FISHERMEN WIN AT SEASIDE, LOSE POYER
Astoria head football coach Howard Rub said the only things that concerned him going into Friday night's matchup against Seaside were the usual "equalizers" that lead to upsets: turnovers and big special teams plays.
The fear of everybody else in the community is an irrational one, but one that became shockingly real midway through the 2nd quarter when Jordan Poyer was carried off the football field.
Astoria defeated Seaside 37-18 Friday night in the Cowapa League opener for both teams, but not without a fight. However, all of the talk after the game centered on the health of Astoria's star quarterback, who was in the hospital getting x-rays while his team celebrated a victory over their county rivals.
The Seagulls got the breaks they needed to turn what appeared to be a mismatch into a competitive and entertaining football game. The Fishermen feared the biggest break of all might have happened in the left leg of their signalcaller, who was tackled awkwardly on the sideline by Gulls' free safety Ian Dueber at the end of a ten yard run.
"Jordan's always looking for the extra yards and won't go out of bounds," said Rub. "He'd rather take somebody on than go out of bounds. As he got to the sidelines, the weight of the last tackler, basically all of his weight went into his shin. His shin absorbed everything. It could have been really bad, like a Joe Theismann type thing. Fortunately, nothing like that happened. It's just a matter of seeing if it's there is a fracture there or not."
The initial news was positive as x-rays late Friday night were negative. After getting checked out again on Saturday, Poyer's injury was diagnosed as a high ankle sprain, which should keep him on the sidelines for Astoria's next game at Banks on Thursday and puts in to question whether or not he will be able to play in a key game against Scappoose the following Friday.
A high ankle sprain generally carries a longer recuperative period and it is not unrealistic to think that Poyer could possibly be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season. A text message sent by Poyer to a network of friends and associates Saturday stated that he would be out one to two weeks and hoped to be able to play against Scappoose.
While Poyer was being carried to the sideline, sophomore backup quarterback Ian Erickson frantically took practice snaps from center Brad Hilferty and was suddenly thrust into a league game with his team trailing 12-6. Erickson had appeared late in two previous games, a blowout loss to La Salle in the second week of the season and a blowout victory over Philomath two weeks ago. Nothing could quite prepare the youngster for the rush of entering a key rivalry game in the middle of the game with his team looking at a deficit.
Nervous? Erickson was hyperventilating in the huddle and couldn't catch his breath to get the play call out to his teammates.
"When Coach Steinback said warm up, I admit it, I was scared as heck," said Erickson. "But, the team, Jaworski, Hans, Grady, they were all behind me. Told me to keep my head up. Team spirit was good."
After a timeout for Erickson to calm his nerves, the bobbled first snap was comically predictable. However, Erickson fell on the loose ball and on the next play handed the ball to running back Tom Jaworksi, who knifed through the middle of Seaside's defense six yards into the end zone. It certainly helped the young quarterback get settled having the ball at the Seaside six rather than on the other end of the field.
Max Johnson's PAT gave Astoria its first lead of the game at 13-12 with 5:10 remaining in the first half. Three Seaside plays later, Jaworski would add to that lead, intercepting a Seaside pass and returning it 55 yards for a TD to make it 20-12 Fishermen.
But the winless Gulls, despite producing little in the way of consistent offense, would remain resilient. After leading much of the first half, they did not fold. On the following drive, sophomore running back Zeke Smith caught a bubble screen, made an inside move, then darted to the right sideline, outrunning the entire Astoria defense for a 73-yard touchdown. These Gulls were not going down easy.
Earlier in the quarter, Smith answered Astoria's first touchdown with an 85-yard kick return giving Seaside a 12-6 lead. The Gulls put their first score on the board on a Dom Walker interception return, as the senior defensive back, playing end in Seaside's specially designed 3-5 defense, jumped a pass in the flat and returned it untouched 29 yards to the end zone.
When Astoria's second drive also ended on a turnover and two Astoria penalties led to Seaside first downs on the ensuing drive, one began to wonder if Edward Woodward were in the house. However, the Gulls drive stalled on downs after four straight incomplete passes, two broken up by Poyer, at the Astoria 30-yard line. "The Pup" led his team on a 10-play march that culminated in an 11-yard keeper. Johnson's PAT was just outside the right upright, knotting the score at 6-6.
After Smith's return TD, the third allowed by the Astoria special teams in the last two weeks, Poyer again piloted a drive down the field, completing a key 4th and 7 pass to sophomore receiver Marcus Brown, who made a sliding catch on the left sideline at the Seaside 15-yard line. The next play was a designed quarterback run, with Poyer barrelling over the first tackler at the right hash mark and eluding two more Gull defenders as he worked his way toward the right sideline. Dueber made a clean tackle on the Astoria QB at the boundary, forcing him out of bounds at the line to gain. As the chain gang made its way across the field for a measurement. Poyer was limping around trying to walk off an apparent injury. However, with each additional step, the pain increased and the realization set in that he would not be taking the next snap. Poyer went down on his back and was overcome by pain, writhing around with his hands on his head as Astoria coaches and medical personnel rushed to his aid. He was eventually helped to the sideline and put no weight on the left leg. After watching the rest of the half from the bench with his leg elevated and under a blanket, Poyer was lifted into a waiting SUV at halftime and ferried back home to Columbia Memorial Hospital.
Meanwhile, a change of plan was in order for Astoria, which not only had a new QB on the field, but had to contend with Seaside's pesky defensive plan, designed to get its 11 fastest players on the field to counter Astoria's explosive spread option attack. The Fishermen decided to counter speed with power.
"Certainly we feel like we can do some things out of the I-", said Rub. "I think we showed that in spurts last year when we had [Andy] Murray and Joey [Dursse] hurt. We would get in the I- once in awhile and pound it between the tackles with a lot of these same kids.
"It might be the kind of thing where we end up hanging our hat on it more often."
Astoria, which had racked up 200-plus rush yards the previous three weeks, although with Poyer getting the lion's share of that on outside runs, transitioned into a power running attack for the duration of the game, continuing to make its myriad personnel changes while vacillating between a double-tight end I-formation and an elephant formation with two extra tackles, 330-pounders Jon Smith and Chris Edwards, and a full house T backfield.
The Fishermen showed they don't necessarily need a bruising fullback to run the traditional iso lead play out of the I- as their final drive of the first half featured 5-9, 165-pound Tom Jaworski leading the way for Hans Lund on consecutive runs of 13, 10 and 20 yards to get Astoria into field goal range for Max Johnson's 27-yarder as time expired.
Lund got things rolling for Astoria in the second half with a 40-yard return of the opening kickoff. Five plays later, Jaworski danced 23 yards to paydirt giving Astoria a 30-18 lead.
The Astoria defense, bolstered by the return of lineback Dylan Jensen, out since spraining his knee on the opening kickoff of the season, began to wear out Seaside in the second half. The Gulls, who had just six rushing yards in the contest, were held to minus-10 yards on the ground over the final two quarters. With Jensen back healthy and senior Matt Crowley emerging as a defensive fixture, the Fishermen moved All-Cowapa League defensive end Grady Parker to strongside linebacker. Although Parker may not be ultra-enthusiastic about the move, his play on Friday night said otherwise as the 6-2, 211-pound senior collected a sack, three tackles for loss and also blocked a punt.
"It's alright," said Parker. "There's nothing better than being on the line, though, nose-to-nose just taking them on."
While Seaside struggled to move the chains, Astoria couldn't deliver the death blow until Will Bush intercepted a Kauffunger screen pass and returned it to the Seagull 31-yard line with 5:43 left in the game, setting up Jaworski's final touchdown, a 28-yard run to the end zone three plays later.
Jaworski finished with 100 yards on the ground and three TD's to go with his interception return for a touchdown. Lund added 89 yards on a team-high 16 totes as the Fishermen rushed for a season-high 291 yards. Smith accounted for half of Seaside's 160 total yards with two pass receptions for 78 yards, but carried the ball only twice for minus-1 yard.
The Fishermen evened their season record at 3-3 and now will head into the short week of preparation without their most dynamic offensive and defensive player. However, with the continued strong play of their offensive line, and the addition of two more bruising backfield options in Jensen and Crowley, the Fishermen feel confident they can compete with or without their superstar QB for as long as they need to.
"We're going to figure out, depending on where we're at with Jordan, what's going to be our best combination and our best chance to have some success," said Rub. "We think with that big offensive line, similar to my first year here in 2000 when you could get in a T-formation with those big bodies and play three yards and a cloud of dust, that can be good, solid football, too. Obviously, it's not necessarily for everybody as entertaining as being able to spread it and do those things, but you've got to have a pretty special kid to do that. We've been blessed the last year and a half with that. And, hopefully we will again.
"We'll just play it by ear."
ASTORIA 0-23-7-7--37
SEASIDE 6-12-0-0--18
1st Q-SEA: Walker 29 INT return (pass failed)
2ndQ-AST: Poyer 11 run (kick failed)
2ndQ-SEA: Smith 85 kick return (run failed)
2ndQ-AST: Jaworski 6 run (Johnson kick)
2ndQ-AST: Jaworski 55 INT return (Johnson kick)
2ndQ-SEA: Smith 73 pass from Kauffunger (run failed)
2ndQ-AST: Johnson 27-FG
3rdQ-AST: Jaworski 23 run (Johnson kick)
4thQ-AST: Jaworski 28 run (Johnson kick)
RUSHING-AST: 52-291 (Jaworski 14-100-3td), SEA: 19-6 (Walker 9-11)
PASSING-AST: 5-10-1-73 (Poyer 5-9-1-73), SEA: Kauffunger 11-21-2-155-td
RECEIVING-AST: Eterno 2-7, S. Johnson 1-34, SEA: Tinaco 3-22, Carow 3-21, Smith 2-78-td
1ST DOWNS-AST: 19, SEA: 8
TURNOVERS-AST: 3, SEA: 3
PENALTIES-AST: 6-50, SEA: 2-15
The fear of everybody else in the community is an irrational one, but one that became shockingly real midway through the 2nd quarter when Jordan Poyer was carried off the football field.
Astoria defeated Seaside 37-18 Friday night in the Cowapa League opener for both teams, but not without a fight. However, all of the talk after the game centered on the health of Astoria's star quarterback, who was in the hospital getting x-rays while his team celebrated a victory over their county rivals.
The Seagulls got the breaks they needed to turn what appeared to be a mismatch into a competitive and entertaining football game. The Fishermen feared the biggest break of all might have happened in the left leg of their signalcaller, who was tackled awkwardly on the sideline by Gulls' free safety Ian Dueber at the end of a ten yard run.
"Jordan's always looking for the extra yards and won't go out of bounds," said Rub. "He'd rather take somebody on than go out of bounds. As he got to the sidelines, the weight of the last tackler, basically all of his weight went into his shin. His shin absorbed everything. It could have been really bad, like a Joe Theismann type thing. Fortunately, nothing like that happened. It's just a matter of seeing if it's there is a fracture there or not."
The initial news was positive as x-rays late Friday night were negative. After getting checked out again on Saturday, Poyer's injury was diagnosed as a high ankle sprain, which should keep him on the sidelines for Astoria's next game at Banks on Thursday and puts in to question whether or not he will be able to play in a key game against Scappoose the following Friday.
A high ankle sprain generally carries a longer recuperative period and it is not unrealistic to think that Poyer could possibly be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season. A text message sent by Poyer to a network of friends and associates Saturday stated that he would be out one to two weeks and hoped to be able to play against Scappoose.
While Poyer was being carried to the sideline, sophomore backup quarterback Ian Erickson frantically took practice snaps from center Brad Hilferty and was suddenly thrust into a league game with his team trailing 12-6. Erickson had appeared late in two previous games, a blowout loss to La Salle in the second week of the season and a blowout victory over Philomath two weeks ago. Nothing could quite prepare the youngster for the rush of entering a key rivalry game in the middle of the game with his team looking at a deficit.
Nervous? Erickson was hyperventilating in the huddle and couldn't catch his breath to get the play call out to his teammates.
"When Coach Steinback said warm up, I admit it, I was scared as heck," said Erickson. "But, the team, Jaworski, Hans, Grady, they were all behind me. Told me to keep my head up. Team spirit was good."
After a timeout for Erickson to calm his nerves, the bobbled first snap was comically predictable. However, Erickson fell on the loose ball and on the next play handed the ball to running back Tom Jaworksi, who knifed through the middle of Seaside's defense six yards into the end zone. It certainly helped the young quarterback get settled having the ball at the Seaside six rather than on the other end of the field.
Max Johnson's PAT gave Astoria its first lead of the game at 13-12 with 5:10 remaining in the first half. Three Seaside plays later, Jaworski would add to that lead, intercepting a Seaside pass and returning it 55 yards for a TD to make it 20-12 Fishermen.
But the winless Gulls, despite producing little in the way of consistent offense, would remain resilient. After leading much of the first half, they did not fold. On the following drive, sophomore running back Zeke Smith caught a bubble screen, made an inside move, then darted to the right sideline, outrunning the entire Astoria defense for a 73-yard touchdown. These Gulls were not going down easy.
Earlier in the quarter, Smith answered Astoria's first touchdown with an 85-yard kick return giving Seaside a 12-6 lead. The Gulls put their first score on the board on a Dom Walker interception return, as the senior defensive back, playing end in Seaside's specially designed 3-5 defense, jumped a pass in the flat and returned it untouched 29 yards to the end zone.
When Astoria's second drive also ended on a turnover and two Astoria penalties led to Seaside first downs on the ensuing drive, one began to wonder if Edward Woodward were in the house. However, the Gulls drive stalled on downs after four straight incomplete passes, two broken up by Poyer, at the Astoria 30-yard line. "The Pup" led his team on a 10-play march that culminated in an 11-yard keeper. Johnson's PAT was just outside the right upright, knotting the score at 6-6.
After Smith's return TD, the third allowed by the Astoria special teams in the last two weeks, Poyer again piloted a drive down the field, completing a key 4th and 7 pass to sophomore receiver Marcus Brown, who made a sliding catch on the left sideline at the Seaside 15-yard line. The next play was a designed quarterback run, with Poyer barrelling over the first tackler at the right hash mark and eluding two more Gull defenders as he worked his way toward the right sideline. Dueber made a clean tackle on the Astoria QB at the boundary, forcing him out of bounds at the line to gain. As the chain gang made its way across the field for a measurement. Poyer was limping around trying to walk off an apparent injury. However, with each additional step, the pain increased and the realization set in that he would not be taking the next snap. Poyer went down on his back and was overcome by pain, writhing around with his hands on his head as Astoria coaches and medical personnel rushed to his aid. He was eventually helped to the sideline and put no weight on the left leg. After watching the rest of the half from the bench with his leg elevated and under a blanket, Poyer was lifted into a waiting SUV at halftime and ferried back home to Columbia Memorial Hospital.
Meanwhile, a change of plan was in order for Astoria, which not only had a new QB on the field, but had to contend with Seaside's pesky defensive plan, designed to get its 11 fastest players on the field to counter Astoria's explosive spread option attack. The Fishermen decided to counter speed with power.
"Certainly we feel like we can do some things out of the I-", said Rub. "I think we showed that in spurts last year when we had [Andy] Murray and Joey [Dursse] hurt. We would get in the I- once in awhile and pound it between the tackles with a lot of these same kids.
"It might be the kind of thing where we end up hanging our hat on it more often."
Astoria, which had racked up 200-plus rush yards the previous three weeks, although with Poyer getting the lion's share of that on outside runs, transitioned into a power running attack for the duration of the game, continuing to make its myriad personnel changes while vacillating between a double-tight end I-formation and an elephant formation with two extra tackles, 330-pounders Jon Smith and Chris Edwards, and a full house T backfield.
The Fishermen showed they don't necessarily need a bruising fullback to run the traditional iso lead play out of the I- as their final drive of the first half featured 5-9, 165-pound Tom Jaworski leading the way for Hans Lund on consecutive runs of 13, 10 and 20 yards to get Astoria into field goal range for Max Johnson's 27-yarder as time expired.
Lund got things rolling for Astoria in the second half with a 40-yard return of the opening kickoff. Five plays later, Jaworski danced 23 yards to paydirt giving Astoria a 30-18 lead.
The Astoria defense, bolstered by the return of lineback Dylan Jensen, out since spraining his knee on the opening kickoff of the season, began to wear out Seaside in the second half. The Gulls, who had just six rushing yards in the contest, were held to minus-10 yards on the ground over the final two quarters. With Jensen back healthy and senior Matt Crowley emerging as a defensive fixture, the Fishermen moved All-Cowapa League defensive end Grady Parker to strongside linebacker. Although Parker may not be ultra-enthusiastic about the move, his play on Friday night said otherwise as the 6-2, 211-pound senior collected a sack, three tackles for loss and also blocked a punt.
"It's alright," said Parker. "There's nothing better than being on the line, though, nose-to-nose just taking them on."
While Seaside struggled to move the chains, Astoria couldn't deliver the death blow until Will Bush intercepted a Kauffunger screen pass and returned it to the Seagull 31-yard line with 5:43 left in the game, setting up Jaworski's final touchdown, a 28-yard run to the end zone three plays later.
Jaworski finished with 100 yards on the ground and three TD's to go with his interception return for a touchdown. Lund added 89 yards on a team-high 16 totes as the Fishermen rushed for a season-high 291 yards. Smith accounted for half of Seaside's 160 total yards with two pass receptions for 78 yards, but carried the ball only twice for minus-1 yard.
The Fishermen evened their season record at 3-3 and now will head into the short week of preparation without their most dynamic offensive and defensive player. However, with the continued strong play of their offensive line, and the addition of two more bruising backfield options in Jensen and Crowley, the Fishermen feel confident they can compete with or without their superstar QB for as long as they need to.
"We're going to figure out, depending on where we're at with Jordan, what's going to be our best combination and our best chance to have some success," said Rub. "We think with that big offensive line, similar to my first year here in 2000 when you could get in a T-formation with those big bodies and play three yards and a cloud of dust, that can be good, solid football, too. Obviously, it's not necessarily for everybody as entertaining as being able to spread it and do those things, but you've got to have a pretty special kid to do that. We've been blessed the last year and a half with that. And, hopefully we will again.
"We'll just play it by ear."
ASTORIA 0-23-7-7--37
SEASIDE 6-12-0-0--18
1st Q-SEA: Walker 29 INT return (pass failed)
2ndQ-AST: Poyer 11 run (kick failed)
2ndQ-SEA: Smith 85 kick return (run failed)
2ndQ-AST: Jaworski 6 run (Johnson kick)
2ndQ-AST: Jaworski 55 INT return (Johnson kick)
2ndQ-SEA: Smith 73 pass from Kauffunger (run failed)
2ndQ-AST: Johnson 27-FG
3rdQ-AST: Jaworski 23 run (Johnson kick)
4thQ-AST: Jaworski 28 run (Johnson kick)
RUSHING-AST: 52-291 (Jaworski 14-100-3td), SEA: 19-6 (Walker 9-11)
PASSING-AST: 5-10-1-73 (Poyer 5-9-1-73), SEA: Kauffunger 11-21-2-155-td
RECEIVING-AST: Eterno 2-7, S. Johnson 1-34, SEA: Tinaco 3-22, Carow 3-21, Smith 2-78-td
1ST DOWNS-AST: 19, SEA: 8
TURNOVERS-AST: 3, SEA: 3
PENALTIES-AST: 6-50, SEA: 2-15
posted by Matt Richert at 11:09 PM
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