Southridge's running game pounds Lincoln, 45-7

Skyhawks force five turnovers

By Jason Vondersmith

The Portland Tribune, Nov 19, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Southridge made its statement on the first three drives of the game against Lincoln, running on all but one play and scoring three touchdowns en route to a 45-7 rout of Lincoln in the Class 6A football playoffs at Lincoln High School.

"We were going to establish the run game and blow them off the ball," Southridge QB Kellen Mastrud says. "Our offensive line did exactly what we wanted to do, and running backs found the holes."

Star running back Kirk Werhane rushed for 157 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns. In fourth-quarter, mop-up duty, Will Lowe added 83 yards and a score on 16 carries. Mastrud and fullback Matt Tanuvasa added rushing TDs, and Mastrud threw a pretty fade to Mitch Mathews for Southridge's other touchdown.

The Skyhawks (9-2) advance to play South Medford in the 6A quarterfinal round.

Lincoln moved the ball with its passing attack, as QB Henry Furman completed 25 of 35 passes for 319 yards. But Furman also threw four interceptions and lost a fumble; two of the picks came deep in Southridge territory in the first half.

"We knew they would be tough," Lincoln coach Chad Carlson says, of Southridge. "We turned it over too many times; our young quarterback led us to eight straight victories, but he had an off night."

Southridge's offensive line and Werhane, a bruising 5-11, 190-pound senior, did most of the damage early. He rushed four times before Tanuvasa scored on a 1-yard run on the first drive.

Lincoln's receivers also had four dropped passes, a key one coming as the Cardinals drove with their second possession, with standout DeAndre Taylor dropping a pass on fourth-and-1.

A pass and five runs later, Southridge had a 14-0 lead on Werhane's 11-yard run.

Lincoln moved to the Southridge 9 on the next drive. Nate Kirkpatrick was stopped for a loss of one yard, and then Furman was sacked for a loss of eight and the Cardinals also got called for a face mask penalty. Faced with second-and-33, Furman got picked off by Trevor Harman after a tipped ball, and Harman returned it to the Southridge 49.

Seven Werhane runs later, Southridge led 21-0 on his 8-yard run.

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