Durand-Pecatonica pulls away from Oregon with big 2nd half

PECATONICA – The inability to score twice inside the 10-yard line in the first half and what coach Brock Kundert termed a “mental meltdown” in the third quarter proved to be the demise of Oregon in a 34-0 loss to Durand-Pecatonica in the 3A football playoffs.

“Maybe the moment was too big for us,” Kundert said. “Football is so much about momentum and we missed opportunities. We’ve got too handle adversity better and have leaders step up.”

That was all missing, as the Hawks were out-executed in most stages of the game and surprisingly, had problems physically matching up with the Rivermen.

“We didn’t expect that,” Kundert said.

With Logan Weems rushing for 88 yards on 22 carries, Oregon out-gained Du-Pec in the first half and only trailed 7-0. Oregon had no answers after that, as the Rivermen exploded for four second-half scores, all on drives begun inside Hawk territory.

Ironically, the problems for Oregon started after it stopped the Rivermen at midfield on the opening possession of the second half. A 46-yard punt by Drew Williams rolled to the 1-yard line, as Oregon chose not to return it.

A fumbled handoff on the next play was recovered by Nolan Stadler of Du-Pec. With Oregon looking demoralized, it was Jaylen Noud in for the easy score and 14-0 lead.

“After the punt, we told them to get a turnover,” Du-Pec coach Tyler Hoffman said. “That punt changed the game and the floodgates opened.”

Did they ever.

Du-Pec forced a 3-and-out and a 25-yard punt return gave it possession at the Hawk 45-yard line. Quarterback Cooper Hoffman was cornered on a fourth-and-1, but escaped for a 24-yard run. On the next play, it was Noud for another 1-yard touchdown, this time out of the wildcat.

Ahead 22-0, the Rivermen defense continued to help the cause with an interception by Jordan Gassman. A 24-yard pass from Hoffman to Williams set up a 1-yard score by Hoffman and 28-0 third-quarter lead.

“We flipped a switch and turned in on in the third quarter,” Cooper Hoffman said.

Oregon got a brief spark in the fourth quarter when lineman Quentin Berry jumped  in front of Hoffman and snagged an interception. However, Colton Mauer and Jaxon Diedrich chased Hawks QB Jack Washburn for a 15-yard loss and Oregon was forced to punt.

A short field led to a 35-yard touchdown pass from Hoffman to Diedrich, with no Hawk defender within 5 yards of him. Du-Pec’s first score, a 23-yard pass to Williams, also was wide open, as Du-Pec’s passing attack gave Oregon defenders fits all afternoon.

Hoffman was 12 of 16 for 168 yards. His counterpart, Washburn, was 4 of 18 for 29 yards. In a perfect blend of running and passing, the Rivermen had 170 yards on the ground.

Oregon did have chances early. A 16-play, 58-yard drive culminated in a missed field goal by Gavin Morrow in the second quarter. Later in the same quarter,  Oregon had another first-and-goal situation, highlighted by an 18-yard run to the 9-yard line by Weems.

After three plays of no gain, Washburn’s fourth-down pass was knocked down by Justin Anderson.

“Those goal line stops and Justin’s knockdown were big,” coach Hoffman said. “We had athletes making plays all over the field.”

Since co-oping, it was Du-Pec’s fifth straight win in the first round and the 8-2 squad looks for win No. 1 in the second round with a trip to Stillman Valley (6-4), a 21-20 winner over Chicago Noble.

Oregon (5-5), closes out its best season in nine years and returns the majority of its lineup and skilled players. It also has a solid sophomore group moving up.

“The future looks bright,” Kundert said.

One those returners is Weems, who led the BNC in rushing and had 108 yards on 30 carries in the loss.