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Junction City too much for Phoenix By TIM TROWER JUNCTION CITY - Gordie Crowston hoped it wouldn't show that this was Phoenix's first trip to the OSAA-U.S. Bank Class 3A state football playoffs in eight years. Seven turnovers later and a 49-14 first-round loss Friday to perennial playoff participant Junction City suggested otherwise. The Pirates, beset by their own offensive woes and victimized by the near flawless play of Tigers quarterback Stephen Johnson and his sidekick running game, ended the season with a 5-5 overall record. "I was really hoping it wouldn't show," nodded Crowston, who guided the Pirates to a tie for second place in the Skyline Conference in his first season, "but I think it did. Once they knocked us off balance, we weren't able to recover, and they took advantage of it." Junction City, ranked No. 5 and 9-1, was picked to finish fifth in the Sky-Em League because it had precious few returners from last season. But physical lines on both sides of the ball and the heady play of the senior Johnson have seen them through. Johnson completed 14-of-17 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns before taking a seat midway through the third quarter. "Stephen had a good night," said Junction City coach Mark Henderson. "He was really on. He made some really nice decisions, and our offense was really clicking because of it." While Pirates quarterback Ross Ellis was getting bull-rushed by the Tigers, who featured 280-pound Nathan Burden and 230-pound Eric Lillengreen up front, Johnson repeatedly scrambled and made something happen. His improvisation led to two first-half touchdowns, including one on the last play of the half, a 27-yard strike to Brad Hansen. That made it 35-0. "He ran around back there for eight or nine seconds and we were in man coverage," said Phoenix's Brady Rhodes. "He had a lot of time to look for the open man." If it wasn't Johnson, it was Brandon Nystrom, who ran for most of his 110 yards and both touchdowns in the first half. "They are very stout," said Rhodes. "They were overpowering. We had a lot of turnovers, but they have a lot of good skill guys. We did terrible in the first half, but we came back in the second half and regained some of our pride, I guess." Junction City asserted itself first with four minutes to play in the first quarter. Leading 7-0, it backed Phoenix into a fourth-and-28 at its own 2-yard line. With virtually no room, punter Eric Kessler fielded a low snap, then was swarmed under by the defense. Rather than taking a safety, he tried to pass the ball and it fell incomplete, setting the Tigers up at the 2. Moments later, Nystrom was in to make it 14-0. "Eric knew right away he shouldn't have thrown it," said Crowston. It was after that series that Phoenix sustained its longest drive of the night, going from its own 19 to the Tigers 13 and using 17 plays. But on the last play, Ellis and Kessler got crossed up on a handoff, fumbled, and Burden recovered, preventing the Pirates from making a game of it. Junction City, getting 40 yards on the ground from Nystrom, stormed 84 yards in less than three minutes to deliver the knockout punch. Johnson found Martin for 15 yards to make it 21-0. Two interceptions before halftime led to two more Tigers scores and sealed the outcome. "When you lose your rhythm, you throw the ball a little too late, a little too early," said Crowston. "We just weren't hitting. I still believe some things were there, but rhythm is a funny thing." If the Pirates didn't have it this game, he and his players hope they've established something. "I'm very, very proud," said Rhodes. "Coach said we put Phoenix on the map. Before, if you said Phoenix football, people laughed. Now we're getting a little respect." Crowston, too, says the level of commitment to having a strong football program is far greater than when he first brought the players together it the summer. "It's so dramatically different, individually and collectively," he said, "it's not even recognizable. "You hate to go out with a score like this, but it doesn't take away from the season we had. Hopefully, this is a stepping stone for next year. Playoff experience is one of those intangible things." The senior Kessler finished his Pirate career with 103 yards rushing on 28 carries and scored the Pirates' first touchdown on a 2-yard run. Sophomore Jimi Lockheed had the other score, an 8-yard burst up the middle. Phoenix..............................................0 0 8 6 - 14 Junction City.................................14 21 7 7 - 49 JC - Martin 25 pass from Johnson (Martin kick) JC - Nystrom 1 run (Martin kick) JC - Martin 25 pass from Johnson (Martin kick) JC - Nystrom 21 run (Martin kick) JC - Hansen 27 pass from Johnson (Martin kick) JC - Blomquist 8 pass from Johnson (Martin kick) P - Kessler 2 run(Kessler run) JC - Blomquist 28 pass from McClintock (Martin kick) P - Lockheed 8 run (pass failed) Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 76-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.