The inability to stop the run, multiple mishaps on special teams and more than 120 yards in penalties added up to a long night for No. 2 Philomath in a Class 4A football showdown against No. 1 Cascade.
The Cougars erupted for 40 points in the first half alone and racked up 404 yards of total offense in Friday’s 60-19 victory at Clemens Field.
Gallery: PHS football vs. Cascade (Oct. 18, 2024)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 60-19 football loss at home vs. Cascade on Friday.
“We’re 6-1 and it’s not the end of the world,” Warriors coach Alex Firth said afterward. “It probably didn’t go the way anyone thought it would but in the end, we’re still a good football team and we still have goals and we still have opportunities to get in the playoffs. We’ve just got to refocus.”
Senior quarterback Caleb Russell, who threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns, had comments that echoed those of the head coach.
“We’re going to make the playoffs so you’ve just got to look forward,” Russell said. “We were expecting a win coming into this — that’s a tough loss and it’s going to hurt us. But you can’t stay down and you’ve got to move forward … it’s just one game.”
Philomath’s high-powered offense that revolves around Russell’s throwing and the pass-catching abilities of CD Nuno, Rocco De La Rosa, Warwick Bushnell and Hudson Raab did some familiar things early on with two long touchdowns. Cascade never flinched, however, and stuck to its power run game with workhorse Bryce Kuenzi and big-play Matthew Hinkle picking up yards behind an effective offensive line.
“They’re a big, physical football team,” Firth said. “They have a big offensive line and they just ground us down. Part of it was our defense was on the field too long. We had a couple of drives, a couple of big plays but then we just couldn’t sustain that big drive if you will. So that was tough.”
Cascade junior Bryce May, who wore No. 65, caused fits for the Warriors all evening.
“He’s a big offensive lineman,” Firth said. “He’s mobile, he was pulling, he was giving us grief.”
Hinkle finished with 190 yards and four touchdowns on only 11 carries. Kuenzi had 105 yards on 16 carries.
“We’ve got to stop the run — that’s the main thing,” Russell said. “Running controls the clock and when they’re scoring, that doesn’t help either. The offense could have done better, too, but it was all around … we just didn’t play to the best of our ability.”
The Warriors (6-1 overall, 3-1 league) opened the game in promising fashion with a 75-yard strike from Russell to De La Rosa on the third play from scrimmage. Facing third-and-10, Russell dropped back to pass and spotted De La Rosa down the middle emerging into open space while a Cascade defender fell to the ground. De La Rosa then utilized his speed to split two other defenders for a sprint to the end zone.
Cascade (7-0, 3-0) followed with a three-and-out on its first series, which included a Philomath sack. On the play, the Warriors defense collapsed the quarterback’s protection and Chase Leslie appeared to get a hand on him that forced the signal caller to the ground. Brady Russell and Rabb then finished him off.
However, the game took an ugly turn for the Warriors on their second possession. After being limited to just a four-yard gain on a swing pass, Philomath had to punt. Cascade senior Carter Condon sprinted up the middle and made a diving block on the attempt. The ball bounced backward and was eventually picked up by Hinkle, who carried it down to the 1.
Cascade’s Kuenzi scored on the next play and then also ran in a two-point conversion to give the Cougars a lead that they would never relinquish.
Later in the opening quarter after Cascade had gone up 16-6, Philomath pulled off another long pass to bring Clemens Field back to life. On third-and-seven, Russell again found De La Rosa for a touchdown — this one covering 83 yards. On the play, Cascade’s defense started to pressure Russell but he stepped up in the pocket and connected with De La Rosa over the middle. De La Rosa then broke toward the left and outsprinted the rest of the defense for the score.
Cascade held a 16-12 advantage at that point in the game — the Warriors had failed on an extra-point kick and a two-point conversion after its two TDs. The Cougars responded with an 11-play, 65-yard drive that ended early in the second quarter with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Cade Coreson to Charles McFerron.
Field position heavily favored Cascade in the first half and played a key role in the visitors being able to roll to a 40-12 lead by halftime. Kickoff returns were especially harrowing with the Warriors beginning drives at the 1, 7 and 3.
“In a tight game against good opponents, you cannot make those kinds of mistakes,” Firth said. “I mean, we had a number of special teams errors, we had a lot of unforced errors with penalties and the margin to overcome that’s narrow against good competition.”
As the half wore on, Cascade took advantage of the opportunities. Hinkle had two more touchdowns, including a 49-yard run that gave the Cougars a 20-point lead.
“We played on our half of the field the entire first half and that’s tough,” Firth said. “We put the defense in a bad position. … It’s tough starting with a long field, I mean, your odds of scoring drop dramatically.”
In the second half, Cascade took the opening kickoff and scored on a 17-yard run by Hinkle, his fourth TD of the evening. With the two-point conversion, the Cougars held a 48-12 lead, which put the scoreboard into running clock mode on the 35-yard mercy rule.
Philomath’s third TD came with eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Russell threw a strike to Nuno, who covered 58 yards on his way to the end zone. Raab hit an extra point to make it 54-19. The Cougars then had one final drive as the clock kept running toward zero. Backup quarterback Ryder Amaya scored on a three-yard run on the game’s last play to account for the final score.
“I told them it’s one game … we’re not going to panic and start changing a bunch of stuff,” Firth said about the team moving forward. “It’s just we’ve got to quit making those mistakes and not dig ourselves these holes. There are no 40-point plays on a play card.”
Philomath finished with 294 yards of total offense — 311 passing and minus-17 rushing. De La Rosa had a big night with five catches for 177 yards and two TDs. Nuno ended up with five catches for 84 yards and a score. Raab had four receptions for 44 yards.
The 60 points allowed were more than the PHS defense had given up in its first six games combined. It was the most points scored against the Warriors since 2019 when Cascade pulled off a 64-13 win.
Philomath will now try to regroup and get ready for its final regular-season road trip with a Friday jaunt over to Junction City.
“They beat us last year and they’re going to try to do the same thing … try to play keep away, run the ball and not let us have it offensively,” Firth said. “It’s kind of the same MO as Cascade. So I expect to see the ball run inside a whole bunch against us. We just have to do what we do and not hit the panic button.”
The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
As for Cascade, the team will try to keep its momentum going with a key game next week at Marist Catholic. The Warriors will get the Eugene school in their regular-season finale in two weeks.
Down the line, it’s possible that Philomath and Cascade could meet again in the postseason.
Said Russell, “We expect to see them in the playoffs and we’ll be ready.”
