By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
GERVAIS, Ore.– For the first time since the 1951 season, the Gervais Football team have won an 11-man Playoff game behind an six touchdown performance by Johnny Mariano that led to the Cougars pulling the upset victory over Siuslaw this past Friday.
The line was clicking, which made Mariano’s decision making easier as Gervais took down the Vikings 48-28 to advance to the 3A State Quarterfinals this upcoming Friday. And with Douglas’ upset victory over Dayton on Friday, it gave the Cougs an additional home game after going into the postseason as the 12-seed.
“That night, our line was clicking. We were blocking down field. We were sustaining our blocks and we were doing what we were supposed to do and Johnny’s life was a lot easier because his vision was there with the cut-backs. It’s impressive enough to see this group of kids, the resilience that they have after losing three games. Banks, Warrenton, Kennedy and still be able to finish as strong as they did and go play a team like Siuslaw… Johnny’s one-of-a-kind athlete. When he’s clicking, everyone else is clicking,” said Gervais Head Coach JJ Navarette.
After a tough three-week stretch there, where they fell to Banks, Warrenton and Kennedy, it seems as if Gervais has straightened out the ship as their first season back in 3A has them knocking at the door of the Semi-Finals for the second-straight year. The Cougars reached the 2A, 9-man Semi’s last season before falling to Oakland.
“The upset. We wanted it and not a lot of people were believing in us, but all we needed was ourselves as a family. We had the confidence. We had a good practice all week and we just transition those practices into the game,” said junior quarterback Frank Ojeda, who rushed for a score himself in the game.
“I’m just really happy to be a part of this team, they really grow on to me. These are my brothers and to create history with them, it’s a whole different feeling and I’m just hoping to carry it onto next year and the following years after that. Hopefully they keep it up.”
But for now, their focus is on Friday. They’re embracing that ‘prove them wrong’ mentality. They went 6-3 in a league that still has Banks and Kennedy still contending for a 3A State Title and had a fourth in Warrenton make it to the playoff bracket. They’ve competed to this point, and are looking to do so again on Friday.
“I think it’s a chance for these kids to prove to everyone that they can do it. At the end of the day to be a 6-3 team in one of the toughest league in 3A and to compete. Everyone was pounding the whole, ‘how can they do that in 9-man, they’re coming up to 11…oh they’re going to get killed’. No, football is football and I feel like these kids prepared themselves,” Navarette.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
