of the balance and stingy defense of the Carey Panthers, reigning State 1A Division 2 eight-man champs.
Carey (7-0, 3-0 Sawtooth Division North) scored eight touchdowns and made six of eight two-point conversions in beating Dietrich 60-14 in what was considered the Sawtooth North championship game.
Panther seniors Charlie Rivera (164 rushing yards), Jack Cenarrusa (105 yards pass receptions, 2 interceptions) and Baley Barg (7 catches, 95 yards) scored two TDs apiece. Junior quarterback Jordan Dilworth completed 11-of-19 passes for 143 yards and three TDs.
Senior Dillon Cenarrusa (3 sacks, 10 tackles) and junior Glen Andrews (a team-high 14 tackles, 2 sacks) sparked a swarming Carey defense that applied enormous pressure and took away the end runs.
Amassing 261 yards rushing, 212 yards passing and 545 total yards, coach Lane Kirkland's balanced Panthers earned their 14th consecutive victory over two seasons. The Carey defense was impressive, holding Dietrich's 42.2 ppg offense to two TDs and 107 rushing yards.
"Our kids really rose to the challenge. We have so much experience playing at a high level. We showed tremendous maturity," Kirkland said about the Senior Night game.
Challenged by a good Dietrich team that brought a three-game win streak into the game, Carey's defense excelled.
Dietrich stitched together a 65-yard TD drive and tied the score 6-6 in the first quarter, but the Blue Devils went four-and-out on their next four possessions of the first half and fell behind 22-6 at intermission.
Kirkland said, "When Dietrich scored early, it was a good thing for us. We just started going to work. We toughened up, and found out a little more about who we were. We did a lot of scouting for this game. Our defense did a lot of talking and communicating against Dietrich."
Outscoring opponents 342-36 this fall, Carey's defense has yielded only six TDs including two by Oakley and two by Dietrich. The offense has been nearly unstoppable, too, scoring seven or more TDs in each of the last five games. Big plays have helped—19 of Carey's 48 TDs are 40-or-more yards.
The whole Carey team turned it up a notch after halftime of senior night. While the defense stopped Dietrich four straight times starting with Jack Cenarrusa's second pick and followed by three more four-and-outs, Carey's offense reeled off four straight scores.
Quarterback Dilworth (18 TD passes, 7 conversion passes) didn't complete a pass in the first half, but he was on fire after the half—Barg and Jack Cenarrusa his main targets. Scoring leader Rivera (13 TDs, 88 points) couldn't be touched on 56-yard and 65-yard end runs for scores.
Even senior Chance Chavez (8 tackles) got into the passing act when he connected with Jack Cenarrusa on a 69-yard halfback option pass for a TD on Carey's first offensive play.
Blue Devils workhorse was 6-1, 180-pound senior Jakob Howard, who rushed 27 times for 98 tough yards and tallied both Dietrich touchdowns. The passing of senior quarterback Brody Astle (7-for-11, 128 yards) was the big factor on both Dietrich TD drives covering 65 and 50 yards.
All standing between Carey and the Sawtooth North championship is a league game at Mackay (3-4, 2-1) Friday, Oct. 21. A Panther win in that one clinches the home field advantage for the first round of the State 1A Division 2 playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 5.
Mackay's offense enjoyed a big night Friday winning 62-22 at Richfield. Caden Betzer rushed 28 times for 254 yards and four TD. Morgan Johnson had 146 rushing yards and four TD, and Dustin Rosenkrance (3 interceptions) rushed for 70 yards and threw for 105 more.
Last year in Carey, the Panthers beat Mackay 34-0.
Dietrich (4-3, 3-1) finishes with Clark County of Dubois (2-5, 1-2) Friday, Oct. 21 and can clinch the Sawtooth North No. 2 seed in the Nov. 5 playoffs with a win in that one and a Carey victory over Mackay. Mackay boasts two straight wins over North Valley Academy (0-4, 0-3) and Richfield (1-6, 1-3), but also lost 46-0 at home to Dietrich back on Sept. 23.
Carey fans can start looking more closely at potential opponents from the Sawtooth South in the upcoming playoffs. The likely South winner and first-round host of No. 2 Dietrich is Castleford (5-2, 4-0) if the Wolves win at North Gem (3-4, 3-1) on Friday, Oct. 21.
Because of its wins over Murtaugh (3-3, 2-2) and Lighthouse Christian (5-3, 3-2), North Gem is the probable second seed and visitor to Carey for the first playoff round.
See the Oct. 26 Local Life section for a Carey Senior Night photo with the parents.
CAREY Line Score
Carey 60, Dietrich 14
DIETRICH. 6 0 8 0 14
CAREY 14 8 8 30 60
SCORING
1st half
CAREY—Jack Cenarrusa, 69-yard pass from Chance Chavez (run failed); 9:00 1st (6-0 C)
DIETRICH—Jakob Howard, 4-yard run (pass failed); 6:15 1st (6-6)
CAREY—Charlie Rivera, 56-yard run (Dillon Cenarrusa run); 3:11 1st (14-6 C)
CAREY—Chance Chavez, 6-yard run (Chavez run); 5:50 2nd (22-6 C)
2nd half
CAREY—Charlie Rivera, 65-yard run (Baley Barg, pass from Jordan Dilworth); 8:30 3rd (30-6 C)
DIETRICH—Jakob Howard, 1-yard run (Jakob Howard run); 2:51 3rd (30-14 C)
CAREY—Jack Cenarrusa, 33-yard pass from Jordan Dilworth (Jack Cenarrusa, from Dilworth); 11:48 4th (38-14 C)
CAREY—Jordan Dilworth, 13-yard run (Baley Barg, pass from Dilworth); 10:06 4th (46-14 C)
CAREY—Baley Barg, 34-yard pass from Jordan Dilworth (pass failed); 7:41 4th (52-14 C)
CAREY—Baley Barg, 13-yard pass from Jordan Dilworth (Charlie Rivera, pass from Dilworth); 3:27 4th (60-14 C)
KEY STATS DIETRICH CAREY
Offensive plays 69 58
Time of possession 29:09 15:24
1st downs, rush 5 8
1st downs, pass 2 3
1st downs, penalty 2 1
1st downs, total 9 12
Rushes, yards 36-107 31-261
Yards per carry 3.0 8.4
Fumbles lost 0 2
Completions, passes 7-12 12-20
Completion percentage 59% 60%
Passing yards 128 212
Yards per completion 18.3 17.7
Intercepted by 0 2
Sacks by, yards 1-4 6-39
Returns, yards 7-116 5-76
Total yards gained 312 545
3rd down efficiency 3-13 5-7
4th down efficiency 2-4 0-0
Penalties 8-85 5-45
Punts, yardage 6-168 2-79
Yards per punt 28.0 39.5
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Carey
Rushing—Charlie Rivera 13-164 (12.6 per carry), 3 1sts, 2 TD; Jordan Dilworth 6-48, 2 1sts, 1 TD; Chance Chavez 8-34, 2 1sts, 1 TD, 1 conv.; Baley Barg 2-19, 1 1st; Dillon Cenarrusa 1-3, 1 conv.
Passing—Jordan Dilworth 11-19, 143 yards, 3 1sts, 3 TD, 4 conv.; Chance Chavez 1-1, 69 yards, 1 TD.
Receiving—Jack Cenarrusa 3-105, 2 TD, 1 conv.; Baley Barg 7-95, 3 1sts, 2 TD, 2 conv.; Charlie Rivera 2-12, 1 conv.
Interceptions (2)—Jack Cenarrusa 2 with a 19-yard return.
Punt returns—Baley Barg 1-15.
Kickoff returns—Jack Cenarrusa 2-31; Charlie Rivera 1-11.
Sacks (6)—Dillon Cenarrusa 3-18; Glen Andrews 2-15; Chance Chavez 1-6.
Tackles (68)—Glen Andrews 14, Baley Barg 10, Dillon Cenarrusa 10, Charlie Rivera 8, Chance Chavez 8, Garrett Lee 6, Francisco Gamino 6, Jack Cenarrusa 5, Jordan Dilworth 1.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Dietrich
Rushing—Jakob Howard 27-98, 5 1sts, 2 TD, 1 conv.; Brody Astle 2-5; Gray Weber 6-2; Hazen Weber 1-2.
Passing—Brody Astle 7-11, 128 yards, 2 1sts, 2 interceptions; Gray Weber 0-1.
Receiving—Gray Weber 2-53, 1 1st; Andru Howard 3-70, 1 1st; Jakob Howard 2-5.
Fumble recoveries (2)—Gray Weber 1, Andru Howard 1.
Kickoff returns—Hazen Weber 3-68; Jakob Howard 1-17; Brody Astle 1-11; Colton Hanson 1-10.
Sacks (1)—Andru Howard 1-4.
Tackle leaders—Andru Howard 10, Jakob Howard 6, Gray Weber 6, Brody Astle 4, Hazen Weber 4, Cooper Astle 3, Colton Hanson 3, Arturo Vargas 2, Eddie Alvarado 2.
Carey Composite 2011
TOTAL SCORING
Opponents 14 6 8 8 36 (5.2)
Carey 122 108 42 70 342 (48.9)
RESULTS (7-0 overall, 5-0 home, 2-0 away, 3-0 Sawtooth Conference North)
Aug. 26 (Home) Carey 38, Oakley 16
Sept. 2 (Away) Carey 20, Raft River 0
Sept. 9 (Home) Carey 46, Challis 0
Sept. 23 (Home) Carey 66, Richfield 0
Sept. 30 (Away) Carey 54, North Gem 6
Oct. 5 (Home) Carey 58, Clark County 0
Oct. 14 (Home) Carey 60, Dietrich 14
SCORING TD CONV PTS.
Charlie Rivera 13 5 88
Baley Barg 9 4 62
Jack Cenarrusa 9 2 58
Chance Chavez 6 5 46
Jordan Dilworth 4 5 34
Dillon Cenarrusa 3 2 22
Luis Garcia 2 0 12
Christian Zarate 1 1 8
Tori Alvarez 1 0 6
Adrian Alvarez 0 1 2
Patrick Baird 0 1 2
Note: Carey also scored on a safety.
Touchdown passes—Jordan Dilworth 18, Chance Chavez 1, Nate Adamson 1. Conversion passes—Jordan Dilworth 7, Nate Adamson 1. Notes—Carey has scored in 22 of 24 quarters....Carey has successfully made 26 of 45 conversions (58% success rate)....Carey has scored 48 TD—20 on runs from scrimmage, 20 on passes, 6 on defense, 2 on kickoff or punt returns.
Carey senior Charlie River shakes and bakes around left end en route to a 56-yard TD romp in Friday’s 60-14 Panther home victory over Dietrich. Courtesy photo by John Peck
