By Austin Cracraft
NEWBERG, Ore. — It was Hawaiian night for the Newberg High School student section on Friday, Sept. 12, and the Newberg High School Tigers came at non-league opponent Adrienne C. Nelson Hawks (Happy Valley, Ore.) in waves but fell just short, 17-14.
Get These Stories First, Right in your Inbox
We send out a FREE weekly newsletter featuring the previous week’s biggest stories, upcoming events, and other local happenings. Our email newsletter is the first to know!
After handling Canby on the road in Week 1, the Tigers faced a tougher opponent for their home opener, led by the Hawks’ air-raid passing attack.
Early on, the Hawks’ offense made it look simple. Quarterback Danny Leary found a rhythm, hitting his receivers on quick, short throws — plays that typically rely on yards after the catch. But the Newberg defense was locked in, focusing on open-field tackling.
“We repped the heck out of it,” Newberg head coach Jeremy Johnson said on a clear, early-fall Friday night at Loran Douglas Field. “That’s on the coaches and the players committing to what we need to be great at.”
Johnson also credited another program for his team’s defensive effort.
“I’ll tell you that having a great wrestling program with a lot of wrestlers helps a ton too.”
That tackling fueled Newberg’s “bend-but-don’t-break” defense, which held Nelson to just seven first-half points on a touchdown pass to wide receiver Malachi Garlington.
Newberg’s offense was slower to get going. The momentum shifted with a turnover by senior safety Lucas Vaughn, who recorded the first of his two interceptions midway through the second quarter.
The Tigers then methodically moved down the field. Their first score came on a 14-yard play-action touchdown pass from senior quarterback Parker Sellner to senior tight end Luke Greller, tying the game 7-7 at halftime.
The third quarter followed the same script: Nelson racked up yards but only managed a field goal, a kick by senior Ethan Azorr, to take a 10-7 lead.
The fourth quarter told a different story. Nelson leaned on its size advantage in the run game, highlighted by a 37-yard carry from sophomore running back Jalen Chricton-Dale. Garlington capped the drive with his second touchdown catch of the night, putting the Hawks ahead 17-7 with 8:42 to play.
Newberg answered late. Senior running back Chace Macken scored on a 19-yard run with 2:20 remaining to cut the deficit to 17-14.
“I thought our running game and our linemen were able to run our stuff and move the ball down the field. They have a great defense,” Johnson said.
The Tigers dropped to 1-1 on the season. Next week, they will host another strong opponent in Lake Oswego (3-0), currently ranked number 6 in OSAA 6A rankings.
“We’ve got to get back in the room to figure out how to beat them,” Johnson said. “And that’s hard, but we’re going to try and find a way. We’re going to give them our best punch and best fight we can.”
