SWEET HOME — Backed up in a first-and-25 situation following back-to-back penalties on the first drive of the second half, Philomath High’s offense didn’t panic.
The Warriors simply went to work with senior quarterback Caleb Russell playing catch with a few of his buddies. First, he connected with junior CD Nuno on a 12-yard gain and followed with a nine-yard completion to junior Rocco De La Rosa. Facing a manageable third-and-4, Russell got the ball to senior Warwick Bushnell for 10 yards to move the chains.
Gallery: PHS football at Sweet Home (Oct. 4, 2024)
A collection of photos from Philomath High School’s 37-0 football win at Sweet Home on Friday.
On the next play, senior Hudson Raab hauled in a Russell pass and ended up in the end zone on an 18-yard touchdown.
In succession, completions to Nuno, De La Rosa, Bushnell and Raab — it all seemed too easy. The touchdown put the visiting Warriors up 28-0 to dampen Sweet Home’s homecoming en route to a 37-0 victory.
“You know, (coach Alex) Firth has some really good concepts for us and our line’s just doing a great job,” Raab said after the team met for a postgame talk in the end zone. “I’m going to say that we probably have the best receiving corps in 4A so if Caleb can just get the ball in our hands, there’s nothing really the defense can do.”
It showed in the final stats. Russell completed 27 of 41 passes for 418 yards and four touchdowns. Nuno had 10 catches for 169 yards and two TDs, Raab finished with six catches for 70 yards and a TD. Bushnell had four receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. De La Rosa caught four balls for 39 yards.
Those four primary receivers have a lot of games under their belts. And with Russell’s development at quarterback, the team has the feel of a seasoned group when performing on the gridiron.
“We’re all mature,” Raab said. “We worked really hard this offseason with a lot of 7-on-7 and all of our guys showing up. I mean, we want it. We want it this year.”
It’s that mental approach to battle that has changed for the better, Raab added.
“We have this really good team dynamic and team chemistry,” he said. “We’re all like best friends and really can’t ask for anything better.”
The offensive line had another exceptional performance to give Russell the time to operate.
“You can’t throw those passes unless you have time to throw them,” Firth said. “So they’ve done a great job but like I’ve said all year, we have five guys that can just catch a ball anywhere and go. … We just try to get them in open space, let them catch the ball and run. It’s not rocket science by any stretch.”
In addition to the first four receivers, senior running back Grant Niemann had three receptions for 23 yards out of the backfield.
Senior lineman Brady Russell said the team has excelled this season with pass protection.
“Coach (Will) Love, he’s the best O-line coach probably in Oregon — he’s really good,” Russell said. “Something that we definitely take pride in is not letting Caleb get sacked.”
Philomath’s ability to strike quickly went on full display late in the first half. The Warriors had taken a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when junior Lake Mulberry took the handoff on a line plunge, bounced off the pile and waltzed into the end zone.
Even though PHS was dominating the game, the lead remained 7-0 well into the second quarter thanks to a couple of turnovers. But the Warriors had a few takeaways of their own, including an interception by De La Rosa with 4:02 left in the half. Two plays later, Nuno scored on a 25-yard reception.
Philomath added another TD to its lead after Sweet Home turned the ball over on downs. On a third-and-10 play, Bushnell caught the ball over the middle, broke a tackle and sprinted to paydirt for a 21-0 lead with 46 seconds left in the half.
“We had a couple of turnovers in the first half but I feel like we executed for the most part,” Brady Russell said. “Against other teams, we can’t have those turnovers. We definitely need to clean up some stuff but a shutout is always nice.”
Philomath almost added a fourth TD to its first-half performance. Sweet Home got a 56-yard kickoff return to set up shop with the short field at the PHS 32. But on the first play, De La Rosa came up with another interception.
With only 29 seconds remaining until halftime and operating from their own 12-yard line, the Warriors continued their aggressive approach offensively with Caleb Russell finding Bushnell on a 47-yard reception. Bushnell nearly broke free toward the end zone but the Huskies were able to stop him on what amounted to a shoestring tackle. The Huskies then came away with an interception to end the threat.
Raab’s TD in the third quarter gave the Warriors a 28-0 lead.
Later with Sweet Home backed up at its own 13, the center snap sailed past the quarterback and into the end zone. Sophomore Jamin Peters made the tackle for a safety.
Philomath’s next possession led to seven more points. Nuno made a catch and ultimately powered his way into the end zone to cap an impressive play that covered 27 yards. The 37-0 lead activated the “running clock” mercy rule and the fourth quarter went by fast.
About the only drama remaining late was whether or not the Warriors could post their third shutout in five games. Sweet Home picked up three first downs to reach the red zone but the effort stalled. Brady Russell had a tackle for loss on second-and-10 from the 15. On third down, Nuno knocked down a pass. And on fourth down, another bad snap put the pigskin on the turf with Peters getting a fumble recovery.
“Our defense, I’d definitely say it’s underrated this year,” Brady Russell said. “We’ve never really had the strongest defense (in past seasons) but this year, we’re pretty dialed in and we have a super strong D line and super strong backers.”
Philomath’s defense held Sweet Home to just 59 total yards in a dominant performance. Bushnell had a key interception in the first quarter to go along with the two picks by De La Rosa. Brady Russell had three tackles for losses plus a fumble recovery. Bushnell, De La Rosa, Raab, Mulberry and Peters also had TFLs.
The offensive numbers were also staggering for the Warriors with 461 total yards and an average of 8.1 yards per play. The team also racked up 20 first downs and had a 62.5% success rate on third down.
Philomath (5-0 overall, 1-0 league) will now get into a tougher part of its schedule with Stayton (4-1, 0-1) and Cascade (5-0, 1-0) visiting Clemens Field over the next two weeks. Cascade beat Stayton, 24-16, on Friday night.
“The next two weeks are critical games,” Firth said. “I mean, they’re both really good football teams and it will be a huge challenge for us.”
Philomath will try to continue finding success through the air.
“I think they’re both diametrically opposed to how we play football — they’re both run-oriented football teams,” Firth said about the Eagles and Cougars. “We’ve got to play our game and not try to play their game and just see what happens. But they’re both really good football teams so it’s a tall order for us.”
Philomath will celebrate its homecoming for the Oct. 11 game vs. Stayton, which is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Said Raab, “It’s going to be a fight. They’re better than this team (Sweet Home) but if we do our job, I think we can handle them.”
