Jones powers Panthers
Published 12:06 am Saturday, September 1, 2007
EVERETT — Even when Derek Jones punts, good things happen for the Snohomish High School football team.
As usual, Jones was spectacular in a variety of ways for Snohomish Friday night in a season-opening game against Cascade. The senior fullback did plenty of damage running the ball (34 carries, 208 yards, two touchdowns) and helped lead the Panthers’ solid defensive effort from several angles in an impressive 27-14 victory.
But most surprising of all was Jones’ contribution as a punter in the Western Conference North Division game at Everett Memorial Stadium. In his varsity punting debut, Jones’ first kick took a nasty bounce off a Cascade player and set up a short, second-quarter TD that completely changed the flow of the game.
Jones, a Washington State University baseball recruit, didn’t become Snohomish’s punter until coaches asked him to try it less than two weeks ago. It looks like he’ll handle his latest challenge as well as he has dealt with the others.
“He’s an athlete, you know. You put the ball in his hands and he punts it with his left foot and he puts it up there,” Snohomish coach Mark Perry said.
“You put a pool cue in his hand (and) he’ll play pool. Put a soccer ball in front of him and he’ll play soccer,” Perry added.
Running behind an effective offensive line, Jones was a wrecking ball in the first half. He rushed 19 times for 120 yards and a TD to help Snohomish build a 17-7 lead. The senior didn’t have a run longer than 21 yards in the first two quarters but never was dropped for a loss and continually bowled over Cascade tacklers.
In the second half, it was more of the same. But there’s still room for improvement.
Coach Perry said he’d like to see Jones lower his pads more and run through hard hits — which already happens pretty often. Seriously, how can you criticize a back who just rushed for 200-plus yards?
“I didn’t say he wasn’t good! I just said he wasn’t perfect,” Perry said, laughing hard.
Ignited by a 61-yard kickoff return by Dauann Sykes, Cascade got back in the game with a five-play, 21-yard scoring drive. Julian Willis zipped into the end zone on an 8-yard TD run and Cascade cut it to 10-7.
But just when it seemed Cascade was warming up, it had a disastrous special teams play that helped Snohomish take a 17-7 lead. Jones’ punt took a hard bounce and hit Willis near his team’s 10-yard line. He was unable to grab the ball and John Darling recovered at the 1 for Snohomish. Panthers quarterback Brad Perry, making his first varsity start, carried the ball into the end zone on the next play.
Despite scoring a TD on a long pass in the fourth quarter, Cascade never quite recovered from the miscue. Senior fullback Lorne Bridgford was solid, though, rushing 18 times for 97 yards.
“I don’t have much good to say about our performance tonight,” Cascade coach Jake Huizinga said. “(In the) first game I think I would have liked to have been more prepared, a little more crisp. But we certainly weren’t.” Snohomish, however, was crisp from the start.
On the opening drive of the game Jones rushed six times for 53 yards. He capped Snohomish’s 12-play, 68-yard scoring possession with a 2-yard TD plunge on fourth-and-1.
“Derek did a great job today,” said Brad Perry, who rushed for 38 yards and had a potential 73-yard TD run negated because of an official’s inadvertent whistle.
“Our lineman played a great game blocking for us. They were opening some huge holes,” said Jones, “Our (offensive) line was just amazing. (Senior guard) Nick Oglesby — he’s a trooper.”
In the first half Snohomish controlled the ball with staggering success. The Panthers had 34 offensive plays for 180 yards — all rushing — and Cascade had 13 plays for 62 yards. Overall, Snohomish had 288 offensive yards compared to 172 yards for Cascade.
Senior kicker Dayton Wiseman was 2-for-2 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra-point kicks for Snohomish.
At Everett Memorial Stadium
Snohomish 7 10 10 0 — 27
Cascade 0 7 0 7 — 14
Snohomish—Jones 2 run (Wiseman kick)
Snohomish—FG Wiseman 25
Cascade—Willis 8 run (McDonald kick)
Snohomish—Perry 1 run (Wiseman kick)
Snohomish—FG Wiseman 27
Snohomish—Jones 2 run (Wiseman kick)
Cascade—Heer 35 pass from Frye (McDonald kick)
Records—Snohomish 1-0 in division and overall. Cascade 0-1, 0-1.
