Woodburn Independent Online

North Marion can't keep up with Banks in playoff loss

• By: Garrett Rudolph  
• Published: 11/17/2009 9:32:03 AM
• Last Updated: 11/24/2009 10:55:53 AM

Photo By: Garrett RudolphInterception
North Marion sophomore Nate Summers and Banks junior Britton Wellington leap for a jump ball during Friday night’s game. Wellington would intercept the pass, to help Braves maintain their lead and defeat the Huskies, 42-14, in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs, held at Forest Grove High School. Summers had a pair of catches for the Huskies, with a team-high 43 yards receiving.

FOREST GROVE — The final outcome wasn’t what North Marion had envisioned, but for Huskies coach Bill Crumley, he couldn’t be more proud of what his players accomplished.
 
The Huskies’ season came to a sudden halt Friday night, with a 42-14 loss to Banks in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs, held at Forest Grove High School.
 
Banks, ranked No. 5 in the AP poll, jumped out early and never looked back, scoring two touchdowns in the Braves’ first three plays from scrimmage. It only took the Braves 51 seconds to take a 6-0 lead, behind a 74-yard touchdown run by Nick Turner. Less than four minutes later, Banks had forced a North Marion punt and quarterback John Criswell connected with receiver Colby Seyferth for an 80-yard touchdown.
 
While North Marion was able to cut that lead in half, when senior Klint Pippert ran for a 12-yard touchdown, the Braves would score 28 straight points heading into the fourth quarter to turn the game into a blowout.
 
By halftime, Banks led 28-7, after a 39-yard touchdown pass and a blocked North Marion punt was recovered by the Braves in the end zone.
 
“These guys (Banks) were really good and we got beat by a better team tonight,” said Crumley. “They were faster than us. We knew they were fast and we talked all week about trying to play fast, but we just couldn’t play fast enough. It didn’t turn out like we had hoped it might.”
 
Still, Crumley said Friday’s loss didn’t diminish what the team had achieved, which was the message he conveyed to the players after game.
 
“I just told them I was proud of them, for the season they had,” he said. “I told them, we’ve overcome a lot of adversity this year … but we stuck together and won a game to get in the playoffs. I’m just real proud of them, and I’m happy to be associated with them.”
 
It was the Huskies’ first appearance in the state playoffs since 2003, and only the fifth playoff appearance in school history. Banks, on the other hand, has now qualified for the playoffs in three straight seasons, including a loss in the state championship game last year.
 
Among other obstacles the Huskies had to overcome was the loss of senior running back Jordan McCain, who broke his left arm in the Huskies’ 27-0 win over Elmira on Oct. 16. Crumley admitted that the loss of McCain was hard for the team to overcome, but said even if the star had been healthy, the team would still be faced with the difficult task of containing the Braves’ potent and balanced offensive attack.
 
Even in McCain’s absence, the Huskies were able to put up 314 yards of total offense, including 191 yards on the ground.
 
“We were moving the ball in places,” said Crumley. “We just didn’t execute to get it into the end zone, but we moved it up and down the field. It wasn’t like we couldn’t do anything, and that’s just because our kids go hard.”
 
Junior Alvin Castro led North Marion with 131 yards on 28 carries, while seniors Pippert, Kelly Christensen and Zakk Smith combined for 60 yards.
 
Through the air, quarterback Adam Hayden completed 4 of 10 pass attempts for 21 yards. Christensen replaced Hayden midway through the second half, and completed 7 of 11 pass attempts for 102 yards, including the Huskies’ final touchdown, an 8-yard strike to junior Kip Pearson.
 
Pippert and fellow senior Zach Borowczak each had three receptions. Sophomore Nate Summers led the team with 43 yards receiving, with a pair of catches.
Meanwhile, Banks racked up 448 yards of total offense, split almost evenly between rushing and passing.
 
“Their receivers outran us, and their running back outran us, and they had big plays,” said Crumley. “When they ran the ball at us, we stopped them pretty good. It wasn’t like they were just running through us, they ran around us a few times and they threw it over us a few times.”
 
Despite the scoreboard, Crumley said the Huskies never gave up and played as hard as they could throughout the game — a theme that has been constant during North Marion’s season. Even in games where the team hasn’t played well, Crumley said he has never had to question their intensity.
 
“I think that was pretty obvious (from Friday’s game),” he said. “We came in and played hard. In the second half, we’re down by a bunch, but our kids were still playing, our kids were getting after it.
 
“They’re warriors, and they’re going to give it what they got. They’re going to leave it out there.”
 
North Marion finished out its season with an overall record of 7-4, while Banks improved to 9-1 overall. The Braves’ lone loss of the season was at the hands of Cowapa League champion and defending state champion Astoria.
 
The Braves advance to the second round of the playoffs, where they will face Ontario on Saturday.

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