Canby Herald Online

Video: No. 5 Canby survives scare from Newberg

Cougars prevail 33-27 in conference opener on Thursday night

• By: Alex Tam  
• Published: 10/8/2009 10:00:24 PM
• Last Updated: 10/13/2009 3:39:50 PM

Photo By: Alex TamCanby 33, Newberg 27
Newberg sophomore Wyatt Mahoney (center) is tackled by Canby's Mike Raub (left) and Marco Zamora (right) during the Cougars' 33-27 victory on Thursday night at Canby High School.

Late in the fourth quarter, Erik Jernstrom remembered exactly what he had learned all week long while studying Newberg’s offense.

The Canby High School senior safety  and the Cougars’  defense struggled for the second half, but made just enough plays en route to a too-close-for-comfort 33-27 victory on Thursday night at home.

Jernstrom stepped in and intercepted Newberg quarterback Matt Dufour with 1:11 remaining in the game that sealed the win in the Pacific Conference opener.

“Everything just fell out like I thought it was going to be,” Jernstrom said. “We worked on it all week in practice and when the play came up, I just took the opportunity and made the pick.

“I made an educated guess. I was pretty lucky.”

While the Canby players and coaches were happy with the outcome, none would admit to being happy in how they got there.

The Cougars held Newberg – who entered as the state’s third highest scoring team (39.5 points per game) – to zero points in the first half.

Canby took a 14-0 halftime lead off senior quarterback Josh Yoder’s 9-yard run and senior fullback Rodi Samoilov’s 1-yard run in the second quarter.

The Tigers closed to within 14-7 when Dufour found senior Conor Hazenberg on a 24-yard touchdown pass with 4:13 left in the third. Canby responded immediately when Yoder connected with senior Cody Smith on an 80-yard touchdown for a 20-7 lead.

“That combination right there played very, very well – those two kids,” Canby coach Mike Doty said.

Newberg rallied to take a surprising 21-20 lead when senior Joey Chandler scored on a 10-yard run and sophomore Wyatt Mahoney scored on a 55-yard run with 4:58 left in the game.

The Tigers nearly scored again in the series prior to Mahoney’s score but Canby senior Nikita Martishev intercepted Dufour near the goal-line.

But facing an upset loss, Canby knew it had to respond offensively.

“We had to get a score to give us some momentum,” Yoder said.

Yoder earned the first down on a fourth-and-1 play on a quarterback sneak, and on the ensuing play hooked up with Smith for a 50-yard touchdown to give Canby a 26-21 lead.

“It was the second time tonight,” said Smith, who admitted it was the same play on each touchdown pass. “Josh made an awesome pass and it just happened.”

Following Jernstrom’s interception, Samoilov broke loose for a 29-yard touchdown run to give Canby a 33-21 lead.
Yoder was 12 of 14 for a season-high 226 yards and two touchdowns. Samoilov led the Cougars’ rushing game with 10 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns.

Smith had four receptions for a season-high 149 yards and two touchdowns.

While Canby survived the scare, it knows it has to play better over the next four weeks of conference play with McMinnville next Friday at 7 p.m. on the road.

“A win’s a win,” Smith said. “I’m not going to complain about a win but it’s not a good-looking one. Defensively, we came out in the second half and we were thinking too highly and they were picking us apart for awhile.”

For Newberg, Dufour was 18 of 26 for 234 yards, along with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Mahoney had nine carries for 71 yards and a touchdown, and Chandler had 14 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown.

Canby improved to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in Pacific Conference play.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Newberg Tigers	0	0	14	13	27
Canby Cougars	0	14	6	13	33

Scoring summary
2nd
10:08  C - Josh Yoder 9 run (Andrew Mikkelsen PAT)
00:01  C - Rodi Samoilov 1 run (Mikkelsen PAT)
3rd
04:13  N - Conor Hazenberg 24 pass from Matt Dufour (Scott Goodman PAT)
04:00  C - Cody Smith 80 pass from Yoder (PAT no good)
01:31  N - Joey Chandler 10 run (Goodman PAT)
4th
04:58  N - Wyatt Mahoney 55 run (Goodman PAT)
02:33  C - Smith 50 pass from Yoder (2-point conversion no good)
00:56  C - Samoilov 29 run (Mikkelsen PAT)
00:00  N - Mahoney 25 pass from Dufour

Game statistics
PASSING: Canby - Josh Yoder (12-14, 226, 2 TD); Newberg - Matt Dufour (18-26, 234, 2 TD, 2 INT)
RUSHING: Canby - Rodi Samoilov (10-60, 2 TD), Yoder (5-16, TD), Gavin Osterberg (7-46), Brandon Harms (3-10), Dustin Hagaman (1-6), Adam Bell (2-3), Erik Jernstrom (1-3); Newberg - Wyatt Mahoney (9-71, TD), Joey Chandler (14-56, TD), Dufour (8-89), Kevin Winterfield (4-10), Jordan Howell (1-3)
RECEIVING: Canby - Cody Smith (4-149, 2 TD), Harms (2-34), Ryan Wall (4-28), Masson Meserve (1-9); Newberg - Mahoney (1-25, TD), Conor Hazenberg (1-24, TD), Howell (6-75), Cody Hunter-Brown (6-66), Eli Votaw (3-37)

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