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PREP FB: Crater rally comes up short in Eugene By Mail Tribune staff Updated: Oct 07, 2022 11:42 PM A A EUGENE — Crater was unable to rally from an early deficit despite a second-half surge Friday night, falling 18-13 to Willamette in Midwestern League play. The Comets (2-4, 1-3 MWL) got a brotherly connection from Ben Higginson to Luke Higginson to trim Willamette’s lead with about six minutes remaining but were unable to finish off the comeback with any points on their two final drives. Just after it looked like Willamette (3-3, 2-2) had taken control with a long touchdown to go up 18-7 midway through the fourth quarter, the Comets came up with a quick response when the Higginson brothers combined on a 41-yard touchdown down the middle of the field to slice the Wolverines’ lead to 18-13. Crater had two chances to rally but had starting field positions of its own 20- and 3-yard lines, and turned the ball over on downs on both possessions. After the Comets failed to score in the first half, senior running back Andrew Kelly gathered an option pitch from Ben Higginson and broke four tackles before breaking free for a 22-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to cut into a 12-0 deficit. Crater0076—13 Willamette6606—18 W — Alexander 33 run (kick failed) W — Rather 40 pass from Prescott (pass failed) C — Kelly 22 run (Bramucci kick) W — Brooks 65 pass from Prescott (pass failed) C — L. Higginson 41 pass from B. Higginson (run failed) GRANTS PASS 18, NORTH SALEM 14: At Salem, senior Jace Blanchard found Luke Morgan on a 3-yard touchdown pass with 1:35 to go to give Grants Pass a thrilling win over North Salem in South/Central Football Conference action. Blanchard’s TD pass to Morgan was the only score for either team in the second half after Grants Pass (4-2, 2-2 SCFC) went into the half trailing 14-12. Grants Pass pulled within two points with just 12 seconds to go in the first half on Blanchard’s 14-yard TD pass tom Malachi Kinyon. The Cavemen took a 6-0 lead on Trevor Reeves’ 3-yard TD run, but North Salem (4-2, 2-2) answered back with a short rushing touchdown from Josiah Davis and a 42-yard strike from TC Manumaleuna to Erick Gonzalez to put the Vikings ahead 14-6. Blanchard finished 10-of-23 for 90 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Reeves ran for 48 yards on 16 carries. Davis carried the ball 28 times for 115 yards and a TD. Grants Pass6606—18 North Salem7700—14 GP — Reeves 3 run (run failed) NS — Davis 1 run (Davis kick) NS — Gonzalez 42 pass from Manumaleuna (Davis kick) GP — Kinyon 14 pass from Blanchard (Blanchard pass failed) GP — Morgan 3 pass from Blanchard (kick failed) MARSHFIELD 45, ASHLAND 8: At Ashland, Ashland was able to pull within 14 points late in the second quarter but defending Class 4A state champion Marshfield pulled away for the Big Sky Conference win at Walter A. Phillips Field. Trailing 22-0, quarterback Jojo Harrower connected with Marcelo Saturen on a 62-yard touchdown pass. Harrower then added a two-point conversion throw to Gavin White to make it 22-8, with the Grizzlies (1-5, 0-4 Big Sky) hoping to take some momentum in the second half. Marshfield (5-1, 3-0), though, kept the Ashland offense at bay to extend its lead, outscoring the Grizzlies 23-0 in the second half. Quarterback Landon Croff finished 22-of-32 for 344 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Pirates, who outgained the Grizzlies 473-144. Ashland had to forfeit last week’s game against Mazama due to lack of players because of rampant sickness in the program. Marshfield148167—45 Ashland0800—8 M — Rogers 89 kickoff return (kick failed) M — George 59 pass from Croff (Croff run) M — Johnson 24 pass from Croff (Croff run) A — Saturen 62 pass from Harrower (White pass from Harrower) M — Lemmons 27 pass from Croff (kick good) M — Safety M — Bouska 27 pass from Croff (kick good) M — Rogers 37 pass from Croff (kick good) ST. MARY’S 26, DOUGLAS 8: At Winston, St. Mary’s senior Jaden Foster ignited his team with a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown to highlight a strong defensive night for the Crusaders in Far West League play. St. Mary’s (5-1 FWL) trailed 6-0 after Wesley McWhorter pulled in a 4-yard TD pass from Luke Robbins in the first quarter for Douglas (2-4 FWL), but Foster turned things around in short order with his pick-six. It was 6-all in the third quarter when TJ Flowers put St. Mary’s ahead for good on a 37-yard TD run, and Bradley Patten followed with a 19-yard TD reception from Tyson Delplanche in the fourth quarter. Indiana Olson, who rushed 20 times for 100 yards, put a stamp on the victory with a 3-yard scoring run. Flowers finished with 50 yards rushing on nine carries, and Delplanche was 5-for-16 for 60 yards passing. Bradley Patten and Spencer Patten joined Foster in the secondary to lead the defensive effort against the Trojans. St. Mary’s06713—26 Douglas6002—8 D — McWhorter 4 pass from Robbins (run failed) SM — Foster 55 interception return (kick blocked) SM — Flowers 37 run (Friesen kick) SM — B. Patten 19 pass from Delplanche (kick failed) SM — Olson 3 run (Friesen kick) D — Safety, snap into the end zone Photo by Denise Baratta. Ben Higginson, shown completing a pass over defenders from North Eugene last week, tossed a 41-yard touchdown to older brother Luke Higginson in Friday’s loss at Willamette.