Newberg Graphic Online

Tigers crush Franklin 41-8

Newberg High School's Wyatt Mahoney runs for 142 yards, three touchdowns

• By: Frank Graham  
• Published: 9/26/2009 12:33:07 PM
• Last Updated: 9/28/2009 8:55:21 AM

   Newberg dominated every phase of the game against Franklin Friday night to win going away, 41-8.
   The Tigers ran on the Quakers all night long and had four running backs in double figures. The were led by Wyatt Mahoney, who had 13 carries for 142 yards and three touchdowns. Mahoney would have had four but one was negated due to a penalty.
   Mahoney got the bulk of the carries after Joey Chandler suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter. Chandler had 62 yards on 10 carries before the injury.
   The Tigers turned the ball over on their first possession after failing on a fourth and one attempt on the Quakers 29 yard line.
   They held the Quakers and forced a punt on a big third down play on their own 38 when Cody Danielson sacked Franklin quarterback Cameron Bratcher for a loss.
   The Tigers then manufactured a 10 play, 65-yard drive capped off with Mahoney’s first touchdown of the night, a 14-yard run.
   The Tigers scored again on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Matt Dufour to Brock Lutes. Lutes later left the game after suffering an arm injury.
   On the next Tiger possession they had to overcome two penalties – one on a 62-yard touchdown pass from Dufour to Jordan Howell. Mahoney scored his second touchdown on a 44-yard scamper to the end zone to end the drive.
   The Tigers led 21-0.
   Newberg held Franklin on their next possession and forced another punt.
   The Tigers next possession ended with an interception by Franklin, but the Quakers couldn’t capitalize on the possession.
   The Tigers then drove the ball 65-yards on eight plays, highlighted by a 21-yard pass from Dufour to Cody Hunter-Brown and a six-yard touchdown run by Mahoney, his third on the night.
   The extra point was no good and the Tigers led 27-0 at halftime.
   Franklin came out of halftime fired up. The Quakers orchestrated an 11-play drive that moved the ball 80-yards and took nearly seven minutes off the clock, but failed to produce any points.
   On the Tigers next possession, they drove the ball 63 yards on a drive that took more than four minutes and was highlighted by a 21-yard run by Kevin Winterfield and a 16-yard pass from Dufour to Howell.
Dufour pitched the ball to Conor Hazenberg and he scored on a six-yard pass, the Tigers led 34-0.
   The Quakers scored their only points on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Jacob Gardner took a screen pass from Bratcher and behind a bevy of blockers, ran 51 yards for the touchdown. Jacob Gardner converted the two-point conversion.
   Despite the score 34-8, the Tigers weren’t finished. Mahoney had a 39-yard run up the middle on the next possession and Cody Cutz carried the ball three times for 11 yards. Dufour called his own number from three yards out and scored the final touchdown of the night.
   With the extra point, the Tigers led 41-8, which turned out to be the final score.
   Tigers’ head coach Eric Carlson said his team believed they could run on Franklin and it was part of their game plan.
   “But we wanted to work on our passing game too,” Carlson said. He said the team was lucky to have running backs who could step up when Chandler suffered his injury.
   Mahoney credited his performance to his blockers.
   “I started outside and our line pushed their defenders outside,” Mahoney said. “That opened up the middle lanes for me and I just ran there.”
   “I was just following their blocks,” Mahoney said.
   Carlson said his team has to cut down on the number of penalties.
   “We're going into conference play in two weeks,” Carlson said. “We’ve got to clear this up.”
   Carlson said he didn’t agree with every call the Tigers drew, but added thay they couldn’t play that way in league play.
   “We have our work cut out for us,” Carlson said.
   The Tigers have a bye next week then travel Oct. 8 to Canby, a Pacific Conference team listed in the top 10 of the state rankings.

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