Bowmen will have to get by Jefferson to reach title tilt

Football: The teams will clash Saturday at 3 p.m. at Portland’s PGE Park

By Dan Brood

The Times, Dec 3, 2009

SHERWOOD — It’s no secret.

The Sherwood High School football team has been aiming all season to get to the Class 5A state championship game.

Now, following Friday’s 51-14 quarterfinal win over Crater, the Bowmen are just one victory away from that championship game goal.

The only team left standing in their way of getting to the title tilt is a team that they already beat by 33 points earlier this season.

But Sherwood insists it’s not taking anything for granted. The Bowman say they will be focused and ready for battle when they face Jefferson in a Class 5A state playoff semifinal game set to start at 3 p.m. Saturday at PGE Park.

“We can’t take them lightly,” Sherwood junior tight end/defensive end Tanner Balderee said of Jefferson. “They’ve improved a great deal since the first time we played them. And it’s always harder to beat a team a second time.”

Sherwood and Jefferson met earlier this season in a non-league game played Sept. 18 at Sherwood High School. The Bowmen came away with a 40-7 win in that contest.

But Sherwood says that earlier outcome doesn’t matter now.

“It’s hard to beat a good team twice,” said Sherwood junior fullback Michael Balfour, who scored four rushing TDs in the Sept. 18 game.

And it sure looks like Jefferson has all the makings of a good team.

The Democrats, who won the Portland Interscholastic League 5A championship, bring an 8-4 record into Saturday’s semifinal contest. Jefferson, which fell to West Albany in last year’s Class 5A semifinal round, also boasts an eight-game winning streak.

“They’re a big, physical team. They’re real big up front,” Sherwood coach Greg Lawrence said. “And if we’re going to get to the place we want to get to, we have to beat these guys. This game is our focus. We’re not taking them lightly at all.”

“They’re a tough team. We know that,” Sherwood senior linebacker Josh Wagg said. “I’m sure they’re playing a lot better now than when we played them the first time. We can’t overlook them. We have to be even more fired up.”

Sherwood, the No. 2 team out of the Northwest Oregon Conference, is 11-1 on the season.

“They’re one of the classiest teams in 5A and have been since 5A was created,” Jefferson coach Anthony Stoudamire said. “Well-coached, well-disciplined. They’re not going to beat themselves.”

The Jefferson offense is led by senior running back Ian Perkins (5-foot-10, 175 pounds), who shared Portland Interscholastic 5A Offensive Player of the Year honors with teammate Tamir Polk.

For the season, Perkins has rushed for 1,844 yards on 188 carries with 23 rushing touchdowns. In the Democrats’ two playoff wins (victories over Churchill and Glencoe), Perkins has 378 yards and six touchdowns on 44 carries.

He even had a strong performance in the previous game with the Bowmen, running for a game-high 121 yards on 18 carries.

Polk (5-10, 170) plays at receiver for Jefferson. During the regular season he had 23 catches for 515 yards and eight touchdowns. The Democrats also have an imposing figure at quarterback in junior Elisinoa Aluesi (6-7, 225).

Jefferson is also big in the offensive line, where they have first-team all-league picks Josh Tonga (6-4, 305) and Alex Mitchell (6-3, 310) at tackle and senior Saia Kofe (6-3, 275) at guard. Kofe also plays some at fullback.

“The one big thing for us going against their offense is that we have to shut their big plays down,” Lawrence said. “If we can stop them from getting the big pass plays and the long runs, we should be OK.”

The Jefferson defense is led by Kofe, who plays on the line. He was named the PIL Defensive Player of the Year.

The Democrat defense will be going up against a Sherwood offense that has had its running game hitting on all cylinders in the playoffs. The Bowmen’s two playoff victories, they’ve rushed for 715 yards on 109 carries.

Balfour (6-0, 215) has gotten a bulk of the postseason workload, rushing for 244 yards on 38 carries while scoring seven touchdowns.

“We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Lawrence said. “Our offense is really clicking now.”

For the season, Balfour has rushed for 1,201 yards on 153 carries with 24 touchdowns. But he’s not even Sherwood’s leading rusher. Sophomore halfback Steven Long (5-5, 150) has that honor with 1,325 yards and 14 touchdowns on 120 carries.

“It’s going to be a big test,” Long said of the upcoming game with Jefferson. “We’re going to have to come out and prepare well all week. We have something to prove. We need to stay healthy, practice hard and get ready.”

Sherwood quarterbacks Nick Erwin and Jordan Ramp have combined to completed 70 of 128 pass attempts for 1,204 yards and 11 scores.

In the earlier Jefferson-Sherwood game, Erwin and Ramp combined to complete eight of 13 passes for 168 yards. Balfour rushed for 106 yards on 11 carries and Long added 57 yards on seven carries.

Jefferson was hampered by five turnovers — three interceptions and two lost fumbles — in the setback.

“Hopefully, we won’t have five turnovers like we did last time,” Stoudamire said. “I think every one of them led to a score. When you turn the ball over inside your 20 against Sherwood, they’re going to score.”

“They’re an improved team,” Lawrence said. “We’ve also improved, and I think we can keep on improving. Our guys are really focused — it’s all business. There’s no danger of overlooking them at all. We want to get to the championship game, and Jefferson is the team in our way. They’re step No. 3.”

West Albany and Hillsboro will meet in the other Class 5A state semifinal game, which is slated to start at noon at PGE Park. The Class 5A state championship game will be played Dec. 12, starting at 2:30 p.m. at Reser Stadium in Corvallis.

Steve Brandon contributed to this story.