Go to state—or go home.
That’s the situation facing the Carey Panther and Clark County Bobcat eight-man football teams on Friday, Oct. 26 during their Sawtooth Conference North showdown on the Dubois field in eastern Idaho.
Opening kickoff is 3 p.m.
Coach Lane Kirkland’s Carey Panthers (6-2, 3-1 league) have been to state before, and Clark County (6-2, 3-1) is trying to get there—after going 2-7 last season and losing on the Carey gridiron by a 58-0 score. Six years ago, the Clark County program opted for six-man football with Montana teams.
With a win over Clark County, Carey makes the state playoffs for the eighth consecutive year and earns a first-round playoff game against reigning state champ Lighthouse Christian in the first round of the eight-school playoffs, to be played in Twin Falls over the Nov. 2-3 weekend.
Sawtooth North champ Dietrich (7-0, 4-0) is likely to host Sawtooth South runner-up Castleford (6-2) in another first-round 1A game next weekend.
Whichever team executes better on Friday is likely to win the Carey-Clark encounter. Both are on similar tracks, although Clark County is more of a surprise after averaging only a touchdown per game in 2011.
Carey has won five straight by a 53-15 average margin since its 30-14 loss at Dietrich Sept. 14. Clark County (4-1 home) has won four consecutive games by a 55-22 average score since a 48-0 loss at Dietrich in September.
The Bobcats, averaging 38.0 ppg with a potent ground game but yielding 23.5 ppg, piled up 430 rushing yards in a 50-38 league win over Camas County Friday in Fairfield. Senior Tucker Farr rushed for 314 yards himself and scored five touchdowns. His running mate is freshman speedster Tresten Eddins, who piled up over 200 yards with three TD in a 72-26 home romp over Richfield.
Last fall, Carey limited Clark to just 28 rushing yards in a 58-0 mercy-rule romp that was over at halftime. The Panthers out-gained Clark 602-28.
Coach Kirkland said, “Our season has been getting better and better. I hope we keep playing together and keep believing and keep remembering where we’ve been in the past.”
Carey, state eight-man champion in 2006, 2008 and 2010, played Lighthouse Christian in last year’s State 1A title game—the upstart Lions winning in an upset 34-22. That outcome snapped an 18-game Carey winning streak.
Last Friday, Carey’s passing game was on fire in 52-14 road win over the Rockland Bulldogs (3-4). Senior quarterback Jordan Dilworth (9-for-14, 213 yards) tossed five TD passes, three of them going to sophomore Nate Adamson.
Yet the game was tied 14-14 at halftime before Carey started its roll. Indeed, the Panthers (42.9 ppg offense, 19.8 ppg defense) have made the adjustments and out-pointed opponents 102-40 in this season’s third quarters—including 30 points in the third at Rockland.
Junior Christian Zarate rushed for 72 yards and junior Tori Alvarez caught passes totaling 114 yards at Rockland. Leading scorer Luis Garcia (13 TD, 89 points), also a junior, scored a TD for the seventh game, out of eight played. Dilworth has also scored in seven of the eight Carey games.
Sparking the defense were seniors Francisco Gamino (12 tackles) and Glen Andrews (9).
Lighthouse (7-2) saw its six-game winning streak come to a crashing end with a 72-40 home loss to 1A Division 1 playoff team Butte County (6-2) last Friday. Butte County opens its playoffs at Notus (6-2) this weekend, while Lighthouse has a bye awaiting its own playoff.
CAREY FOOTBALL LINE SCORE
Carey 52, Rockland 14
CARey......................................... 0..... 14... 30.... 8 52
rOCKLAND................................... 8..... 6..... 0..... 0 14
CAREY SCORING
1st half
CAREY—Jordan Dilworth, 18-yard run (Nate Adamson, pass from Dilworth); (8-8)
CAREY—Luis Garcia, 22-yard pass from Jordan Dilworth (pass failed); (14-14)
2nd half
CAREY—Christian Zarate, 40-yard run (Tori Alvarez, pass from Jordan Dilworth); (22-14 C)
CAREY—Tori Alvarez, 91-yard pass from Jordan Dilworth (run failed); (28-14 C)
CAREY—Nate Adamson, 7-yard pass from Jordan Dilworth (Christian Zarate run); (36-14 C)
CAREY—Nate Adamson, 3-yard pass from Jordan Dilworth (Luis Garcia, pass from Jordan Dilworth); (44-14 C)
CAREY—Nate Adamson, 21-yard pass from Jordan Dilworth (Gunner Thompson run); (52-14 C)
KEY STATS........................ CAREY........................... ROCKLAND
Time of possession........... 12:01...................... 35:59
1st downs, rush................... 5............................... 6
1st downs, pass................... 2............................... 3
1st downs, penalty............... 0.............................. 0
1st downs, total.................. 7............................... 9
Rushes, yards................ 24-155................... 43-185
Yards per carry............. ...6.5............................. 4.3
Fumbles lost....................... 1............................. 1
Completions, passes......... 9-17....................... 6-17
Completion percentage........ 53%.................... 35%
Passing yards...... ................213........................ 80
Yards per completion........... 23.7......................... 13.3
Intercepted by...................... 1........................... 0
Total yards gained............. 368.......................... 265
3rd down efficiency............. 3-8........................ 2-13
4th down efficiency.......... 3-3.......................... 5-6
Penalties................. 1-5............................... 2-10
Punts, yardage.......... 0-0............................. 1-36
Yards per punt........ 0.0............................... 36.0
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Carey
Rushing—Christian Zarate 6-72, 1 TD, 1 conv.; Jordan Dilworth 4-27, 1 TD; Zach Olsen 4-23; Luis Garcia 3-17; Tori Alvarez 3-15.
Passing—Jordan Dilworth 9-14, 213 yards, 5 TD, 3 conv.
Receiving—Tori Alvarez 114 yards, 1 TD, 1 conv.; Nate Adamson 77 yards, 3 TD, 1 conv.; Luis Garcia 22 yards, 1 TD, 1 conv.
Fumble recoveries (1)—Matt Whitworth 1.
Interceptions (1)—Jordan Dilworth 1 with a 45-yard return.
Kickoff returns—Luis Garcia 2-31; Tori Alvarez 1-43.
Tackles—Francisco Gamino 12 tackles/0 assists; Glen Andrews 9/0; Gunner Thompson 4/2; Matt Whitworth 5/0; Jordan Dilworth 5/0; Luis Garcia 4/1; Christian Zarate 4/0; Joe Parke 2/0.
Carey Football Composite 2012
TOTAL SCORING
Opponents........... 34........ 56........ 42........ 26.................. 158 (19.8)
Carey................. 108....... 67....... 102....... 66.................. 343 (42.9)
RESULTS (6-2 overall, 4-1 home, 2-1 away, 3-1 Sawtooth Conference North)
Aug. 31 (Home).................................................... Raft River 54, Carey 20
Sept. 7 (Home)............................................... Carey 46, Owyhee (Nev.) 0
Sept. 14 (Away)........................................................ Dietrich 30, Carey 14
Sept. 21 (Home)......................................................... Carey 50, Mackay 8
Sept. 28 (Home)............................................... Carey 52, Carlin (Nev.) 30
Oct. 3 (Away).......................................................... Carey 64, Richfield 22
Oct. 12 (Home)............................................... Carey 45, Camas County 0
Oct. 19 (Away)...................................................... Carey 52, Rockland 14
SCORING........................................... TD............ CONV.................. PTS.
Luis Garcia.......................................... 13................. 6.......................... 89
Nate Adamson..................................... 10................. 5.......................... 70
Tori Alvarez.......................................... 8.................. 4.......................... 56
Jordan Dilworth..................................... 8.................. 3.......................... 54
Christian Zarate.................................... 4.................. 3.......................... 30
Patrick Baird......................................... 3.................. 1.......................... 20
Zach Olsen........................................... 2.................. 0.......................... 12
Joe Parke............................................. 0.................. 3............................ 6
Gunner Thompson............................... 0.................. 3............................ 6
Extra point kicks: Garcia 1.
Touchdown passes—Jordan Dilworth 18. Conversion passes—Jordan Dilworth 14. Notes—Carey has scored in 26 of 31 quarters....Carey has successfully made 28 of 47 conversions (60% success rate)....Carey has scored 48 TD—28 on runs from scrimmage, 18 on passes, 1 on defense, 1 on kickoff or punt returns.
Carey sophomore Nate Adamson grabs one of his three TD passes Friday at Rockland. Courtesy photo by John Peck
