John Michaels
IVN Contributing Writer
Needing a win to keep their diminishing play-off hopes alive, the Illinois Valley High School football team got stand-out performances from junior running back Tanner Brazil and back-up quarterback Jacob Hinds and pulled out a thrilling 42-36 win over the Reedsport Brave Friday in Reedsport.
The Cougars went into the game still missing senior quarterback Zack Dugas, who was out due to an ankle injury suffered in a loss to Myrtle Point two weeks ago. Hinds tossed a pair of first half touchdown passes to keep Illinois Valley in the game until Brazil took over with four second-half touchdowns, including three in a wild fourth quarter that saw the Cougars rally to victory.
Things did not appear to bode well for Illinois Valley when the Brave’s Landen Serrano returned the opening kick-off 90 yards for a touchdown. The ensuing 2-point conversion gave Reedsport an 8-0 lead less than 30 seconds into the game.
I.V. got back in the game after forcing a punt on the Brave’s second possession. After getting good field position, the Cougars moved down the field to the 30, when Hinds found Jeremiah Izzo for a 30-yard touchdown strike. Illinois Valley opted to go for a single point conversion, Servando Vargas split the uprights to make the score 8-7 with 39 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Cougars took the lead on their first drive of the second quarter, marching down the field before Hinds threw his second touchdown pass, a 12-yarder to senior Matt Ellis. Vargas’ PAT made it 14-8 in favor of I.V. with 3:30 remaining before the half.
The lead was short-lived though, as Serrano again took the kick-off to the house, this time from three yards deep in the end zone. The 103-yard return, followed by another quarterback draw 2-point conversion run gave Reedsport a 16-14 lead.
Reedsport struck again before the half was over, turning an interception into a touchdown on a quarterback sneak from 1-yard out with just four seconds left in the half. Illinois Valley sacked the quarterback on the 2-point attempt and the score was 22-14 in favor of the Brave at the half.
The Cougars shot themselves in the foot on the opening drive of the second half, driving all the way down to the Reedsport 2 yard line before a fumble on a toss play created a turnover, giving the Brave the ball back. Although Reedsport drove the ball down the field on a long drive, IV stopped the Brave on a fourth down in the Cougars red zone.
The turnover on downs signaled the start of Tanner Brazil’s heroics. After an incomplete pass, Brazil turned the corner on a hand-off and went approximately 67 yards to the Reedsport 10-yard line. After a neutral zone infraction on the Brave gave I.V. the ball 1st and goal from the 5-yard line, Brazil carried it in from 5-yards out for a touchdown. Brazil also bulled his way across the line on the 2-point conversion, knotting the game at 22-22 going into the fourth quarter.
Reedsport may have made a tactical mistake after Illinois Valley stopped the Brave in their tracks on the opening possession of the fourth, Reedsport attempted a fake punt on 4th-and-14 from its own 35-yard line. The pass fell incomplete, giving I.V. great field position. Brazil cut back on an inside run and caried the ball down to the Brave 3-yard line. After a pair of short losses, Brazil carried it in from six yards out for his second touchdown of the evening. Vargas converted the PAT and the Cougars led 29-22.
The game was far from over though, as Reedsport immediately scored on a long pass, but Ellis sacked the quarterback on the 2-point conversion and Illinois Valley held on to a slim 29-28 lead.
Brazil did not take long to answer, going 61-yards on a trap play for his third score of the night. Vargas split the uprights again for a 36-28 edge with 7:54 left in the game.
Once again, the Brave answered quickly, moving down the field before Serrano took a pass in the flat and ran it in for the score. Reedsport was successful on its 2-point attempt and the game was tied once again, 36-36 with 7:08 remaining in the game.
After the Brave’s kick-off was downed at the 13-yard line, Brazil broke a long run nearly scoring before stumbling inside the Reedsport 10. However, a spot foul holding penalty on the Cougars moved the ball back to the 41-yard line. Another holding penalty, followed by a short game from Preston Arroyo gave the Cougars 2nd and 12 from the Brave 43. Brazil took the hand-off and veered off left tackle, racing to the endzone again, scoring his fourth touchdown of the game with 5:04 remaining. Brazil easily exceeded the 100-yard rushing mark in the fourth quarter alone. After a penalty on Reedsport on the PAT moved the ball half the distance to the goal, I.V. opted to go for two. Izzo was denied on the QB sneak, the score was 42-36.
The Cougars appeared to recover on onside-kick, but one of the officials deemed the ball did not cover the necessary 10 yards, giving the Brave ideal field position. Brazil, played the hero on defense as well, sniffing out a screen pass and tackling the ball carrier for a short gain when it appeared that the Reedsport receiver had a lot of open field and may even have scored. After being denied the first down on Brazil’s tackle, the Brave committed a holding penalty on 3rd down, moving the ball back 10 yards. An incomplete pass made it 4th-and-14 with just over three minutes left in the game. A pass to Serrano on the ensuing play was stopped short and the Cougars took over on downs.
However, I.V. lost a fumble on the second play from scrimmage, giving the Brave one last chance at the win. The Cougars defense stepped up in the moment. Defensive pressure resulted in an incomplete pass on first down, before Preston Arroyo broke up what may have been a touchdown pass on second. Bryson Gilmore tipped a pass on third down before nearly sacking the Reedsport quarterback and forcing him to throw incomplete on fourth.
Once again, I.V. turned to Brazil and he delivered, taking two different runs for first downs, and allowing the Cougars to go into victory formation to end the game.
I.V. hopes to keep the play-off dream alive when the Cougars host Gold Beach in a league contest slated for a 7 p.m. kick-off Friday. The Panthers are 2-5 on the year, but are 2-in Special District 4. The contest is essentially an elimination game for the state play-offs, as the loser likely will be eliminated from not just the league race, but also for any at-large consideration.