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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2011)
Seahawks fail to fly into Chicago or the season By Robert Morrison Sports Editor ill the Seattle Seahawks ever fly again? A lot of fans of the Northwest team have been asking that question since the team made the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005. The Seahawks lost that game in questionable fashion. People say that game had too many calls going Pittsburgh’s way. This year the Seahawks made a couple of trades to bolster a runningback core that wasn’t getting it done. The team added Marshawn Lynch and Leon Washington. Washington helped the special teams, and Lynch teamed with Justin Forsett to make a good duo in the backfield. The team also started the year with former NFL and USC coach Pete Carroll. Carroll brought with him a number of fellow coaches from USC to help with the Seahawks coaching staff. USC, under Carroll, won a number of Nation Championships in a professional-like system. Many new things were expected out of the NFC West this year but that wouldn’t be the case with all the teams with losing records. The Seahawks started off the season going 2-2 in the first four games before their week five bye-week. After their bye-week the team pulled off two straight wins. Unfortunately for them, that would only lead to troubles in the following two games, los ing by a total score of 74-10. The Seahawks’ offense struggled all year and for many weeks the fans could see it on the field. The Seahawks went 2-6 after that to set up a matchup with the St. Louis Rams that would be winner takes all. The winner of that matchup would be become the NFC West champions and get a automatic bid into the playoffs with the fourth seed. The Seahawks hosted the game in Seattle. The game was full of mistakes and neither team was able to move the ball very far down the field. The game ended with a score of 16-6, Seahawks. Seattle earned the right to the playoffs in Pete Carroll’s first year back in the NFL. The team was proud to make the playoffs but many sports fans wondered if the team could hang in with the big boys in the playoffs. After all, the Seahawks were the first team to make the playoffs with a losing record. When all was said and done, the Seahawks would play host to the New Orleans Saints, who had a much better record (10-6). The Saints were heading into the game as the clear favor ite to win. The game started off in the first quarter with the Saints leading 10-7. By halftime the Seahawks pulled to a 24-20 lead. In the third quarter the Saints went cold and couldn’t score, but the Seahawks picked up right where they left off, scoring 10 points in the quarter. The Saints headed into the last quarter down 34-20. The Saints would go on to outscore the Seahawks 16-7 in the last quarter. The icing on the cake was a 67-yard run by Lynch to score the last touchdown for his team to close the 41-36 win. The underdog had beaten the favored Saints in what wasn’t expected to be a shootout With their win in Seattle, the Seahawks earned the honor of traveling to Chicago to take on the Bears in the next playoff game. The first half became a show ing for the Bears as they outscored the Seahawks 21-0, the first time the Seahawks had gone scoreless in quarters in the playoffs this year. The Seahawks pulled out a field goal in the third and Chicago scored a touchdown, putting the game at 28-3 after three quarters. The final quarter saw the Seahawks bring the heat, scoring 21 points to Chicago’s seven, but it wouldn’t be enough with the Bears winning 35-24 in what was a mostly lopsided game. The Seahawks were eliminated from the play offs and their shot at another Super Bowl. The Seahawks won a division that wasn’t good and beat a favorite in the Saints but couldn’t tough it out for a win in Chicago, leaving the question of the team’s future and that of quarterback Matt Hasselback unanswered. W Brad Heineke Clackamas Print ¿1 rod Community College’s forward Rei Jensen goes to block Clackamas’ Derrick Hayes in Clackamas I unity College’s home opener in the Randall Gym on Jan. 19. Clackamas loses 80-86. aints slay Cougars took a step back tonight. We’ve just got to trust one another.” . Wegner echoed his player’s comments. “We need to be prepared to play and not pay attention to rank. All the bustle players out there were wearing red. We I Clackamas Community College men’s basketball played tired tonight.” I Coach Clif Wegner’s comments might suggest, As Clackamas slipped, Mt. Hood surged. The Saints I mgar’s 80-86 home loss to Mt. Hood in their roared out to a game high 21 point lead at 70-49 in I in home opener was quite the disappointment. just the first eight minutes of the second half. With the I enjoy basketball when it’s played well,” said Saints’ bench standing and applauding, Wegner called I I. “I did not enjoy that. It was, without a doubt, a timeout to assess the situation. That was when the I irst ball game of the month.” Cougars kicked it into high gear. I ¡pin mind that the Cougars were coming off back Clackamas came out with an aggressive defense, I iNorthwest Athletic Association of Community putting pressure on the Saints from one end of the court ¡es championship seasons and a 2010 CCC to the other. On offense, Clackamas ran and scored iy Tournament championship. Clackamas was quickly, much to the delight of the fans. With some I »a six game winning streak and were 11-1 since thing to finally cheer about, they made themselves I ng the first two games of the season. heard after every Cougar bucket. I pite of their No. 3 ranking, Clackamas started After a stolen inbounds pass and another layup, I it from the beginning, quickly getting down in Clackamas found themselves down by just six points I st half to a Mt. Hood Saints team that had gone with less than a minute remaining. The deficit would I start division play. After starting the game with be cut once more to four, but good free throw shooting I nick points, Clackamas went scoreless for sev- by the Saints would put the final nail in the coffin as I igminutes while the Saints built a healthy lead. the Cougars lost 86-80 for their first loss in division I t going 0-8 from three-point range in the first play. I ke Cougars rallied behind sophomore Derrick “Losing helps this team,” said first year guard Kirby I 'eight points in the first half and went on an 8-4 Hawkins. “It’s a taste of reality for motivation.” I 31-29 at halftime. Hawkins, along with fellow teammate Alix Loul,' I ke first half started flat, the second half began agreed that the biggest thing learned from the loss was that they needed to give more, and that effort was I ¡f being uncharacteristically out-rebounded in their coach’s biggest point of emphasis in Thursday’s I st half 21-18, the normally solid Cougars were practice. I tted on the backboards in the second half by first In the end, the Cougars had just dug themselves too I ¡lint’s forward Spencer Clayton. Overall, Mt. deep a hole to climb out of. Mt. Hood’s Otho Lesure I itt-rebounded Clackamas 45-36, something that scored 21 points of his game-high 23 points in the sec I (unusual for the Cougars. ond half and Delroy Gibbs went 4-6 from three-point I 'll be working on boxing out on rebounds in range for 17 points. Hawkins paced Clackamas with 19 I ; tomorrow,” said freshman Paul Walter, who points and Max Jacobson added 12 points and a team- I that the team’s performance was far below high of seven rebounds in the loss for the Cougars. I normally would have been. “We’ve really been Clackamas will next play host to Linn-Benton this I (together these past four or five weeks, but we Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Randall Hall gymnasium. I---------------------------------------------------------------------- By John Howard The Clackamas Print I
