On a hot Saturday afternoon in Auburn, the Nevada Union 14U Jr. Miners powered past the Placer Jr. Hillmen, 36-0.
Early in the game Placer looked to establish its running game, but the Jr. Miners defense led by Owen Hooper, Jarrett Sleeth, Ayden King, Kade Allen-Burr and Amadeus Sharp were up to the challenge and forced Placer to give the ball over to the Miners offense.
The Jr. Miners scored their first points of the season on an 18-yard pass and catch from Ayden King to Hunter Jakobs. That opened the floodgates for the Jr. Miners as they scored three touchdowns in a span of 14 plays.
On three scrambling touchdowns by King, he tallied 120 yards, with a long of 55. King also added a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The running game was led by the front five linemen George Campbell, Gabriel Enos, Jonah Peters, Kade Allen-Burr and Amadeus Sharp. The ball was controlled for the Jr. Miners by Jacob Moroyoqui with his physical running style.
Making a difference with a fumble recovery was Colton Ehlers to help seal the game.
The 14U Jr. Miners (1-2) have a bye this Saturday. Next up for NU is the Sutter Jr. Huskies Sept. 17.
10U: JR. MINERS 32, JR. HILLMEN 20
Last Saturday was the rival matchup against Placer.
There is a rich history between to the two programs, and it is something the Jr. Miners look forward to each season. Dubbed “Placer Week,” the coaches and players alike all came into the practice week more focused and determined.
The Jr. Miners opened the contest strong and put up 32 first half points.
The offensive line did an incredible job leading the way for Hunter Lampe, Ethan Christiansen, and Luke Conway to the end zone on the ground.
Ryan Schlachter, Parker Van Matre, Brandon Alcala, Aiden Maier, Dominic Graham, and Landon Youngman also gave Conway plenty of time to allow for a solid passing attack. Conway left the game in the early third quarter, but not before notching a rushing touchdown and going 6 for 12 for 92 yards through the air, including a 28-yard touchdown strike to Dylan Grossmann.
Carter Ehlers, Quinn Murphy, Caleb McCallum and Lampe were also targets for Conway. Lampe was solid carrying the ball, tallying 75 rush yards with a 30 yarder for his longest tote of the day.
Christiansen led the ground attack with two rushing touchdowns and 84 yards.
Jaxon Sullivan came in to relieve Conway in the second half under the center. He completed three passes for 16 yards and kept the offense moving while converting first downs. Other standouts on offense were Jack Anderson and Barrett Chalker.
The real star of the day was the Jr. Miner defense. In the first half, NU’s defense held Placer to less than 10 total yards. They scored once off a kickoff return and the other was an interception returned for a TD.
Van Matre led the Jr. Miner defense with eight solo tackles and two for a loss. Youngman tallied four solos, including two for a loss. Maier, Paxton Sooto, Traven Huntington, Schlacter, Conway, Stephen Tipton, Christiansen, Ehlers, Grossmann and Kingston Herley all contributed with multiple tackles. Grossman forced a fumble while both Sooto and Graham recovered one each.
“Everyone got to play, and that is exactly what we desire as a coaching staff,” said head coach Joey Hart. “This week particularly, these athletes are beginning to buy into our team philosophy and they are believing in the coaches, they are believing in their teammates and most importantly they are believing in themselves.”
8U: JR. MINERS 18, JR. HILLMEN 13
The Nevada Union Jr. Miners beat the Placer Jr. Hillmen, 18-13, on Saturday morning to start the day off and initiate the four-game sweep of their arch rival on the opponent’s home turf.
Due to extreme heat warnings on the day, the 8U opening game had an 8 a.m. kickoff, which let the Miners get out to an earlier than normal start thanks to an opening offensive drive in which the Miners ran straight down the field. Getting things going with a long run was running back Mason Kitt. Fullback Kaleb Baldwin followed his offensive line, led by center Spencer Murray, for an early score to make the game 6-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, kicker Kaeson Ayson hit a perfectly placed onside kick which was quickly recovered by gunner Ricardo Avina, allowing Nevada Union to continue the offensive output.
The Miners spent the rest of the quarter controlling the game clock by running the ball straight down the Hillmen defensive front behind drive blocks from guards Waylon Jackson and Rhedyn Scott, tackles Brody Bringolf and Westin Green, and receiver Colby Stanley. The drive was capped off by an outside touchdown scamper by Colin Fehrmann to make the score 12-0 in the second quarter.
The Jr. Hillmen then answered with a touchdown drive of their own, narrowing the gap to 12-6.
Nevada Union ended the first half with a scoring drive capped by a touchdown run from Riley Odegaard on a quarterback keep play as time on the clock expired.
To start the second half, the Jr. Miners did the unthinkable by holding onto the ball for the entire third quarter on an offensive drive that drove deep into Placer territory. The drive, however, began to stall and after a Jr. Miner turnover, Placer was able to score late in the fourth quarter to shorten the Nevada Union lead to 18-13. An onside kick attempt was all Placer had left to do to mount a comeback, but were ultimately unsuccessful. NU’s Noah Burkhart dove onto the loose football for the recovery and all the Jr. Miners had left to do was kneel down on offense to run out the clock and win the contest.
The 8U team basked in their glory by avenging a 53-to-0 loss to the Placer Jr. Hillmen a season ago.
Up next for the 8U Jr. Miners (2-1) is their third consecutive road contest, this time against the Sutter Jr. Huskies a week from Saturday.
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