John Michaels
IVN Contributing Writer
Needing yet another win to keep their slim play-off hopes alive, the Illinois Valley High School football team once again got a stand-out performance from junior running back Tanner Brazil and dominated the Gold Beach Panthers in a 59-36 District 4 win Friday in Cave Junction.
With the Cougars still missing senior quarterback Zack Dugas, who is still out due to an ankle injury suffered in a loss to Myrtle Point three weeks ago, Brazil scored three touchdowns and blocked a punt resulting in a safety while rallying Illinois Valley to victory.
Once again, IVHS dropped behind early, as Gold Beach scored less than a minute into the game on a long 60-yard touchdown run. The ensuing 2-point conversion gave the Panthers an 8-0 lead less than just 51 seconds into the game.
The Cougars responded with a long drive that culminated in the first of Brazil’s touchdown runs. The junior running back punched it in from 3-yards out. The ensuing 2-point conversion tied the game at 8-8 with 7:25 left in the quarter.
IVHS struck quickly after that, recovering a Panther fumble on the subsequent series. Brazil wasted no time and carried it in from 13 yards out for his second touchdown just 26 seconds after his first one. A Servando Vargas kick made it 15-8 in favor of IV with 6:59 left in the initial quarter.
The Cougars defense stopped Gold Beach on the next drive, but an unfortunate miscue let the Panthers get back in the game. Under significant pressure, back-up quarterback Jacob Hinds made the mistake of trying to underhand the ball to a teammate, but the pass was intercepted by a Gold Beach defender, setting the Panthers up at the IVHS 10-yard line. Gold Beach moved the ball down to the 2-yard line, where they punched it in for a score. The I.V. defense thwarted the 2-point conversion, and the Cougars led by one, 15-14 with 4:37 left.
Hinds made up for his mistake, driving IVHS down the field and taking a 6-yard quarterback draw into the endzone with just 38 seconds left in the opening period. Vargas’ point-after kick gave IV a 22-14 lead at the end of the initial quarter.
IVHS really put the game away in the opening minutes of the second stanza. After stopping Gold Beach on its drive, Brazil blocked the fourth down punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety, giving the Cougars a 24-14 edge with 11:17 left in the half.
But I.V. was not done. Sophomore Preston Arroyo returned the ensuing free kick 65 yards for a touchdown and a 31-14 lead for IVHS. The Cougars scored again when Brazil notched his third touchdown on a 20-yard run with 4:04 left in the half. Then the Panthers closed the half with a huge mistake that iced the win for IV.
With time running out in the half and the Cougars in possession, IVHS opted for a long field goal attempt from Vargas in the final seconds of the half. Vargas was short on the attempt, but a Gold Beach defender made the mistake of picking up the ball on the failed field goal attempt. He fumbled the ball and senior Ethan Green recovered the ball in the end zone with no time remaining. Vargas did make the PAT kick and IV led 45-14 at halftime, leading to a running clock in the second half.
Freshman Demien Green scored on a 2-yard touchdown run and junior tight end hauled in an 18-yard scoring strike from Hinds in the final quarter to offset Panther touchdowns scored after the Cougars began to give some game experience to their younger players.
IVHS hopes to keep the play-off dream alive when the Cougars travel to Bandon for a league contest and the regular season finale slated for a 7 p.m. kick-off on Friday. The Tigers are 3-5 on the year and are 0-4 in league games. I.V. can finish no better than third place in District 4, which is allotted just two automatic play-off berths. The Cougars hope to qualify for the play-off field rest with one of the four at-large berths to be awarded. IVHS is currently ranked just outside the field, with their No. 17 ranking being one spot outside the 16-team tournament.