Woodburn Independent Online

Bucks move on to semifinals

St. Paul had little trouble beating Cove, 66-22, and now faces Mohawk for right to play for state title

• By: Garrett Rudolph  
• Published: 11/24/2009 10:48:32 AM
• Last Updated: 11/24/2009 10:57:38 AM

Submitted photo
St. Paul’s Ryan Pierson (right) follows the lead block of freshman Cole Weisz during the Bucks’ 66-22 win over Cove on Saturday. Pierson rushed for 278 yards and two scores and the Bucks had over 652 yards of offense in the victory.

COVE — On Nov. 24, 1984, the St. Paul football team defeated Cove to capture the Class B state championship — the first of four state titles in school history.
 
Just three days shy of the 25th anniversary of that memorable victory, the Bucks scored another notable win over Cove, defeating the Leopards 66-22 in the Class 1A quarterfinals on Saturday.
 
After a lackluster first round win over Gilchrist, the Bucks had their best week of practice all season, according to coach Tony Smith, and that preparation led to one of the team’s best performances of the year, as well.
 
Ryan Pierson ran for a 72-yard touchdown on the second play of the game, to set the tone for a 30-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, and a 44-8 lead by halftime.
 
In addition to St. Paul’s 652 yards of total offense, the Bucks’ defense was dominant, holding the Leopards to just 126 yards of total offense — about half of which came on one pass play against St. Paul’s second team.
 
“We just came out from the very start and played extremely well,” said Smith.
 
Pierson led the team with 278 yards rushing, to go along with a pair of touchdowns, but Smith said even backup running backs Matt Gooding and Lester Kirk ran the ball effectively during the game, showing testament to the Bucks’ offensive linemen.
 
Not only has the blocking been one of the team’s strong points throughout the season, but Smith said the Bucks have seen just about every type of defense possible, as opponents have attempted to slow down St. Paul’s high-octane offense — albeit with little success.
 
“That’s kind of been a weekly thing,” said Smith. “It’s very rare that people play us the way they play other people because our running game has been so effective.”
 
The Bucks (12-0) have scored 734 points this year, averaging over 61 points per game.
During the week, Smith said he and the coaching staff instilled three areas of concentration into the team: finishing plays, being focused and having fun.
 
Sometimes, Smith said, athletes become overwhelmed with the pressure of competing and lose touch with the aspect of fun. Having lost in the quarterfinals in each of the past two years, Smith said the seniors were particularly motivated to do more than what they’ve done in the past.
 
“That’s just a tribute to having a group of seniors that have played together. … As a coach, you can talk all you want, but at some point the kids are going to decide to do something on their own, and these kids did,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll keep that up.”
 
Now, the Bucks turn their attention toward their semifinal matchup with undefeated Mohawk (11-0).
“Obviously, the focus this week will be the same, we just need to do everything we can to prepare well to play this Saturday,” said Smith.
 
Mohawk defeated Crane 42-40 in the quarterfinals, and will be making its fourth semifinal appearance in five seasons. The Indians won state titles in 2005 and 2007, but lost in the first round last year.
 
“They’re a real solid program with a good tradition, so it should be a great matchup,” said Smith.
 
St. Paul’s coaching staff has had the opportunity to scout the Indians twice this season — in a 98-32 win over Cove at the Dufur 8-Man Classic on Sept. 4, and in a 64-8 romp against Lowell on Nov. 6.
 
“They’re very athletic. … They put eight real good athletes on the field on both offense and defense,” said Smith. “They’ve got a good quarterback, two real good running backs … their ends can both catch and run. They’re just real athletic. That’s the big concern, to do what needs to be done to contain their athleticism.”
 
Still, Smith said the Bucks won’t do anything different in terms of preparation for this game, instead focusing on perfecting their own execution .
 
While Smith said the Bucks are a much better football team than they were even a month ago, he feels the team has still yet to reach its full potential.
 
“It’s just little stuff. … We didn’t play perfect (against Cove) by any means,” he said. “We had a couple penalties that we need to be smarter on. We put the ball on the ground a couple times, that we can’t have happen. We didn’t sustain some blocks that we need to do. But it’s stuff that’s easily fixable and it’s stuff that we’ll make them aware of this week, but we can be better than we were against Cove.”
 
Despite the typical soreness and bruises, Smith also pointed out that the team is remarkably healthy, considering the rigors of the football season. Again, he credited this to the preparation of the players.
 
St. Paul and Mohawk will square off on Saturday at Liberty High School in Hillsboro. Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

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