PHS football team wins ‘statement game’ over Stayton, 49-14

Six games into the season, the Philomath High School football team still hasn’t been tested with one of those battles that goes down to the wire. And that includes a 49-14 homecoming rout Friday night at Clemens Field over a highly-regarded Stayton team.

No, they’ve all been blowouts with an average margin-of-victory of 39.3 points. The running-clock mercy rule came into play in five of the six victories. It all adds up to Philomath no longer being a team that might sneak up on opponents..

Gallery: PHS football vs. Stayton (Oct. 11, 2024)

A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 49-14 homecoming football victory over Stayton on Friday.

by Andy Cripe, Philomath News October 12, 2024October 12, 2024

Junior wideout Rocco De La Rosa, who caught a team-high eight passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, said the victory sends a message.

“This was our game to let people know because we played North Bend, who was a decent team, but everybody else has not been too great,” De La Rosa said in reference to the season’s somewhat weak schedule going into Friday’s showdown. “So this was a game to show everybody — I mean, these guys hung in with Cascade last week, lost by a touchdown or two (24-16), and so they were ranked above us and they were supposed to win the game.”

Senior Warwick Bushnell, who had the game’s longest TD on a 54-yard run-and-catch display of speed early in the fourth quarter, said Philomath needed an exceptional performance against the toughest team it had played to date this fall.

“We were going into this game knowing it was a statement game,” Bushnell said. “If we want to break down that door of we’re a legit team then we had to blow this team out. That was our goal and to show that it’s undeniable that we’re a good team.”

De La Rosa entered Clemens Field knowing that the team needed a high-level performance.

“We treated the game like it was a state championship game,” he said. “I mean, we were really, really focused and knew that this game was going to change our season if we won it.”

As far as the offense goes, Bushnell said it was basically business as usual.

“We came into this game with the same mindset of all of our other games,” Bushnell said. “We were going to run our game … we know how good we are and how much strength we have and how many weapons we have. Everyone executed on all cylinders.”

De La Rosa expected more of a war on the gridiron Friday night.

“We prepared all week knowing that they were going to bring it and we were going to bring it,” De La Rosa said. “I guess we wanted it more and just came out on top. They did not bring their ‘A’ game, I don’t think, or maybe they did and we’re just a lot better than they are and people have underestimated us.”

Philomath (6-0 overall, 2-0 Oregon West) attacked early by scoring on its first two possessions. After taking the opening kickoff, the Warriors moved downfield with chunk yardage, overcame a sack and got into scoring position on De La Rosa’s first catch of the evening — a 21-yarder. Senior Grant Niemann scored the first touchdown on a play to the left side of the line, finding a hole behind junior Tiernan Bovbjerg, sophomore Jamin Peters and senior Brady Russell.

After Stayton went three-and-out — Peters had a tackle for loss on the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage — the Warriors went back to work on offense. The touchdown came on a 39-yard toss to senior Hudson Raab on the right sideline. On the play, he had to ease up a bit to make the catch over the defender before finishing to the end zone.

Before Stayton could even muster a first down, the Warriors had a 14-0 lead and senior quarterback Caleb Russell had completed 7 of 7 passes for 116 yards on two drives. Russell actually completed his first 10 passes before Stayton came away with an interception to end the first quarter.

“I think that they thought they could just run the rock and we obviously stopped that — at least in the first half and we really held it on from there,” Peters said about the win. “Overall, we were just solid.”

PHS coach Alex Firth said the team had an exceptional practice Tuesday leading into Stayton week.

“It was probably one of the best offensive practices we’ve had in a long time,” Firth said. “We were really focused and we really tried to refocus the offensive line to try to create a little bit of a run game — that’s something we haven’t really been that efficient at and I thought we did fairly good … we threw the ball all over but we did enough in the run game that when they gave us a light box, we were able to run against it and kind of keep them honest.”

In the second quarter, Philomath went up 28-0 on a 41-yard TD reception by De La Rosa and 1-yard QB run by Russell.

“I ran like a little mesh route, a drive route, across probably five yards off the ball and I caught it and turned up,” De La Rosa said about his TD. “And then Hudson drove his guy all the way down the field, I read his block, made one dude miss and that was it.”

De La Rosa’s mention of pass blocking fits in with what unfolded on several occasions against the Eagles. Whenever one receiver made a catch, the others were engaged in their assignments to just add another layer to what Philomath can do on offense.

“All of the receivers, we play for each other,” De La Rosa said. “We understand that we might have a purpose route, we might be running this route to have somebody else be open but that’s what we have to do to win. Everybody takes pride in winning and letting our teammates score. Everybody has their games.”

Stayton got on the scoreboard with 2:09 remaining in the first half on a 10-yard pass from senior Hudson Hughes to senior receiver Ethan Whieldon. Philomath penalties played a role in the Stayton drive. Bushnell nearly had an interception on a third-and-5 play.

The Warriors responded immediately, however, with the team going into two-minute drive mode. However, it only took 48 seconds to score — the big play being a 41-yard pass from Russell to De La Rosa.

On the play, Russell scrambled to his right and found De La Rosa over the middle. He ran down the left sideline and dove for the end zone but was ruled down at the 3. On the next play, Russell took the ball out of the shotgun and found a path to the end zone on a run.

Philomath controlled the line of scrimmage and by halftime had 315 yards of total offense — three times the amount that Stayton could manage.

“Really, every play worked for us in our favor,” Peters said. “(We had) mistakes here and there but it was good.”

At the break, the stats were impressive considering the quality of the opponent. Russell was 17-of-20 passing for 265 yards and two touchdowns. Niemann had 46 yards rushing on eight carries and a touchdown. De La Rosa had seven catches for 144 yards, a 20.6 yards-per-reception average, and a TD.

“We did a couple of things formationally but the offense was still just the offense we normally run,” Firth said.

Stayton took the opening kickoff of the second half and set up a short field with a 45-yard kickoff return by senior Kaden Arnold. Two plays later, sophomore Hunter Mollerstrom broke free for a 29-yard TD.

However, the touchdown was questionable because it appeared that Bushnell may have knocked the ball out of Mollerstrom’s hand right as he was crossing the goal line. The official closest to the play appeared to initially be calling it a fumble as he dropped a beanbag on the grass to mark where the change of possession would occur. However, the other official ran in to signal touchdown. Needless to say, Firth did not agree with the call.

Philomath had given up seven points just two plays into the half. Firth in his halftime chat had warned the players to not experience a letdown just because they were leading by four touchdowns.

Said Peters, “I think we were a little overconfident there but we got it back together.”

Philomath’s first possession of the half didn’t go as planned with it ending on a 19-yard loss when the ball was snapped over Russell’s head on a fourth-and-1 play.

Stayton then put together a 21-play drive that covered just 48 yards but included five conversions on either third or fourth down. In the end, however, the Warrior defense held and allowed no points.

The PHS defense on two occasions during the Stayton drive knocked down pass attempts at the line of scrimmage — one by junior Zack Powers and the other by Raab, who had another knockdown at the line earlier in the game.

“They’re taught that if they don’t get back there to put their hands up and try to knock it down so they did a good job with that,” Firth said. “It helps us a lot, it helps us in the shell (zone defense), too.”

Philomath had several tackles for losses in the game — Peters, Brady Russell, Powers and sophomore Gavin Bennett among them. 

“I’m proud of both lines — the D line, the O line, they played their hearts out,” Firth said. “The defense has been playing lights out all year. It’s just being able to stop the run and force teams that are uncomfortable passing the ball.”

In the defensive backfield, Philomath had exceptional coverage, including at least three knockdowns by sophomore Kaden Howard and interceptions by junior CD Nuno, Bennett and Bushnell.

Philomath added two more touchdowns to its total. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Bushnell took a swing pass, found room with De La Rosa and Nuno blocking, cut across the middle to his right and scored to make it 42-14.

“I take pride in being a track runner and a sprinter and I saw green grass and just ran as fast as I could,” Bushnell said about the TD. “It turned out well.”

The last score came on a nine-yard pass from Russell to De La Rosa.

Russell finished with an impressive stat line — 24 of 30 passing for 389 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions along with his two rushing TDs. Niemann had a season-high 60 yards rushing on 11 carries. Raab was a perfect 7 for 7 on extra-point kicks.

Next up for the Warriors will be No. 1 Cascade, which downed Junction City Friday night, 48-6.

“Cascade has a huge offensive line and a really good running back,” Firth said. “They’re really efficient at running the ball and they’re going to try to pressure us in the run game.”

When Philomath has the ball, Firth believes his receivers can find success against any defense.

“With the pass (defense), they’re good and it will be a challenge for us but I like our receivers against anybody,” Firth said. “I really think they’re going to try to put pressure on us with the run game and not give us the ball.”

Cascade hasn’t lost to the Warriors since the 2015 regular season — the team’s lone loss that fall on the way to a state title (the Cougars beat PHS, 35-34, in OT in the quarterfinals).

“We’ll get everybody’s best shot,” Firth said. “Obviously, Cascade is No. 1 in the state for a reason and it just gets tougher. Hopefully this week we’re focused again … and they come out and play well. It’s just keeping the focus and trying to keep playing within ourselves.”