SEPTEMBER 27, 2019, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE C7
Whiteaker unable to contend with Parrish
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
Whiteaker running back Marquis Jackson breaks away from defenders to pick up a fi rst down. The Wolverines, however, would fall to Parrish 34-3 on Wednesday, Sept 19.
By MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
In a rematch of last year’s
Salem-Keizer Middle School
Championship game, the in-
experience of the Whiteaker
football team proved to be
costly.
After taking a 3-0 lead in
the fi rst quarter, the Wolver-
ines were plagued by turn-
overs and penalties, allowing
Parrish to runaway with the
34-3 victory on Thursday,
Sept. 19.
“We handled ourselves
pretty well in the fi rst part of
the game, then we just started
to turn the ball over,” White-
aker head coach Tom Lar-
imer said. “You can’t do that
when you’re facing a good
team and stay in the game.
We were just careless with
the ball.”
Even though the White-
aker roster features several
players who are competing
in the sport for the fi rst time,
the Wolverines held their
own with Parrish in the fi rst
half.
A pair of fi rst down runs
from running back Marquis
Jackson and quarterback
Tony Bravo had the Wolver-
ines inside the red zone. Even
though they were stopped on
third down, Bravo connect-
ed on a 36-yard fi eld goal to
verines deep into their own
territory.
Moments later, Bravo
threw an interception that
was returned to the Wolver-
ines seven-yard line. Parrish
scored two plays later to take
a 6-3 lead midway through
the second quarter.
Despite getting the ball at
midfi eld after recovering an
onside kick, Whiteaker fum-
bled on their next offensive
play to give the ball right
back to Parrish.
Parrish was able to punch
it into the end zone with one
second left in the half, giving
them a 12-3 lead at the break.
After another Parrish
give Whiteaker the early lead.
Field goals of that length
are pretty rare in high school
football, let alone middle
school football, which is
why the Whiteaker team was
pumped when Bravo ran
back to the sideline.
“That was fantastic. Our
kids are going to remember
that for a long time,” Larimer
said.
The Wolverines defense
then turned around and
stuffed Parrish on fourth
down to give their offense
the ball back. However, a pair
of holding penalties, as well
as an unsportsmanlike con-
duct fl ag, pushed the Wol-
touchdown late in the third
quarter, Whiteaker commit-
ted their third turnover of
the contest. The Wolverines
defense gave up two long
touchdown runs in the fi -
nal period to make the score
more lopsided.
“When we turned the
ball over on offense, I think
the kids got discouraged and
got a little fl at,” Larimer said.
“We fell for some (Parrish’s)
ball-fakes and our guys on
the outside got beat for a few
long ones.”
Offensively,
Whiteaker
was able to get just two fi rst
downs in the second half.
“We’re pretty inexperi-
Y
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ERS
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enced, so we have to try and
keep things really simple,”
Lairmer said.
While Larimer knows that
his team needs improvement
going into the rest of the
season, he also feels like this
squad has what it takes to be
more competitive.
“We’re big enough and
physical enough to com-
pete, we just need to work
really hard on our blocking
schemes and work really hard
on our containment,” Larim-
er said.
Whiteaker goes on the
road to take on Stephens at
4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct.
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