6-0 ASTORIA A SPECIAL TEAM
Through six weeks of the season, Astoria has received attention for its quick strike offense and bend but don't break defense. Has anyone noticed that the Fishermen special teams has been responsible for two straight wins?
Three long kick returns and two failed Seaside conversions helped Astoria defeat the Seagulls 21-19 at John Warren Field Friday night, Astoria's sixth consecutive win without a defeat.
Clinging to a 21-19 lead with five minutes remaining in the game, Brent Culver broke up a third down pass intended for Dennis Olstedt, forcing the Seagulls to punt from midfield. After Ed Kauffunger's punt was touched inside the ten-yard line by a Seaside player, Astoria's Thomas Jawarski picked up the loose ball and raced down the left sideline 50 yards before a saving tackle by Kauffunger put him down at the Gulls 45-yard line. The Fishermen moved the ball to the ten before penalties set them back and they gave up the ball on downs at the Seagull 21, leaving the Gulls just 40 seconds to work with. Four incomplete passes later, the Fishermen celebrated their biggest Clatsop Clash win in years.
"It was unbelievable," said head coach Howard Rub. "I would have liked to have seen us execute better offensively. The penalites hurt. But overall I feel pretty good about the way things went."
If Coach Rub doesn't sound as if he's jumping for joy, most of Friday night's celebrations were tempered somewhat by the knowledge that two key players were headed to the hospital.
Andy Murray, whose 80-yard kick return touchdown put Astoria on the board in the first period, went down with an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter and was carried off the field. Joey Dursse, a 2-year, 2-way starter, also left the game with an injured ankle in the first period. The early word on both players is that they suffered bad sprains and will be out for at least the next game against Banks with the possibility of returning for the Scappoose game in two weeks.
Murray's kick return answered a Seaside score on the opening drive of the game. The Gulls featuring different formations on their first three plays, marched 68 yards on six running plays, capped by Joe DeNotta's 37-yard sprint through a big hole straight up the middle. But Joey Dursse got through clean to block Justin Krieger's extra point attempt, the first of several big plays by the Astoria special teams in the game.
After the Murray runback put Astoria ahead 7-6, the Fishermen forced a Seaside punt and began effectively moving the ball downfield until a trio of holding penalties and a Daniel Copenhaver sack forced them into fourth and 45. The two teams exchanged two more punts before Seaside mounted a long, time-consuming drive to retake the lead in the second quarter.
Starting on their own 24-yard line, the Gulls mixed up carries among their three talented backs: seniors Will Beatty, Joe DeNotta and Dennis Olstedt. The Gullls converted two third downs and a fourth down and completed one pass on a 16-play drive, capped by Dominick Walker's five-yard touchdown run with 0:49 to go in the half. Walker, a wide receiver, would see more time in the backfield for the remainder of the game as Beatty apparently suffered a knee injury on the drive. He would be in and out of the game the rest of the way.
For the fourth time in a row, Astoria was able to stuff a two-point conversion attempt, as Dennis Olstedt was tackled short of the goal line by Brook Smith, leaving Seaside with a 12-7 halftime lead.
The Fishermen offense was clicking in the third period as Astoria scored on both of its drives, overcoming another holding penalty that wiped a touchdown off the board. Jordan Poyer located Andy Murray over the middle on a 23-yard pass over the middle on 4th and 5 for an apparent score, but the flag nullified the touchdown, and put the Fishermen in a 4th and 17 situation from the 35-yard line. No problem. Poyer reloaded and lofted a pass for Justin Tikkala that the senior receiver gathered in near the left pylon and a successful Tony Robinson PAT put Astoria back in front 14-12.
Seaside answered with a swift, 7-play, 64-yard drive with Joey DeNotta's second touchdown of the game set up by a 39-yard run by Olstedt. With 5:49 to go in the third period, the Gulls had regained the lead, this time successfully kicking the PAT for a 19-14 advantage.
Then, for the second time in two weeks, the Fishermen broke form and controlled the ball for 4:49 on an 11-play, 70-yard drive, converting three third downs along the way before Murray danced into the end zone on a 14-yard touchdown run.
Now leading 21-19, it was time for Astoria's defense to step up, but not before Seaside rolled the dice and reconsidered a punt on 4th and 3, instead putting the ball in Olstedt's hands. The speedy senior wingback delivered, racing around left end for a 7-yard gain to the Fishermen 41-yard line.
On first and ten, DeNotta was bottle up in the backfield, tackled for a 1-yard loss by Nathan Stinnett and Brook Smith when he tried to change direction. Walker was halted after one-yard on a Poyer tackle, forcing 3rd and 10. The Seagulls set up a middle screen, with Walker taking the pass after a deep Kauffunger dropback, but senior defensive end Grady Parker sniffed out the play and wrapped up Walker after 4-yard gain. Murray stayed down on his back and was eventually carried off the field by a couple of teammates in a scene all to reminiscent of Alex Whittaker's final bow the week before. Feared to have a broken right ankle, Murray was later taken across the street to Columbia Memorial Hospital, where teammate Joey Dursse was delivered earlier in the evening.
With their fallen leader on their minds, Astoria's D had to buck up and stop Seaside on a critical 4th down, which they did when Olstedt was stopped short of the line to gain on a 4th and 6 carry.
The Gulls would get the ball back with plenty of time when Poyer, seeing favorite receiver Adam Koehnke in single coverage down the middle, threw long on 2nd and 12 and underthrew his man. Dominick Walker picked the ball off at midfield and Seaside was back in business with almost seven minutes remaining in a 2-point game.
"Our young quarterback did some things that he'll learn from," said Rub. "Fortunately we were able to hold on so they weren't hard lessons tonight."
"He saw Adam had a 5-yard lead and he was going for the home run, which we saw last week he likes to do. And it really is a good thing for us because we are a big-play offense. If the ball's not underthrown a little bit and their guy makes a great play..."
Astoria's defense would cover the gamble. DeNotta stumbled to a 1-yard gain on first down. On a wing sweep, Jordan Poyer avoided the block and upended Olstedt for no gain. Then came the biggest defensive play of the night. Kauffunger went back to pass and spotted Olstedt open near the first down marker. The pass was right on target, but Brent Culver closed in and launched himself into Olstedt, laying a huge lick on the 6-1, 180-pound receiver just as the ball arrived to blow up the play and force the incompletion.
"That was a beautiful play," said Rub. "He timed it perfect. As good of a high school play as you will see in the secondary. He did a great job of coming back to the ball and was physical. Just an outstanding play."
The Gulls opted to kick it away and try to maintain field position with over five minutes still remaining in the game. Kaffunger, a returning all-state honorable mention punter, did his job, dropping a 44-yard kick inside the Astoria 10-yard line. But instead of downing the ball, a Gulls player kicked it to the five yard line. With the ball still moving, Jawarski scooped it up and sprinted to the sideline and upfield, catching the Seaside cover team napping. Kauffunger knifed to the sideline to make a touchdown-saving tackle, but not before Jawarski picked up 50 yards of critical field position, giving Astoria the ball at the Seaside 45-yard line with five minutes remaining.
"Coach kept telling us if the other team kicks it or touches it before it stops dead, pick it up," said Jawarski, the special teams return ace who also had a 48-yard return on the opening kick of the second half to set up an Astoria touchdown. "Their backs were turned to me when I picked it up and it was pretty much an open gate there."
Apparently, the Fishermen returners have been well-briefed on the rules in practice, which allows a returner to pick up a ball touched by a member of the kicking team and return it with insurance in case of a muff or fumble.
"We work on it," said Rub. "And actually it could have happened earlier in the game, but the officials blew it dead immediately. You can't just touch a punt. It's not down until you down it. So we actually work on this a minimum of once a week. If they touch it and its not downed, go get it because its a free play for us. Even if we turn the ball over we get the option of taking the ball back where it was touched by the punt team.
"The Seaside defender covering the punt actually kicked it. We were all screaming, 'Get it! Go!' And Jaws did. What a great run."
The Fishermen were able to move the chains twice, with Poyer finding Nick Alfonse on a 21-yard pass completion to set up first and goal at the Seaside 10-yard line. But penalties again set the Fishermen back, as two holding penalties and a delay of game put the Fishermen in a 4th and 21 situation. After an incomplete pass, Seaside had one more chance, but only 40 seconds remained and the Gulls, who had just 12 passing yards, had 79 yards of real estate to cover.
A pass down the middle on first down was nearly intercepted by Thomas Christensen, who played most of the game at strongside linebacker after Dursse's injury. Jake Banta batted down Kauffunger's next pass attempt and on third down, Culver once again got in the way of a ball thrown in Olstedt's direction. A final 4th down prayer was not answered, as backup lineman Will Bush deflected the pass and the Fishermen celebrated by far the most signifant of their six victories this season, avenging a 14-10 loss at the Gulls house last year.
"We couldn't sustain a drive at the end and that really hurt us," said Seaside head coach Dave Foust, whose Seagulls dropped to 4-2 with the loss. "They did a good job of controlling the clock there at the end to keep us from getting the ball back."
Astoria's 6-and-0 start is the best since the 1993 team won eight straight before losing their regular season finale 13-12 to Rainier and being eliminated at Baker 28-6. The Fishermen hope to make it seven straight against Banks on Thursday, but will likely have to do it without four starting defensive players, all out with ankle injuries.
Seaside has Scappoose next, but hopes to have most of its starters on the field for the game, including TE/DE Kai Watts, OL/DL Ross Knutsen and WR/DB Mitch DeGandi, who were all in street clothes Friday night with various injuries. Beatty's injury is not considered serious, but with three 2-way starters out and a fourth less than 100-percent, the Gulls were clearly hampered in the second half.
"Still, that's no excuse," said Foust. "Our kids played hard. I'm really proud of them. It just hurts a little more to lose to Astoria."
SEASIDE 6-6-7-0-19
ASTORIA 7-0-14-0-21
1stQ-SEA: DeNotta 37 run (kick blocked)
1stQ-AST: Murray 80 kick return (Robinson kick)
2ndQ-SEA: Walker 5 run (run failed)
3rdQ-AST: Tikkala 35 pass from Poyer (Robinson kick)
3rdQ-SEA: DeNotta 3 run (Krieger kick)
3rdQ-AST: Murray 14 run (Robinson kick)
RUSHING-SEA: 43-260 (Olstedt 18-141), AST: 27-87 (Murray 10-44-td)
PASSSING-SEA: Kauffunger 2-9-0-12, AST: Poyer 11-20-1-178-td
RECEIVING-SEA: Olstedt 1-8, AST: Tikkala 2-57-td, Murray 4-51
TURNOVERS-SEA: 0, AST: 1
PENALTIES-SEA: 2-15, AST: 9-73
Three long kick returns and two failed Seaside conversions helped Astoria defeat the Seagulls 21-19 at John Warren Field Friday night, Astoria's sixth consecutive win without a defeat.
Clinging to a 21-19 lead with five minutes remaining in the game, Brent Culver broke up a third down pass intended for Dennis Olstedt, forcing the Seagulls to punt from midfield. After Ed Kauffunger's punt was touched inside the ten-yard line by a Seaside player, Astoria's Thomas Jawarski picked up the loose ball and raced down the left sideline 50 yards before a saving tackle by Kauffunger put him down at the Gulls 45-yard line. The Fishermen moved the ball to the ten before penalties set them back and they gave up the ball on downs at the Seagull 21, leaving the Gulls just 40 seconds to work with. Four incomplete passes later, the Fishermen celebrated their biggest Clatsop Clash win in years.
"It was unbelievable," said head coach Howard Rub. "I would have liked to have seen us execute better offensively. The penalites hurt. But overall I feel pretty good about the way things went."
If Coach Rub doesn't sound as if he's jumping for joy, most of Friday night's celebrations were tempered somewhat by the knowledge that two key players were headed to the hospital.
Andy Murray, whose 80-yard kick return touchdown put Astoria on the board in the first period, went down with an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter and was carried off the field. Joey Dursse, a 2-year, 2-way starter, also left the game with an injured ankle in the first period. The early word on both players is that they suffered bad sprains and will be out for at least the next game against Banks with the possibility of returning for the Scappoose game in two weeks.
Murray's kick return answered a Seaside score on the opening drive of the game. The Gulls featuring different formations on their first three plays, marched 68 yards on six running plays, capped by Joe DeNotta's 37-yard sprint through a big hole straight up the middle. But Joey Dursse got through clean to block Justin Krieger's extra point attempt, the first of several big plays by the Astoria special teams in the game.
After the Murray runback put Astoria ahead 7-6, the Fishermen forced a Seaside punt and began effectively moving the ball downfield until a trio of holding penalties and a Daniel Copenhaver sack forced them into fourth and 45. The two teams exchanged two more punts before Seaside mounted a long, time-consuming drive to retake the lead in the second quarter.
Starting on their own 24-yard line, the Gulls mixed up carries among their three talented backs: seniors Will Beatty, Joe DeNotta and Dennis Olstedt. The Gullls converted two third downs and a fourth down and completed one pass on a 16-play drive, capped by Dominick Walker's five-yard touchdown run with 0:49 to go in the half. Walker, a wide receiver, would see more time in the backfield for the remainder of the game as Beatty apparently suffered a knee injury on the drive. He would be in and out of the game the rest of the way.
For the fourth time in a row, Astoria was able to stuff a two-point conversion attempt, as Dennis Olstedt was tackled short of the goal line by Brook Smith, leaving Seaside with a 12-7 halftime lead.
The Fishermen offense was clicking in the third period as Astoria scored on both of its drives, overcoming another holding penalty that wiped a touchdown off the board. Jordan Poyer located Andy Murray over the middle on a 23-yard pass over the middle on 4th and 5 for an apparent score, but the flag nullified the touchdown, and put the Fishermen in a 4th and 17 situation from the 35-yard line. No problem. Poyer reloaded and lofted a pass for Justin Tikkala that the senior receiver gathered in near the left pylon and a successful Tony Robinson PAT put Astoria back in front 14-12.
Seaside answered with a swift, 7-play, 64-yard drive with Joey DeNotta's second touchdown of the game set up by a 39-yard run by Olstedt. With 5:49 to go in the third period, the Gulls had regained the lead, this time successfully kicking the PAT for a 19-14 advantage.
Then, for the second time in two weeks, the Fishermen broke form and controlled the ball for 4:49 on an 11-play, 70-yard drive, converting three third downs along the way before Murray danced into the end zone on a 14-yard touchdown run.
Now leading 21-19, it was time for Astoria's defense to step up, but not before Seaside rolled the dice and reconsidered a punt on 4th and 3, instead putting the ball in Olstedt's hands. The speedy senior wingback delivered, racing around left end for a 7-yard gain to the Fishermen 41-yard line.
On first and ten, DeNotta was bottle up in the backfield, tackled for a 1-yard loss by Nathan Stinnett and Brook Smith when he tried to change direction. Walker was halted after one-yard on a Poyer tackle, forcing 3rd and 10. The Seagulls set up a middle screen, with Walker taking the pass after a deep Kauffunger dropback, but senior defensive end Grady Parker sniffed out the play and wrapped up Walker after 4-yard gain. Murray stayed down on his back and was eventually carried off the field by a couple of teammates in a scene all to reminiscent of Alex Whittaker's final bow the week before. Feared to have a broken right ankle, Murray was later taken across the street to Columbia Memorial Hospital, where teammate Joey Dursse was delivered earlier in the evening.
With their fallen leader on their minds, Astoria's D had to buck up and stop Seaside on a critical 4th down, which they did when Olstedt was stopped short of the line to gain on a 4th and 6 carry.
The Gulls would get the ball back with plenty of time when Poyer, seeing favorite receiver Adam Koehnke in single coverage down the middle, threw long on 2nd and 12 and underthrew his man. Dominick Walker picked the ball off at midfield and Seaside was back in business with almost seven minutes remaining in a 2-point game.
"Our young quarterback did some things that he'll learn from," said Rub. "Fortunately we were able to hold on so they weren't hard lessons tonight."
"He saw Adam had a 5-yard lead and he was going for the home run, which we saw last week he likes to do. And it really is a good thing for us because we are a big-play offense. If the ball's not underthrown a little bit and their guy makes a great play..."
Astoria's defense would cover the gamble. DeNotta stumbled to a 1-yard gain on first down. On a wing sweep, Jordan Poyer avoided the block and upended Olstedt for no gain. Then came the biggest defensive play of the night. Kauffunger went back to pass and spotted Olstedt open near the first down marker. The pass was right on target, but Brent Culver closed in and launched himself into Olstedt, laying a huge lick on the 6-1, 180-pound receiver just as the ball arrived to blow up the play and force the incompletion.
"That was a beautiful play," said Rub. "He timed it perfect. As good of a high school play as you will see in the secondary. He did a great job of coming back to the ball and was physical. Just an outstanding play."
The Gulls opted to kick it away and try to maintain field position with over five minutes still remaining in the game. Kaffunger, a returning all-state honorable mention punter, did his job, dropping a 44-yard kick inside the Astoria 10-yard line. But instead of downing the ball, a Gulls player kicked it to the five yard line. With the ball still moving, Jawarski scooped it up and sprinted to the sideline and upfield, catching the Seaside cover team napping. Kauffunger knifed to the sideline to make a touchdown-saving tackle, but not before Jawarski picked up 50 yards of critical field position, giving Astoria the ball at the Seaside 45-yard line with five minutes remaining.
"Coach kept telling us if the other team kicks it or touches it before it stops dead, pick it up," said Jawarski, the special teams return ace who also had a 48-yard return on the opening kick of the second half to set up an Astoria touchdown. "Their backs were turned to me when I picked it up and it was pretty much an open gate there."
Apparently, the Fishermen returners have been well-briefed on the rules in practice, which allows a returner to pick up a ball touched by a member of the kicking team and return it with insurance in case of a muff or fumble.
"We work on it," said Rub. "And actually it could have happened earlier in the game, but the officials blew it dead immediately. You can't just touch a punt. It's not down until you down it. So we actually work on this a minimum of once a week. If they touch it and its not downed, go get it because its a free play for us. Even if we turn the ball over we get the option of taking the ball back where it was touched by the punt team.
"The Seaside defender covering the punt actually kicked it. We were all screaming, 'Get it! Go!' And Jaws did. What a great run."
The Fishermen were able to move the chains twice, with Poyer finding Nick Alfonse on a 21-yard pass completion to set up first and goal at the Seaside 10-yard line. But penalties again set the Fishermen back, as two holding penalties and a delay of game put the Fishermen in a 4th and 21 situation. After an incomplete pass, Seaside had one more chance, but only 40 seconds remained and the Gulls, who had just 12 passing yards, had 79 yards of real estate to cover.
A pass down the middle on first down was nearly intercepted by Thomas Christensen, who played most of the game at strongside linebacker after Dursse's injury. Jake Banta batted down Kauffunger's next pass attempt and on third down, Culver once again got in the way of a ball thrown in Olstedt's direction. A final 4th down prayer was not answered, as backup lineman Will Bush deflected the pass and the Fishermen celebrated by far the most signifant of their six victories this season, avenging a 14-10 loss at the Gulls house last year.
"We couldn't sustain a drive at the end and that really hurt us," said Seaside head coach Dave Foust, whose Seagulls dropped to 4-2 with the loss. "They did a good job of controlling the clock there at the end to keep us from getting the ball back."
Astoria's 6-and-0 start is the best since the 1993 team won eight straight before losing their regular season finale 13-12 to Rainier and being eliminated at Baker 28-6. The Fishermen hope to make it seven straight against Banks on Thursday, but will likely have to do it without four starting defensive players, all out with ankle injuries.
Seaside has Scappoose next, but hopes to have most of its starters on the field for the game, including TE/DE Kai Watts, OL/DL Ross Knutsen and WR/DB Mitch DeGandi, who were all in street clothes Friday night with various injuries. Beatty's injury is not considered serious, but with three 2-way starters out and a fourth less than 100-percent, the Gulls were clearly hampered in the second half.
"Still, that's no excuse," said Foust. "Our kids played hard. I'm really proud of them. It just hurts a little more to lose to Astoria."
SEASIDE 6-6-7-0-19
ASTORIA 7-0-14-0-21
1stQ-SEA: DeNotta 37 run (kick blocked)
1stQ-AST: Murray 80 kick return (Robinson kick)
2ndQ-SEA: Walker 5 run (run failed)
3rdQ-AST: Tikkala 35 pass from Poyer (Robinson kick)
3rdQ-SEA: DeNotta 3 run (Krieger kick)
3rdQ-AST: Murray 14 run (Robinson kick)
RUSHING-SEA: 43-260 (Olstedt 18-141), AST: 27-87 (Murray 10-44-td)
PASSSING-SEA: Kauffunger 2-9-0-12, AST: Poyer 11-20-1-178-td
RECEIVING-SEA: Olstedt 1-8, AST: Tikkala 2-57-td, Murray 4-51
TURNOVERS-SEA: 0, AST: 1
PENALTIES-SEA: 2-15, AST: 9-73
posted by Matt Richert at 11:00 AM
2 Comments:
First time reader of the Last Dam Blog...
where is the info listed in the Web Results?
I see "Astoria 50 Gladstone 27 seaside 21 Taft 0 Brook Smith is Astoria's most versatle lineman and will backup at center while....."
Where can I find this information?
thanks.
MA
Not sure I follow your question. Is this something you pulled up in a Google search? Anything that's not on the front page should be available in the archives, linked by month on the right side. Hope this helps.
matt
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