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Tigers hope home stand cures ills |
The Newberg High
School football team has a few things going for it.
Even after Newberg’s 58-0 loss at No. 5-ranked Grant on Friday, the
Tigers have two bright spots to look forward to this week — they
play their first home game and it’s against Wilson, a team the
Tigers beat last season. The home game will end a three-game stretch
of road games that started the season with three consecutive losses.
“It’s nice to not have to get on a bus and all of that stuff and
you’re more familiar on your own field,” Newberg coach Eric Carlson
said. “We’re trying to see that it’s a home game to put on a good
showing.”
Newberg had a difficult time putting on a good showing Friday
against the Generals. Grant scored on the first play of its first
two possessions and held a 14-0 lead with 8:18 remaining in the
first quarter. The Generals extended their lead to 21-0 at the end
of the opening quarter before they added three more touchdowns in
the second quarter to put the Tigers in a 42-0 halftime deficit.
“When you play a team that is talented, you want to make them earn
it by at least having to drive and make plays ... we didn’t do
that,” Carlson said. “We didn’t really make them work very hard.
They were so quick and also very physical. We were trying anything
to move the ball and they were in the passing lanes, they were in
the running lanes and we couldn’t move them up front. They covered
well and they were just all over it. They’re quick, physical and
experienced.”
The Generals have become a dramatically different program under
head coach Dallio Lewis. Until recent years, teams from the Portland
Interscholastic League rarely went deep in the state playoffs. Last
year, Grant lost 20-19 in the quarterfinals to Lake Oswego. The
Generals are not the program Newberg defeated 32-0 in 2001.
“To their credit, they have talent and they’re using it well now,”
Carlson said. “They’re more disciplined and work hard in the
offseason and are doing all the right things. This is their year is
what I told (Lewis). They have the talent to do it ... They have the
experience and a handful of Division I athletes.”
This Friday, the Tigers won’t face a squad that’s nearly as gifted
as Grant. Another PIL team, Wilson (1-1) opened the season with a
19-17 win against West Linn before last Friday’s 38-14 loss to
McNary. Carlson said Newberg will have to key on the Trojan’s
running game, particularly by having its secondary improve on making
stops.
“We know (Wilson’s running back) is going to get the ball a lot and
their quarterback runs a lot too,” Carlson said. “I think throwing
is a secondary option for them, so if you can get them in second and
seven or third and eight, then you can be in a position to create a
turnover or something.” |
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From Sept. 19, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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