Gladstone came from behind twice in the first half, and took a 3 point halftime lead on a 25 yd. Austin Cote field goal with 25.2 seconds left.

Tyler Smith ran for 155 of his 196 total rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, in the first half.

After the Gladiators built a 22-12 lead on a 42 yard pass from Taylor Taft to Darrell Fields 7.4 seconds before the end of the third quarter, the Cougars battled back when Brendan Brucker stripped Paul Sander on the Gladstone 1 yard line, and Dillon Davidson scored 3 plays later, with 44.3 seconds left.

However, Gladstone recovered the on-side kick, and ran out the clock, as the #7 Gladiators held off the #6 Cougars in the second game played on the brand new field turf surface at Dick Baker Stadium.

The New Turf at Dick Baker Stadium.

Cascade came off a 35-20 loss at LaSalle, while Gladstone won 26-13 at North Marion. The game was played under clear skys, with temperatures in the 50’s.

1^st. qtr.

Cascade took the initial lead on an R.J. Williams 3 yard run 2 minutes and 15 seconds into the game, capping a 56 yard opening drive. Key plays of the drive were a 17 yard half back pass from Williams to Paul Federico, which pushed the Cougars into Gladiator territory at the 27, and quarterback Bryce Petersen’s 24 yard strike to Casey Johnson on the next play.

R.J. Williams Throws a Halfback Pass to Paul Federico.

R.J. Williams Headed for a Touchdown.

Smith gave an indication of things to come with a 31 yard return of the ensuing kickoff, and Gladstone started at their 44. Cascade was back in business when Gladstone quarterback Taylor Taft fumbled on the second play of the drive. Clint Olheiser recovered the fumble at the Gladiator 43.

Another indication of things to come came 3 plays later when the Gladiators’ Austin Foteff picked off the first of 3 interceptions Petersen would throw on the night.

An exchange of 3 & out possessions followed. Federico sacked Taft to key the Cougar stop, then Brady Reiger corralled Williams for no gain to cap the Gladiator stand.

After 3 short Smith rushes netted a Gladiator first down, Taft hit Alex Armstrong on a slant route from the right side for 36 yards to reach the Cougar 34. Smith then went straight through the Cougar defense for the tieing touchdown with 2:05 left in the first quarter. A partially blocked kick left the score 6-6.

Cascade answered with an 8 play drive that lasted into the second quarter. Williams started it with a 50 yard jaunt around the right end, and back through the middle of the Gladiator secondary, that went all the way to the Gladiator 25.

Gladstone brings R.J. Williams Down After a 50 Yard Gain.

2nd. qtr.

Davidson capped the drive 2 plays into the second quarter with a 1 yard blast off left tackle. A pass attempt for the 2 point conversion failed.

Gladstone, and more specifically Smith, answered with a 5 play, 79 yard scoring drive. Smith bounced outside and went down the right sideline for 62 yards on the second play, and after Sander pounded the middle into Brucker a couple of times, Fields ran loose on the left side for a 14 yard score at the 8:47 mark. The Gladiators also tried to toss for two on the conversion, but Johnson intercepted it, leaving it tied at 12.

Williams fumbled and Thane Rice recovered at the Gladiator 34 to stop Cascade’s next drive. A pass interference penalty on Dakota Brown advanced Gladstone to their 49, but 4 plays later, Taft fumbled it back to the Cougars.

Cascade went 3 & punt, due largely to a 7 yard sack of Petersen by a blitzing Smith, and Gladstone took over at their 49 with 3:37 to go until halftime.

A 15 yard slant route from Taft to Fields on the same route that worked to Armstrong to set up the first score, followed immediately by a 17 yard option right to Smith, pushed Gladstone to the Cascade 12. The Cougar defense stiffened, and forced the Gladiators to settle for Fote’s 25 yard field goal.

The first half action was far from over, though. Brown took the kickoff 19 yards out to the Gladiator 46. But Fields intercepted Petersen on the next play at about the Gladiator 35, headed for the east sideline, and wasn’t forced out until he reached the Cougar 32.

An exchange of a face mask penalty on Cascade and an unsportsmanlike conduct flag on Gladstone got the crowd even more excited, then Taft found Reiger for 27 yards to the Cascade 15 with .3 seconds left. Time out Gladiators! Cascade linebacker Kyle Coots found Taft for a sack to end the Gladiator last gasp, and the half, with Gladstone up 15-12.

3rd. qtr.

The Gladiators took the second half kickoff, and Taft immediately found a wide open Foteff for 22 yards.

Taylor Taft Looks for a Target.

But after that, Taft found mostly Brucker, and after eating up 4 ½ minutes and a time out, the Gladiators punted.

Darrell Fields Running Hard for Yards Against the Cascade Defense.

A holding penalty wiped a 15 yard reverse by Brown off the books, but Petersen answered with a 35 yard completion to Brown.

Bryce Petersen Looks Over the Gladstone Coverage.

Williams added 14 more yards, but then Petersen’s pass was well off target, and Rice picked it off, taking it to the Gladiator 34.

Thane Rice Eyes Gladstone's Third Interception.

Another exchange of 3 & punt possessions ensued, then the Gladiators built the biggest lead of the game with their last score, the 42 yard score that a darting Fields took from the left side thru the middle to the right corner of the end zone. Cote’s kick was the only successful conversion of the night, building the 22-12 lead.

4^th. qtr.

The first 3 plays of Cascade’s 9 play drive were in the third quarter, but possibly the biggest play of the night was the last one, when, on 4^th. down, Petersen hit Federico in the left flat for about 5 yards, which was about 2 inches short of the first down. The Gladiators took over on downs at their 24 with 9:41 left.

The Gladiators used 8 plays and 2 delay of game penalties to eat 4:55 off the clock. A 22 yard double cut run to the right side of the Cougar defense by Smith was the big play of the series, and it looked as though the Gladiators would finish the Cougars off.

Tyler Smith Speed Sweep Thru The Dark for 22 Yards.

But Johnson picked of Taft at the Cougar 25 with 4:46 left. It’s the only interception Taft has tossed so far this season.

It took 12 plays, wrapped around several penalties, before the Gladiators got Cascade stopped, as the full house crowd had the grandstand shaking. Petersen was sacked 3 times, but also found Spencer Beeson for 33 yards on a slant route to keep the drive alive. The drive came up 1 yard short when Petersen under threw Brown open on a post route, and Rice picked off the throw.

But Gladstone was pinned on their 1 yard line, and when Sander tried to pound out some breathing room, Brucker dug the ball loose, and gave Cascade another shot. The Gladiator coaching staff objected that Sander was down, but after the game, Taft credited Brucker with a great play on the strip. Davidson scored on a pitch out to the left, and Cascade elected to try for 2. The Gladiators dropped Williams on the run, which took a late field goal out of the equation.

The Cougars were out of time outs, so the game hinged on the on-side kickoff. Josh Schlabach got a classic high bounce kick, but Armstrong went up in the air and wrapped up the ball. Taft took a knee to finish the festivities.

Postgame

Next week’s games are on Thursday night, due to state wide teacher in-service programs on Friday. Cascade (4-2, 0-2) hosts Molalla (1-5, 0-2) for Homecoming. Molalla lost 50-31 at Central tonight. Gladstone (5-1, 3-0) meets LaSalle (5-0, 3-0) at Alder Creek Middle School, very probably for the Capital Conference Championship next week. LaSalle defeated Stayton tonight 41-0 to spoil the Eagles’ Homecoming.

Gladiator Coach Jon Wolf congratulated his team, who he said “Found a way to win against a good ball club.” Wolf didn’t need to remind his charges of what is in store, but he did anyway, stating “We have a h*** of a game coming up!”

Wolf’s assessment of the night was “Two pretty good teams, though neither played their best.”, referring to the 8 turnovers and multiple penalties. Wolf noted Cascade “Has got athletes. We feel fortunate to get out with the win.”

Wolf described the game as “Back and forth, exciting stuff! We finally got our running going, which we needed. Cascade pretty well took away our passing game.” Taft completed only 6 of 14 passes for 1 touchdown and 127 yards, and his only interception of the season.

Pass defense was one of the surprise key areas of the game, as the fast Gladiator secondary held coverage on a number of occasions when Petersen had extensive time to throw. Cascade Coach Terry Graham saw the absence of sophomore starting quarterback Nic Lamonica, out for the second week with a left knee injury, as a big factor. “We didn’t make the reads and adjustments we needed to.” Which wasted some excellent line blocking efforts. Graham explained “Nic sees things other people don’t see. That is why he is out starting quarterback. Now, we have to re-group, and get ready for Molalla, and Homecoming.”

LaMonica may be out for the rest of the regular season, probably leaving the Cougars needing to win all 4 remaining games to reach the playoffs, which Graham explained as “Our goal for the year.” Graham observed “We had opportunities. This team has got to learn to win games of importance.”

In LaMonica’s absence, Petersen completed 12 of 21 passes for 154 yards, but for no touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. Brown led everyone with 4 catches for 58 yards. Williams added 72 yards and 1 TD on 17 carries, while Davidson had 4 yards on 3 carries, but 2 were for touchdowns.

The junior running back Smith acknowledged his large line as being instrumental in his career best 196 yard rushing effort, stating “The line did very well.” Smith also discussed the best Gladiator defense in years, which he is a key part of, describing them as “Very stingy. We never give up in the Red Zone.” Smith added 2 catches for 12 yards, and 31 return yards, for a total of 239 yards of total offense.

Taft also credited “Execution”, especially on the option plays, and “Not giving up.” when Cascade was ahead, or when they were mounting their comeback. Even when Cascade & Brucker took the ball at the one yard line, Taft knew “We needed to run more clock.” Which the defense did, forcing Cascade to take 3 plays to score.

Taft described next week’s showdown with the Falcons as “A BIG game. I know they will be up; we must match their intensity. It’s a key game, we need it for the playoffs. I’m excited to see how the season plays out.”

A sell-out crowd is expected for the once and again Capital Conference rivalry, between the league’s 2 metro. members, separated only by 5 minutes of suburbia. Both teams feature star running backs in the Gladiator’s Smith, and the Falcons’s Chris Nagel, last year’s co-player of the year in the Capital Conference.

Both teams also feature dangerous quarterbacks in Taft and LaSalle’s Vince Hicks, who both have blazing speed at their disposal in the Gladiators’ Fields, and the Falcons Cam Keeney. Both teams also feature sizable lines, providing both run and pass options for their offenses.

1st. qtr.

Cascade – R.J. Williams 6 yd. run (kick wide) 9:45

Gladstone – Tyler Smith 34 yd. run (kick blocked) 2:05

2^nd. qtr.

C – Dillon Davidson 1 yd. run (pass failed) 11:18

G – Smith 14 yd. run (pass failed) 8:47

G – Austin Cote 25 yd. FG :25.2

3^rd. qtr.

G – Darrell Fields 42 yd. pass from Taylor Taft (Cote kick) :07.4

4^th. qtr.

C – Davidson 1 yd. run (run failed) :44.3

Rushing

Cascade – Williams 17-72, 1 TD; Davidson 3-4, 2 TD; Bryce Petersen 6-(-22).

Gladstone – Smith 18-196, 2 TD; Paul Sander 6-5; Taft 10-1; Fields 5-19.

Passing

Cascade – Petersen 12-22-0 TD, 4 Int., 154 yds.; Williams 1-1-0 TD, 0 Int., 17 yds.

Gladstone – Taft 6-14-1 TD, 1 Int., 127 yds.

Receiving

Cascade – Dakota Brown 4-58; Casey Johnson 3-36yy; Paul Federico 3-27; Spencer Beeson 2-51; Williams 1-(-1).

Gladstone – Fields 2-57, 1 TD; Smith 2-12; Alex Armstrong 1-36; Austin Foteff 1-22.

Returns

Cascade – Brown 2-14; Federico 1-15.

Gladstone – Fields 2-21; Smith 1-31.

Fumbles-Lost

Cascade – 1-1.

Gladstone – 3-3.

Punts

Cascade – Kyle Coots 2-64 yds.

Gladstone – Armstrong 4-127.

1^st. downs

Cascade – 12.

Gladstone - 11.

CC

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