WARRENTON – Weston-McEwen football coach Dale Peters got right to the point following his team’s 8-0 loss to the Warrenton Warriors Saturday afternoon: “What we do well, they stopped well.”

And that was the story of the game on the overcast afternoon at Warrenton High School, as the Warriors (10-0 overall) posted a hard-fought victory over the TigerScots in a first-round contest of the Class 2A state playoffs.

A special teams’ miscue on the TigerScots in the second quarter led to Warrenton’s only touchdown. The Warrior defense shut down the normally potent running game of Weston-McEwen.

The Warriors’ first-team defense has not been seriously challenged all year, but it was the Warrenton defense that rode to the rescue Saturday.

“Our offense didn’t play as well as it has, but our defense was up to the task and really won the game for us,” said Warrenton coach John Mattila, whose team will advance to the state quarterfinals for the second straight season.

The Warriors will play at Reedsport at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“It was a great effort – we couldn’t have asked for anything more,” said Peters, whose team finishes 5-4 overall. “It was a terrific game. It really was. Both teams hit hard and played hard. I give them all the credit in the world.

“We just had no rhythm on offense, and there’s only one person that can take responsibility for that, and that’s me.”

And the entire Warrenton defense.

Weston-McEwen running back Eric Delph – averaging more than 181 yards rushing per game – was held to a season-low 40 yards on 19 attempts, and the TigerScots finished the game with just four first downs.

On the other side of the ball, the Weston-McEwen defense came up with a big effort of its own as they held the Warriors (who average 42.0 points per game) to a season-low eight points.

The key play turned out to be a bad snap on a second-quarter punt by the TigerScots, which led to a blocked punt, setting the Warriors up with a first down at the Weston-McEwen 30-yard line.

Following a key third down run by Warrenton’s Nick Smith and a Nate McBride-to-Zach Gantenbein pass play, Warrior running back Andy Forney plunged in from three yards out for the game’s only touchdown with 9:26 left in the first half.

“Our defense set up that first score with the blocked punt,” Mattila said. “Zach made a nice catch on the slant and the line did a nice job of blocking on the next play to take it in.”

Delph returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield and the TigerScots were able to push the ball into Warrenton territory for the first and only time all day, but ended up punting.

“Whatever it was, we just couldn’t get anything going,” Peters said. “I made some bad calls, and Warrenton is just a very good defensive team. Everything that we’re usually pretty successful at, they had it blocked good.”

Turnovers – an interception by Gantenbein and a fumble recovery by Forney – halted the first two Weston-McEwen drives of the second half, and the TigerScots were unable to convert a key fourth-and-four play with 4:35 remaining in the game, as Beau Cederberg made one of several big tackles for the Warrior defense.

Following Weston-McEwen’s failed fourth-down conversion, the Warriors were stuffed on three straight plays and were forced to punt. McBride booted the ball 30 yards and pinned the TigerScots at their own 5-yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage, Weston-McEwen quarterback Jeremy Parker was sacked in the end zone by Warrenton’s Eric Holt, handing the Warriors a crucial two points.

Warrenton recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt, and ran out the clock from there.

“(The TigerScots) had everybody up on the line of scrimmage, and they did a very good job of stopping us,” Mattila said. “They’re a playoff team and they were well-prepared.

“But they only got over the 50 one time, and that was on the kickoff return,” he said. “So we had very good field position the whole game. We just didn’t take advantage of it the way we should have.”

Penalties hurt the Warriors, who were flagged nine times for 75 yards.

Gantenbein’s big return following his interception was wiped out by a penalty, as were several other big plays by the Warriors.

“Every time we had a big play we’d get a penalty,” Mattila said. “There were several plays where we’d end up with a 15-yard penalty, and now we’re first-and-25 instead of second-and-five, and it’s hard to overcome that.”

Smith was Warrenton’s leading ball carrier with 71 yards on 14 attempts, while Forney and Hart combined for 108 yards rushing – but not without some pain.

“Forney’s shoulder popped out on him and we had to bring in a freshman at one point,” Mattila said. “Then Nick went to tailback and our timing was off. We were in a position to score (late in the fourth quarter), but we had three straight miscues.

“We got out of sync there, and we should have put another one in right before halftime,” he said. “I tried to use a time out there, but nobody saw me calling for it.”

Hart – who also had to leave the game momentarily because of an injury in the second half – carried seven times for 53 tough yards.

“Hart ran hard, running up inside,” Mattila said. “But we didn’t do a real good job blocking. I don’t know how it happened this late in the season, but we got our signals crossed and our backs weren’t picking up the defensive end on that side.”

McBride completed 4-of-12 for 51 yards, with Smith catching three for 41 yards.

Wahkiakum 46, Naselle 0NASELLE, Wash. – The Naselle Comets were held scoreless for the third straight week, as Wahkiakum posted a 46-0 win at Naselle Thursday night.

Carson Cothren scored three touchdowns and rushed for 110 yards as the Mules clinched a share of the Cen-Pac League title.

Wahkiakum (6-2), the league co-champion with Willapa Valley, will host South Bend in the opening round of the Cen-Pac League playoffs Friday in Cathlamet.

Cothren had two touchdowns in the first quarter and teammate Alex Everman added a 29-yard scoring run for a 24-0 lead after one quarter.

Everman had 19 carries for 165 yards and Wahkiakum rushed for 297 yards total.

Naselle finished the 2002 season 0-8 overall.

In nonleague action across the river, Forks defeated Ilwaco 28-11 Friday in the season finale for the Fishermen, who finish the season with a 4-5 overall record.

S. Oregon 31, San Diego 10SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Warrenton’s Dusty McGrorty took his game to Southern California Saturday afternoon, and rushed for 231 yards on 37 carries to lead Southern Oregon to a 31-10 win over the University of San Diego.

The 10th-ranked Raiders took a huge step toward a second consecutive NAIA playoff berth with the victory.

McGrorty rushed for two touchdowns to lead SOU (6-2) to its fourth consecutive road win. McGrorty’s season-best effort was also the seventh-highest individual game total in school history, his second career 200-yard outing and 18th 100-yard performance.

Southern Oregon, which piled up 416 yards in total offense, used 17 second-quarter points en route to a 24-3 halftime edge.

McGrorty’s 5-yard touchdown run with 9:37 remaining staved off San Diego’s comeback hopes.

The victory allows SOU to protect its status as the highest-ranked NAIA independent team, which yields an automatic berth to the NAIA Championship Series in the Nov. 17 final poll.

Southern hosts Eastern Oregon Saturday at Raider Stadium.