Story Photos
 Rainier's Andrew Allen breaks away from Vale's David Lemer during the Columbians' home playoff victory Saturday, Nov. 8. Greg Ebersole / The Daily News
|
Columbians preparing for speedy Cascade Christian
Friday, November 14, 2008 2:34 PM PST
By Janine Manny
For The Daily News
Printable version
E-mail this articleRAINIER — Under clear and chilly skies Thursday, Rainier’s football coaches joked about preparations for Saturday’s Oregon 3A quarterfinal playoff game against Cascade Christian.
“We could run the power-I or a single wing offense and pass a lot, depending on the weather,” Rainier head coach Thor Ware said.
“Or, we could run. And run. And then run some more,” assistant coach Doug Knox said.
Known primarily as a running team, Rainier has relied heavily this season on the speed and strength of all-state senior fullback Andrew Allen.
Allen (6-foot, 240 pounds) rushed for 2,092 yards in the regular season and put up another 203 in a first-round state victory over Vale last week.
The Columbians (10-1) have the ability to surprise opponents, however. In the 34-6 rout of Vale, Rainier quarterback Riley Tripp completed a 13-yard touchdown toss to Kyle Palmer and a 10-yard TD pass to Dalton Earlywine for an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Rainier can also confuse opponents with its “diesel” offense, in which Tripp, Earlywine and Allen trade off taking direct snaps.
Rainier lost two players in the win over Vale. Drew Patterson and Alex Field, who play on both the offensive and defensive lines, are sidelined with knee injuries.
“That makes us a little short-handed,” Ware said.
Patterson summed up the Columbians’ desire to defeat Cascade Christian and move on to the semifinals next weekend against Amity or Grant Union.
“I will not enjoy watching Saturday’s game from the sidelines,” Patterson said.
On Wednesday, the Columbians worked out on a muddy practice field during a deluge of heavy raindrops. On Thursday, the field provided better footing. Either way, the Columbians say they are ready for Saturday’s 1 p.m. matchup against the Challengers at Chris Corl Field.
“They’re fast. Super fast,” Ware said of the Challengers, who hail from Jacksonville, Ore., near Medford. “They’ll give us some issues to deal with, but we hope to give them some, too.”
Ware said Cascade Christian (7-3) has a “shifty” quarterback, Jake Gettman, who can be hard to contain.
“They also have a good wingback (Tyler Stickler) and good tight end (Justin Duchien), who is a great receiver and a good blocker,” Ware said.
Duchien is also a tough defensive end and has signed to play next year at Western Oregon University, which produced current New York Giants tight end Kevin Boss.
The type of offense the Challengers run is familiar to Ware and his team.
“They run a double-wing offense,” Ware said. “The same that Clatskanie runs.”
Cascade Christian, the 2006 Oregon Class 3A champion, plays in the Sunset 3A Conference, perhaps Oregon’s toughest league in the 3A classification. The Challengers’ only league loss this season came against defending state champion and top-ranked Gold Beach, 43-7.
The Challengers beat Santiam Christian 34-21 last week in the first round of the playoffs. Rainier struggled to a 14-7 win over Santiam Christian in its first game of the season.
Allen said his team is pumped up and ready to go Saturday. He is predicting a Rainier victory by two touchdowns.
“We’re excited,” he said. “We have a good game plan and we practiced well all week. Everyone is doing their job and doing it well.”
Allen said the game will depend on the condition of the field, which could remain solid if the weather forecast — partly cloudy but dry — holds until Saturday.
“It will be a good game,” Allen said. “It’s a big deal that Rainier is going to state for the second year in a row.”
As always, Allen said he is depending on the steady play of his offensive line.
“It’s easy to run when they’re opening holes big enough to drive trucks through,” Allen said. “They make me look better than I am.”
Junior fullback and linebacker Curtis Kauffman, who leads the Columbians in tackles and sacks this year, said the defensive line is not “too worried” about the speed of Cascade Christian.
“They’re faster, but we’re fast, too,” Kauffman said. “We have a good game plan and we’ll stop them.”
Kauffman wants to make sure that all Rainier fans know the game is at Rainier High School at 1 p.m. Saturday, and not at Kalama. There was some talk of using Kalama’s turf field if Rainier’s was too muddy.
“There is a lot of hype and Rainier’s stands should be full,” Kauffman said. “Everyone I know is going to the game.”
Past Month's Most Commented Stories