Logan Weems rushes for 3 TDs as Oregon defeats Stillman Valley

STILLMAN VALLEY – With 13 wins in its last 14 games against Oregon, a former rivalry had turned into complete domination by Stillman Valley. That changed Friday night as a vastly improved Hawks’ program became the dominators in a 28-7 win, its first over the Cardinals since 2014, which, coincidentally was the final year Oregon made the playoffs.

“You can tell they are coming on,” said Stillman Valley hall-of-fame coach Mike Lalor. “They’re strong and tough up front. They handled us inside, and we couldn’t get outside. There weren’t many options.”

How dominating was Oregon’s performance?

Stillman Valley was held to 22 yards of total offense in the first half. It did not have any gains longer than six yards until 1:46 remained in the third quarter when backup quarterback Ryan Rueff connected with Noah Latham on a 59-yard pass play, which led to a 9-yard touchdown catch by Jacob Rhodes.

Those two plays were the only significant offense, as the run-heavy Cardinals were held to 42 yards rushing on 26 carries. Meanwhile, Oregon finished with an efficient mix of 100 yards on the ground and 150 in the air.

“Our passing spread them out and opened up the middle,” said receiver Austin Egyed, who opened up the game for Oregon with two straight receptions on professional-grade routes.

Then it was the Logan Weems attack on the ground, as he rumbled through the Cardinal defense to set up Oregon’s first touchdown. From seven yards out, Jack Washburn hit 6-foot-5, 245-pound tight end Josh Crandall for the 7-0 lead.

“When they stacked the box to stop the run, it opened up the pass,” lineman Briggs Sellers said.

It was the Washburn-Crandall combination that got Oregon rolling on its next possession. On third-and-11, Crandall broke up the middle for a 46-yard catch. Three plays later, it was Weems scoring from 11 yards out for the 14-0 lead.

“Our mission coming in was physical domination. We were locked in all week on defense,” Sellers said.

That was evident as Hawks lineman Seth Rote broke into the backfield and stopped John DeKlerk for no gain on a fourth-and-2 at midfield. Taking over at the 50, Washburn completed passes to Egyed and Hunter Bartel to make it 7-for-7 passing. In one of the only mistakes of the game, Crandall was penalized for a late hit to stall the drive.

A few plays later, he made up for that by stringing out Keenan McDevitt for a 9-yard loss on a jet sweep, with Quentin Berry joining Crandall in the pursuit. Coming out of the second half, it was Egyed doing the same thing for a 5-yard loss to force a Stillman Valley three-and-out.

“Our defense was flying to the ball and really stopped the outside game,” Oregon coach Broc Kundert said.

A pass knock-down by linebacker Jackson Glendenning stopped another Stillman Valley fourth-down attempt later in the third quarter. The Cardinals were hampered a bit with starting quarterback Braden Engel idled due to an injury suffered at the school’s pep rally the night before.

Taking over at their own 36-yard line, it was Washburn to Crandall (3-for-95 receiving) for 41 yards and to Egyed for 20 on consecutive plays. Weems finished off the drive with a 4-yard rushing score. All three are juniors, as are a majority of the Hawks’ starters.

“Jack was throwing absolute dimes,” Egyed said. “I made one mistake when I didn’t catch one that should have been a touchdown.”

Egyed did score a touchdown on defense with a fourth-quarter interception; however, it was called back for a clip. The final Hawks’ score was by Weems on a 5-yard run after toting the ball all six times on a short 28-yard drive. Gavin Morrow, Oregon’s top soccer player, converted all four extra points to allow Oregon to have a genuine threat on special teams.

“Weems ran hard and we had opportunities in the passing game,” Kundert said. “Just as importantly, we were more physical.”

With the win, favored Oregon (3-3) needs to win only two of its last three games against Rock Falls, Rockford Lutheran and Rockford Christian to reach the playoffs after a nine-year drought.