Three weeks into the regular season – in this most irregular of any season – Creswell’s young football team has two shutouts, the latest coming Friday night at Linn County as sophomore quarterback Connor Hanson darted 17 yards for a touchdown in overtime, lifting the Bulldogs to a 6-0 victory.
“It was a nerve-racking win,” Creswell coach Scott Worsham said. “Near the end of the fourth quarter, they punted and had us backed up at the 5-yard line. Then we fumbled, and they got the ball around the 9 or 10-yard line. So we had to have a defensive stand, and then they missed two field goal opportunities.”
The Bulldogs, who have only three seniors, got the ball first in overtime and Hanson – who also scored the only points in a season-opening 7-0 win over Reedsport – scored on the second play of the extra session. Linn County was stopped on four downs to end the game.
“The defense was really stellar for us,” Worsham said. “They came to play. I think they wanted to show that they’re better than they played the previous Friday night (in a 48-14 loss to Monroe).”
The defensive charge was led by Reece Germen with 9 tackles and a fumble recovery. Tyler Atwood and Juan Beltran added 7 tackles each while Tyler Nicol and Anthony Cox recovered fumbles.
Hanson, making his first start at quarterback, was 6-of-11 passing for 46 yards and rushed 22 times for 87 yards and a touchdown. Nicol enjoyed his second straight five-catch effort, accounting for 34 yards.
“I’m excited where we’re at,” Worsham said. “We’re 2-1 now, and we’ll take that momentum to Oakland. They have a good team, it should be a good game.”
