COTTAGE GROVE -- A dominant first quarter propelled Santiam past defending champion and top-seeded Monroe 44-13 in a 2A football semifinal Saturday morning at Cottage Grove High School.
The Wolverines scored on their first three possessions and outgained Monroe, 169-11, to open up a 22-0 advantage after 12 minutes of play. They were never headed thereafter.
The win avenged a 36-22 loss to Monroe in last year’s state championship game.
“I’d be lying if I said the kids didn’t have that on their mind a little bit,” said Santiam head coach Carl Rupp. “We told our guys this is not about revenge for last year but about getting to the championship this year and they responded really well. But yeah, when a team beats you in the championship game you remember it.”
Santiam advances to play Special District 2 rival Kennedy in the championship game. The Wolverines won at Kennedy 44-0 in Week 3.
Santiam scored on its opening possession Saturday after Trevor Whitmire recovered Monroe’s onside kick attempt on its own 46-yard line. The Wolverines moved methodically down the field, mixing runs by Trevor Tinney and Brody Davidson, to get deep into Dragon territory. QB Colin Thurston finished off the 10-play drive with a juking 13-yard run up the middle.
Leading 6-0, Santiam got the ball right back when Thurston, kicking off, recovered his own onside kick at the Monroe 45-yard line. A fly sweep of 36 yards to Connor Forste got Santiam inside the 10-yard-line, but the Wolverines could not score. Still, they pinned Monroe so far back that a three-and-out and poor punt set up Santiam again at the Monroe 19-yard-line. The Wolverines cashed in on a seven-yard run by Davidson to lead 14-0 with 3:03 left in the quarter.
Santiam got the ball right back once again when another onside kick nestled in the arms of Alex Mitchell.
Rupp said the prime reason Santiam kicked short again and again was to keep the ball out of the hands of Monroe star Zach Young.
“We didn’t want to kick to Zach Young because he’s one of the best athletes in the state,” Rupp explained. “It worked out that the ball took some fortuitous bounces on the turf and we were able to get a couple of them. It felt too good to be true.”
Four plays after that second recovery, the Wolverines were in the end zone again, courtesy of a 36-yard swing pass from Thurston to Forste. Before Monroe had run its fourth play from scrimmage, the game was effectively over.
Monroe was thwarted for most of the half by a stout Santiam defense led by linebackers Dustin Keys and Quenten Cook and had zero yards of total offense before a late drive of 61 yards put points on the board for the Dragons. The key play was a 27-yard scoring pass from QB Brody Ballard to Dylan Irwin with 22 seconds remaining before the break.
Monroe had a chance to get back into the game on its opening drive of the second half and got a close as the 25-yard line before the Santiam defense seized up and got a stop. Santiam took over on its own 27-yard-line and rushed six straight times for 73 yards, with Tinney finding the end zone untouched from 27 yards out to restore a three-touchdown lead.
Monroe (10-2) was stymied on its next drive by Santiam’s swarming defense and the Wolverines needed just two plays to add to their lead. Tinney swept left and used two vicious stiff arms on a 74-yard scoring run that effectively put the game out of reach.
Tinney finished the game with 181 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Davidson added 109 yards and two scores on 18 totes.
Young, who came in with almost 1,900 yards rushing for Monroe, was held to 62 yards on 19 tries. Ballard completed seven of 17 passes for 105 yards, most to Irwin, who caught four for 79.
Santiam (10-1) finished with a 420-195 advantage in yards gained. Keys led the way defensively for Santiam with 11 total tackles.
“We stuck to our game plan and executed flawlessly on defense,” said Keys. “All credit to the defensive line for setting the tone. Our D-line stepped up tremendously. It made the job way easier for everyone behind them. It was just a great performance all the way around.”
