Scappoose overcomes turnovers, and weather in 28-13 Cowapa League win

Seaside may have been a little more motivated than the Scappoose Indians on Friday night, they were fighting for a playoff berth and their first win over the Tribe in years.

The Gulls are an improved team and didn’t make it easy on Scappoose. The Indians came out on top, 28-13, in a hard-fought, slugfest that saw 11 turnovers on a rainy night.

“It was a ‘heckuva’ game,” Tribe Coach Sean McNabb said. “We talked about it all week—this is not the same team we’ve faced in the past. They have a new coach (Jeff Roberts) that’s done a good job of heading them in the right direction. They can give you some trouble on both sides of the ball.”

It turned out to be the toughest game the Tribe has had since they lost to 5A Roosevelt (now 6-2) in the season opener.

The Indians never looked out of it, though, even after Seaside stopped Scappoose’s opening drive on downs, and then marched down field 68 yards for the first score of the game. A 16-yard touchdown pass completed the drive.

Losing the lead got Scappoose’s attention. They picked up the onsides kick at midfield, moved to the Seaside 33 on a penalty, and then quarterback Taylor Loss found Paul Revis wide-open for a 32-yard touchdown pass. Scappoose still trailed after missing the PAT kick.

Matt Shoun then snagged the first of two interceptions on the day. The Tribe drove down the field again. Plays included a 16-yard pass to Kyle Kramer, a 16-yard run by Carson Davison, and finally a 15-yard sideline pass to Revis, who spun and picked his way into the end zone. Revis took the conversion snap and added the two-points.

Neither team mounted much of an attack for the rest of the half. Seaside would be stymied at the Scappoose 10 and their attempted field goal was blocked. It was back and fourth the rest of the way.

Scappoose would play better in the second half, but a steady downpour, a wet ball, and a little wind made it dicey to hold onto the ball. There were 11 turnovers in the game, Scappoose got seven of them—four interceptions, and three fumble recoveries. In addition to the two picks by Shoun, Mychal Hortert and Blake Wills also had picks.

“It was slick out,” McNabb said. “You definitely saw that on the ground and it slowed the passing game. I was definitely pleased with the way we ran the football. Carson (Davison) had a great game with 146 yards. Seaside was one of the better opponents we played this year. I could see their improvement every week from the films we watched.”

Seaside would tighten up the game. They got a big run, and then connected on a 15-yard pass. The kick was wide or the game would have been tied.

“We came up big on defense in the second half,” McNabb said. “Matt Blaser played well. Matt Shoun had a couple picks, as well as Hortert and Blake Wills. Mick Vanek had a fumble recovery, all at key moments.”

An interception in the fourth started Scappoose on a drive that would put them up by eight. With Davison grinding off big chunks of yardage, the Indians drove down to the Seaside five. From there Davison took it over two plays later. Key to the drive was Loss’ cadence on two plays that got the Gulls to jump offsides and gave Scappoose first downs. Logan Stanton’s kick made it 21-13.

Another interception by Shoun stalled a Seaside drive at midfield. Scappoose quickly started moving the ball and on fourth down Loss found Kyle Kramer wide open for the score. After Stanton’s kick it was 28-13.

“We set something up to Justice (Oman) earlier and that would result in Kyle being wide open. That sealed the deal,” McNabb said.

The win left Scappoose at 4-0 in league with just a visit from Astoria remaining on their schedule. While the Fishermen have three forfeits on their record, and a loss to Banks last Friday, McNabb said there are certain scenarios that keep Scappoose from being declared the league champion just yet. Astoria has said they will not take the league championship if they win it, but that’s probably off the table now anyway. Bottom line for the Tribe, McNabb said, is that they will be league champs if they beat Astoria on Friday.

If Scappoose wins, they will get a bye from the play-in round of state, and host the first-round state playoff game. If they stay ranked fourth, they would also host in the second round, and possibly the semifinals. Games, however, could move to “turf” fields after the first round.

McNabb said Astoria presents some problems, “Jeremy Poyer is a big strong kid that can throw the ball a mile. He’s big and runs well. We want to keep him in the pocket and do a great job of covering receivers. Astoria mixes it up. They ran quite a bit against Banks, but threw a lot against Seaside. They have a solid running back in Wyatt Wullger, and a couple of good receivers. Our defense has to hold their guys in check.”

Scoring

Scapposoe 14 0 0 14—28

Seaside 7 0 6 0—13

Se—Lucas Clark 16-yard pass from Kevin LaCoste (Vincent Arcadio kick)

Sc—Paul Revis 32-yard pass from Taylor Loss (kick failed)

Sc—Revis 15-yard pass from Loss (Revis run)

Se—Aaron Tadei 15-yard pass from LaCoste (kick failed)

Sc—Carson Davison 3-yard run (Logan Stanton kick)

Sc—Kyle Kramer 54-yard pass from Loss (Stanton kick)