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North Valley slides past Brookings By TIM PYLE MERLIN - Fumbles outnumbered passes. Fog hampered visibility. Mud splattered everywhere. But to the North Valley football team, Friday night's 16-6 home win over Brookings-Harbor in the second round of the OSAA-U.S. Bank Class 3A playoffs was a thing of beauty. The Knights, the undefeated champions of the Skyline Conference and the No. 4-ranked team in the state, fell behind 6-0 in the second quarter, then scored 13 points in the waning minutes of the first half and tacked on a third-quarter field goal for the final margin. "We just keep doing the things we need to," said fourth-year North Valley head coach John George, who picked up his inaugural playoff win with the Knights in their first postseason appearance since 1997. The No. 7 Bruins, co-champions of the Far West League, outgained North Valley in total yardage, 283-257, but they were done in by costly mistakes. The turning point came with just more than one minute to play in the first half. On their previous possession, the Knights (10-0) had taken a 7-6 lead on speedy senior wide receiver Cole Parmelee's 54-yard touchdown reception from junior quarterback Tim Cunha. Brookings (9-2) faced a fourth-and-one at its own 22-yard line with 1:07 remaining. The Bruins lined up in a tight formation, and a direct snap intended for senior running back Scott Hodges - whether for a pooch punt or otherwise - flew well high. Hodges tracked it down inside his own 5-yard line and was taken down by a barrage of North Valley defenders at the 1. On first-and-goal, Cunha dove in himself, and the Knights had a 13-6 halftime edge. "That's a pretty critical play down deep," George said. North Valley started the second half with a seven-play, 56-yard drive capped by Parmelee's 22-yard field goal to go up 16-6. Senior tailback Colin Beard, who bounced back from an early fumble to finish with 183 yards rushing on 19 carries, had runs of 30 and 16 yards on the march. Brookings had but three more possessions, as the game clock was stopped by incomplete passes just three times all night. There were seven passes overall, compared to 11 fumbles. The first of the Bruins' last three series was a three-and-out; the second went backward 18 yards and out to ruin a 21-yard scamper by Hodges that earned a first down at the Knights' 24; and the third ended with a lost fumble on fourth-and-goal from the North Valley 6 with 1:33 remaining. The Bruins' double-wing offense is anything but ideal for comebacks, and they were limited to 98 second-half yards by a punishing Knights defense. "The defense started out very well and played outstanding the entire night," said George, whose squad handled an offense that had put up an average of 50.3 points in its previous six games. "We had some great stands." North Valley, which has four shutouts and yielded 7.6 points per contest during the regular season, travels to Scappoose in the quarterfinals next weekend. The Indians, also 10-0, trounced The Dalles, 42-14, on Friday and rolled to the Cowapa League title during the regular season. Even before he knew who the Knights would get next, Parmelee said North Valley's approach would stay the same. "What do we have, The Dalles or Scappoose?" he asked, from the center of the postgame celebration after scoring his 16th TD of the season. "They're both tough ballclubs; we just have to play our game and hope for the best." Brookings-Harbor ..................................... 0 6 0 0 - 6 North Valley ........................................... 0 13 3 0 - 16 B - Hodges 4 run (kick missed) N - Parmelee 54 pass from Cunha (Parmelee kick) N - Cunha 1 run (kick missed) N - FG Parmelee 22 Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.