COWAPA-CAPITAL ONE-SIDED SO FAR
Too bad Astoria doesn't play in the Capital League. At least two other teams are probably saying the same thing.
The Cowapa League continued its early season dominance over the Capital, as Astoria improved to 2-0 on the season with a 20-12 victory over the La Salle Falcons at John Warren Field.
As the Fishermen were completing the finishing touches on their win, an impressive final drive in the fourth quarter to run out the clock, Seaside and Yamhill-Carlton were polishing off their second straight victories over Capital Conference foes, making the Cowapa 7-1 so far against the restructured Portland-Salem-area 4A league.
For the second straight week, Astoria was outgained by its opponent, but improved offensive efficiency, strong defensive play from the secondary and a healthier Andy Murray helped the Fishermen to their second straight nailbiting win.
Murray, hampered by a sore hamstring in week one, looked more like the playmaker Fishermen fans expected to see this year. The senior halfback rushed for 114 yards on 16 carries, averaged 35 yards on two returns and was a tackling machine on defense.
Meanwhile, the Fishermen converted 6-of-12 third downs after a success rate of only 25% in a week one victory over Molalla. Murray's five yard run on third and four late in the fourth quarter allowed the Fishermen to run out the clock and celebrate their second consecutive win over a quality opponent.
La Salle outgained Astoria 252-to-227 in a closely contested game, but three first quarter turnovers and two fourth down failures inside the Astoria red zone sent the Falcons to their first loss of the season.
La Salle's first three possessions ended in turnovers, two of which led to Astoria scores. Jordan Poyer collected his second pass interception of the season, making a graceful, leaping, over-the-shoulder catch of a long ball intended for tight end Eric Whalen running straight up the seam.
Starting at the Falcon 40, the Fishermen drove nine plays to score, with co-quarterback Nathan Stinnett crossing the goal line on a 1-yard sneak. Stinnett had called his own number earlier in the drive on third and short, as the Fishermen were 3-for-3 on third downs on the drive. Tony Robinson's first successful PAT of the season gave the Fishermen a 7-0 lead.
A little over a minute later, Astoria was in the end zone again. Junior Sam Johnson recovered a fumbled kickoff return at the La Salle 29-yard line and three plays later, Jordan Poyer found Tony Robinson in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown. Robinson made a tough adjustment to a ball thrown over his outside shoulder, pivoting away from the defender to make an outstanding, twisting catch, his first of the season. The PAT try was unsuccessful after a high snap, making the score 13-7.
Less than a minute later, La Salle was on the board. Whalen took a short kickoff near the Falcon sideline, and after a teeth-chattering collision with Justin Tikkala, rambled more than 50 yards before Murray tracked him down at the Astoria 29. Christopher Nagel danced 21 yards to the end zone on the second play of the drive, escaping the grasp of Poyer near the ten yard line. The PAT was no good after Vincent Hicks handled a clean snap, placed the ball, then somehow let it slip from under his finger as kicker Cameron Keeney approached the ball.
The Falcons settled into a long drive in the second period, but on 4th and five, Hicks' pass to Keeney ended up about a foot short of the line to gain, with Stinnett making a key tackle to thwart the Falcons attempt to tie the game.
Astoria would give the ball right back, when Murray coughed up a fumble at the 25-yard line, but again the Fishermen defense would not yield. Facing 2nd-and-8 at the Astoria 11-yard line, Hicks was stopped for no gain, then failed to connect with receiver Duncan Mitchell on two throws into the end zone as the Falcons were again relieved of the football inside Astoria's 20-yard line.
For the second consecutive week, Astoria rotated quarterbacks Stinnett and Poyer series to series. The two have been battling for the starting spot all summer and have been neck-and-neck, but it appears the young colt is pulling away down the back stretch. While Stinnett did lead the Fishermen on a scoring drive in the first period, the senior completed only one pass for no yards and fumbled two snaps. Meanwhile, Poyer showed more of the outstanding athletic ability that has had coaches and fans alike breathlessly awaiting his arrival.
Astoria received the second half kickoff and started in great field position once again after a 30-yard return by Murray to the 48-yard line. However, the first play of the half was a disaster as the shotgun snap sailed high over the head of Poyer, who, after a scramble, finally covered the ball at the 29-yard line for a 19-yard loss.
No worries. Poyer found Robinson for 15 yards on a slant, with the senior receiver making another tough catch, juggling the ball with the defender in his hip pocket. On third and 14, Poyer called his own number and raced 27 yards for an Astoria first down. Three plays later, the sophomore QB was on the run again, taking advantage of a beautiful block downfield by Robinson to tear off another 27-yard run to paydirt, giving Astoria a 20-6 lead.
The Falcons answered early in the fourth period on a well-executed screen pass, with Hicks tossing to Nagel, who followed a wall of blockers 13 yards to the end zone. Brook Smith got a paw up to block the PAT and Astoria held a 20-12 lead.
The Fishermen went 3-and-out on their next possession, but Nick Alfonse got off a booming punt over the head of Nagel, whose return was negated by an illegal block penalty, pinning the Falcons at their own 8-yard line with 8:43 to go in the game.
A 44-yard bomb to sprinter Thomas Loyola down the right sideline got the Falcons to midfield, but the drive stalled there after a strange sequence of events.
Prior to the long pass, the Falcons were penalized half-the-distance to the goal and had their 3-year starting center Matthew Jette ejected from the game, apparently for kicking an Astoria player while the two were trying to get up from a pile. The only signal given by the referee was an emphatic thumb, signifying the ejection. Then on the play after the pass to Loyola, Hicks ran the ball himself for four yards, but had trouble getting to his feet. After gingerly putting his left foot down, the athletic 6-2 junior quarterback collapsed back to the ground and stayed there for several minutes, eventually jogging off the field. Sophomore Nicolas Dieringer came in for one play, a quarterback keeper out of shotgun formation that went for a 3-yard loss. Hicks returned to the field on 3rd-and-9, but his pass to Keeney was well short of the line to gain and the Falcons opted to punt the ball, putting Astoria at its own 15-yard line with 5:31 to go in the game.
Needing a couple of first downs to run the clock out, Poyer calmly led the Fishermen down the field, calling his own number three times, while sandwiching a 15-yard Murray run between runs of 21 and 10 yards on quarterback keepers. Three straight runs by Murray netted another first down and allowed the Fishermen to run out the clock, but not before a barrage of penalties, including an unsportsmanlike conduct foul on Falcons' defensive lineman Logan Collier for decking Poyer after he took a knee.
Poyer nearly joined Murray in the 100-yard club, rushing for 94 yards and a TD on eight carries, while completing 3-of-6 passes for 47 yards.
For the second straight game, Astoria had less turnovers and less penalty yardage than its opponent, while improving its ball control offensively, running 52 plays to LaSalle's 47 and controlling the ball for 25:05. The Fishermen were sacked four times, but three of the sacks were directly caused by bad or mishandled snaps.
Astoria will host Gladstone Friday for its third straight home game, then travels to Philomath the following week.
LA SALLE 6-0-0-6-12
ASTORIA 13-0-7-0-20
1STQ-AST: Stinnett 1 run (Robinson kick)
1stQ-AST: Robinson 16 pass from Poyer (kick failed)
1stQ-LAS: Nagel 21 run (kick failed)
3rdQ-AST: Poyer 27 run (Robinson kick)
4thQ-LAS: Nagel 13 pass from Hicks (kick blocked)
RUSHING-LAS: 26-120 (Nagel 13-75-td), AST: 35-180 (Murray 16-114)
PASSING-LAS: Hicks 13-22-1-132-td, AST: 4-12-0-47 (Poyer 3-6-47)
RECEIVING-LAS: Keeney 5-54, AST: Robinson 2-32-td
TURNOVERS-LAS: 3, AST: 1
PENALTIES-LAS: 4-45, AST: 4-40
The Cowapa League continued its early season dominance over the Capital, as Astoria improved to 2-0 on the season with a 20-12 victory over the La Salle Falcons at John Warren Field.
As the Fishermen were completing the finishing touches on their win, an impressive final drive in the fourth quarter to run out the clock, Seaside and Yamhill-Carlton were polishing off their second straight victories over Capital Conference foes, making the Cowapa 7-1 so far against the restructured Portland-Salem-area 4A league.
For the second straight week, Astoria was outgained by its opponent, but improved offensive efficiency, strong defensive play from the secondary and a healthier Andy Murray helped the Fishermen to their second straight nailbiting win.
Murray, hampered by a sore hamstring in week one, looked more like the playmaker Fishermen fans expected to see this year. The senior halfback rushed for 114 yards on 16 carries, averaged 35 yards on two returns and was a tackling machine on defense.
Meanwhile, the Fishermen converted 6-of-12 third downs after a success rate of only 25% in a week one victory over Molalla. Murray's five yard run on third and four late in the fourth quarter allowed the Fishermen to run out the clock and celebrate their second consecutive win over a quality opponent.
La Salle outgained Astoria 252-to-227 in a closely contested game, but three first quarter turnovers and two fourth down failures inside the Astoria red zone sent the Falcons to their first loss of the season.
La Salle's first three possessions ended in turnovers, two of which led to Astoria scores. Jordan Poyer collected his second pass interception of the season, making a graceful, leaping, over-the-shoulder catch of a long ball intended for tight end Eric Whalen running straight up the seam.
Starting at the Falcon 40, the Fishermen drove nine plays to score, with co-quarterback Nathan Stinnett crossing the goal line on a 1-yard sneak. Stinnett had called his own number earlier in the drive on third and short, as the Fishermen were 3-for-3 on third downs on the drive. Tony Robinson's first successful PAT of the season gave the Fishermen a 7-0 lead.
A little over a minute later, Astoria was in the end zone again. Junior Sam Johnson recovered a fumbled kickoff return at the La Salle 29-yard line and three plays later, Jordan Poyer found Tony Robinson in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown. Robinson made a tough adjustment to a ball thrown over his outside shoulder, pivoting away from the defender to make an outstanding, twisting catch, his first of the season. The PAT try was unsuccessful after a high snap, making the score 13-7.
Less than a minute later, La Salle was on the board. Whalen took a short kickoff near the Falcon sideline, and after a teeth-chattering collision with Justin Tikkala, rambled more than 50 yards before Murray tracked him down at the Astoria 29. Christopher Nagel danced 21 yards to the end zone on the second play of the drive, escaping the grasp of Poyer near the ten yard line. The PAT was no good after Vincent Hicks handled a clean snap, placed the ball, then somehow let it slip from under his finger as kicker Cameron Keeney approached the ball.
The Falcons settled into a long drive in the second period, but on 4th and five, Hicks' pass to Keeney ended up about a foot short of the line to gain, with Stinnett making a key tackle to thwart the Falcons attempt to tie the game.
Astoria would give the ball right back, when Murray coughed up a fumble at the 25-yard line, but again the Fishermen defense would not yield. Facing 2nd-and-8 at the Astoria 11-yard line, Hicks was stopped for no gain, then failed to connect with receiver Duncan Mitchell on two throws into the end zone as the Falcons were again relieved of the football inside Astoria's 20-yard line.
For the second consecutive week, Astoria rotated quarterbacks Stinnett and Poyer series to series. The two have been battling for the starting spot all summer and have been neck-and-neck, but it appears the young colt is pulling away down the back stretch. While Stinnett did lead the Fishermen on a scoring drive in the first period, the senior completed only one pass for no yards and fumbled two snaps. Meanwhile, Poyer showed more of the outstanding athletic ability that has had coaches and fans alike breathlessly awaiting his arrival.
Astoria received the second half kickoff and started in great field position once again after a 30-yard return by Murray to the 48-yard line. However, the first play of the half was a disaster as the shotgun snap sailed high over the head of Poyer, who, after a scramble, finally covered the ball at the 29-yard line for a 19-yard loss.
No worries. Poyer found Robinson for 15 yards on a slant, with the senior receiver making another tough catch, juggling the ball with the defender in his hip pocket. On third and 14, Poyer called his own number and raced 27 yards for an Astoria first down. Three plays later, the sophomore QB was on the run again, taking advantage of a beautiful block downfield by Robinson to tear off another 27-yard run to paydirt, giving Astoria a 20-6 lead.
The Falcons answered early in the fourth period on a well-executed screen pass, with Hicks tossing to Nagel, who followed a wall of blockers 13 yards to the end zone. Brook Smith got a paw up to block the PAT and Astoria held a 20-12 lead.
The Fishermen went 3-and-out on their next possession, but Nick Alfonse got off a booming punt over the head of Nagel, whose return was negated by an illegal block penalty, pinning the Falcons at their own 8-yard line with 8:43 to go in the game.
A 44-yard bomb to sprinter Thomas Loyola down the right sideline got the Falcons to midfield, but the drive stalled there after a strange sequence of events.
Prior to the long pass, the Falcons were penalized half-the-distance to the goal and had their 3-year starting center Matthew Jette ejected from the game, apparently for kicking an Astoria player while the two were trying to get up from a pile. The only signal given by the referee was an emphatic thumb, signifying the ejection. Then on the play after the pass to Loyola, Hicks ran the ball himself for four yards, but had trouble getting to his feet. After gingerly putting his left foot down, the athletic 6-2 junior quarterback collapsed back to the ground and stayed there for several minutes, eventually jogging off the field. Sophomore Nicolas Dieringer came in for one play, a quarterback keeper out of shotgun formation that went for a 3-yard loss. Hicks returned to the field on 3rd-and-9, but his pass to Keeney was well short of the line to gain and the Falcons opted to punt the ball, putting Astoria at its own 15-yard line with 5:31 to go in the game.
Needing a couple of first downs to run the clock out, Poyer calmly led the Fishermen down the field, calling his own number three times, while sandwiching a 15-yard Murray run between runs of 21 and 10 yards on quarterback keepers. Three straight runs by Murray netted another first down and allowed the Fishermen to run out the clock, but not before a barrage of penalties, including an unsportsmanlike conduct foul on Falcons' defensive lineman Logan Collier for decking Poyer after he took a knee.
Poyer nearly joined Murray in the 100-yard club, rushing for 94 yards and a TD on eight carries, while completing 3-of-6 passes for 47 yards.
For the second straight game, Astoria had less turnovers and less penalty yardage than its opponent, while improving its ball control offensively, running 52 plays to LaSalle's 47 and controlling the ball for 25:05. The Fishermen were sacked four times, but three of the sacks were directly caused by bad or mishandled snaps.
Astoria will host Gladstone Friday for its third straight home game, then travels to Philomath the following week.
LA SALLE 6-0-0-6-12
ASTORIA 13-0-7-0-20
1STQ-AST: Stinnett 1 run (Robinson kick)
1stQ-AST: Robinson 16 pass from Poyer (kick failed)
1stQ-LAS: Nagel 21 run (kick failed)
3rdQ-AST: Poyer 27 run (Robinson kick)
4thQ-LAS: Nagel 13 pass from Hicks (kick blocked)
RUSHING-LAS: 26-120 (Nagel 13-75-td), AST: 35-180 (Murray 16-114)
PASSING-LAS: Hicks 13-22-1-132-td, AST: 4-12-0-47 (Poyer 3-6-47)
RECEIVING-LAS: Keeney 5-54, AST: Robinson 2-32-td
TURNOVERS-LAS: 3, AST: 1
PENALTIES-LAS: 4-45, AST: 4-40
posted by Matt Richert at 10:46 PM
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