By ANNIE FOWLER, The CUJ
PENDLETON — It’s that time of year where every football team left in the playoff bracket is good and each week the competition gets tougher.
Pendleton/Nixyáawii will take on second-ranked Cascade in the 4A state quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday night at Willamette University.
“We are excited,”Pendleton coach Erik Davis said. “I will be honest, at this point, everything moving forward is a positive. We had our goal to win league. We didn’t quite get that done, but we are the only team in our league (Greater Oregon League) to get past the first round. We have a chance to do what only three teams before us have done, and that is get to the state semifinals.”
The Cougars (9-1), whose only loss was to top-ranked Marist Catholic (47-0), beat Molalla 46-14 in the first round to advance.
“We have a puncher’s chance against Cascade,” Davis said. “They are down a couple of studs with running back Bryce Kuenzi and shutdown corner Josiah Hawkins. Hawkins (ankle) is banged up and questionable. He’s a game changer. On paper we are an underdog and we are going to relish that role.”
Kuenzi, who has run for 1,239 yards, hasn’t played since Week 4. He suffered a season-ending torn ACL.
Pendleton (7-3), the No. 7 seed, shut out Mazama 41-0 in the first round.
“We are playing free and playing hard,” Davis said. “Before the Mazama game, I told the kids to have no regrets. They aren’t quite ready to be done with it yet. It’s nice to see them buy into something bigger than themselves. We do have some high-end kids with Tugg (McQuinn), Mason (Strong), Colson (Primus) and Deacon (Pace). We also have kids who came out just because. What it comes down to is a group of kids who aren’t done yet. Win or lose, they can hold their heads high.”
Offensively, the Bucks rely heavily on McQuinn, who has run for 1,463 and a 4A-leading 23 touchdowns, and Primus, who has thrown for 2,396 yards and 27 touchdowns.
“We all know Tugg is a stud,” Davis said. “Colson has thrown for almost 2,500 yards this year and has been a pillar of our offense. I had Trent Sorey (in 2018), who was explosive and a vocal leader. Colson is a high-end high school quarterback. He has taken us to where we need to be.”
Unlike teams in the past, the Bucks don’t have a stable of impressive athletes to rely on. They have a handful, and the rest of the team is improving daily.
“We traveled to one game with 24 healthy kids,” Davis said. “It’s a group that has bought in. In 2018, they are all in. This group is different. We started from humble beginnings in understanding football. Our coaches are coaching harder. That has helped us as a program. We haven’t been able to rest on our laurels. We have had three different backers and seven different corners start. But in the end, we keep winning. In the playoffs, the team that isn’t ready to be done yet is usually the one that wins. Why can’t be we the Cinderella team that goes to the semifinals? I think that is driving the kids and the coaching staff. We are ready to see what we can do.”
Pendleton has had several players step up when needed, including freshman Aaden Hernandez, junior Vance Nelson and sophomore Kaleb Lillie.
“Aaden is starting in a varsity football game and is making an impact,” Davis said. “He is quick and fearless. Vance has come in and ran the ball when we needed him to. Kaleb is our center. He works his butt off in the weight room. We can build off kids like that.”
