Rainier erases 30-point deficit to outslug Warrenton
Saturday, October 28, 2006 12:53 AM PDT
By Rick S. Alvord
Printable version
E-mail this articleRAINIER -- Thor Ware didn't raise his voice.
Didn't chew anyone out, didn't throw any clipboards, didn't dump the Gatorade bucket onto the locker-room floor.
But he did utter a four-letter word.
Hope.
After taking Warrenton's best punch in the first two quarters -- and it was a dandy -- the Rainier Columbians ran for cover at halftime and constructed a plan to dig their way out of a 30-0 hole.
As plans go, this was football's version of the Normandy Invasion.
The Columbians, with a large homecoming crowd dancing in the aisles, pulled off a second-half rally of monumental proportions and stunned the Warriors 32-30 in a Lewis and Clark 3A League football game at Chris Corl Field.
Senior quarterback Bobby Harding, who was asked to shoulder the second-half load in the Columbians' "Diesel Package" rushing attack, finished with staggering numbers: 342 yards on 39 carries, including 281 in the second half on 28 attempts.
In addition to spearheading the comeback with his legs, Harding also threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Billy Zimmerman in the third quarter to go along with his two rushing TDs.
"Coach just told us to have hope. Don't give up hope," said the energized Harding after the game. "He didn't get mad at us. He just said to keep fighting and that he had faith in us."
Rainier's defense, which surrendered 258 yards in the first half, got downright rude when it counted the most. Warrenton managed 9 second-half yards, with star quarterback Eric Gantenbein completing 2-of-9 tosses for 2 yards in the final two periods.
Gantenbein carved up the Columbians for 164 yards on 8-of-13 passing in the first half, including touchdown tosses to Dan Wolfe (8 yards), Brandon Garcia (23 yards) and Michael O'Casey (2 yards). He also ran in a 1-yard TD.
The victory, coupled with Clatskanie's 41-6 victory at Vernonia on Friday, sets up a winner-take-all showdown between the Columbians (7-2, 4-0 league) and Tigers (6-3, 4-0) next Friday night at Clatskanie.
"I think we may have overlooked Warrenton a little," said Ware, Rainier's fourth-year head coach, amid a wild celebration at midfield with players and fans. "But fortunately we woke up in time and played Rainier football in the second half. Have you ever seen anything like that? That was crazy. Absolutely crazy."
He speaks the truth.
Warrenton did what it wanted in the first half, marching 71 yards in eight plays for its first score and 50 yards in nine plays for its second. Leading 14-0 with three minutes left in the first quarter, the Warriors held the Columbians without a first down and took advantage of a 16-yard punt to set up shop at the Rainier 44.
Veteran Warrenton coach John Mattila decided to strike quickly, and Gantenbein fired a perfect dart over the middle to Garcia, who squirted between two defenders and galloped into the end zone. Gantenbein's two-point conversion pass to Michael O'Casey made it 22-0 -- still in the opening quarter.
"We didn't know what hit us," Ware said. "They obviously knew what we were going to do offensively, and defensively we couldn't stop them."
A 47-yard screen pass from Gantenbein to O'Casey on Warrenton's next possession set up a 2-yard TD toss on fourth down, again from Gantenbein to O'Casey. Gantenbein, a quick and strong-armed three-year starter, displayed his athleticism on the two-point try when he flicked a short pass to Beau Garcia while in the grasp of Rainier's Jesse Renoude.
It was 30-0 -- and the homecoming floats hadn't even made an appearance.
"We needed to do something that Warrenton would have to deal with, something they hadn't seen from us," Ware said. "We needed the Diesel."
The Diesel Package four-man backfield features direct shotgun-style snaps to either the quarterback (Harding) or tailback (Austin McGlone), with two blockers positioned directly to one side as escorts through the line.
"There's a method to the madness in that package," Ware said. "But I can't really go into detail."
On Rainier's second play of the third quarter, Harding burst through a large hole in the middle and cut back to the left side for a 51-yard touchdown. McGlone ran in the two-point conversion.
Warriors 30, Columbians 8.
Less than four minutes later, Rainier was in the end zone again. Harding's 43-yard run set up his 23-yard TD pass to Zimmerman, and McGlone again ran in the conversion.
Warriors 30, Columbians 16.
Early in the fourth, three straight Harding runs put the ball at the Warrenton 23, and McGlone wiggled his way for a touchdown on the next play. Harding ran in the two-pointer.
Now it was 30-24.
And after the Warriors were stymied again, Harding scored the tying touchdown with a nifty 49-yard run -- then punched in the winning two-point run for a 32-30 lead with 8:30 remaining.
A 30-0 deficit erased in less than a quarter-and-a-half.
"I never chewed them (at halftime)," Ware said. "The coaches challenged them, we made some defensive adjustments, went to the Diesel and told them to have hope. What a way to celebrate homecoming. It was crazy. Just crazy."
Columbians 32, Warriors 30
Warrenton 22 8 0 0 -- 30
Rainier 0 0 16 16 -- 32
W -- Dan Wolfe 8 pass from Eric Gantenbein (Michael O'Casey run)
W -- Gantenbein 1 run (kick failed)
W -- Brandon Garcia 44 pass from Gantenbein (O'Casey pass from Gantenbein)
W -- O'Casey 2 pass from Gantenbein (Beau Torres pass from Gantenbein)
R -- Bobby Harding 51 run (Austin McGlone run)
R -- Billy Zimmerman 23 pass from Harding (McGlone run)
R -- McGlone 23 run (Harding run)
R -- Harding 49 run (Harding run)
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