MORO – The last time Sherman enjoyed a Big Sky Conference championship, Scot Stroud, Kyle Burnett and Riley Brown were on the field representing Husky Nation in 2011.
Friday on Homecoming night in Moro, a new chapter was written with Isaiah Coles, Kyle Fields and Maverick Winslow penning the foreword.
Coles and Winslow combined for 226 yards rushing and four touchdowns and Fields completed 11 of 14 passes for 168 yards and a pair of scores, as the No. 5-ranked Huskies throttled the reigning league champion Perrydale Pirates by a 62-22 margin.
“These guys, as a team, have set some team goals. Today, we knocked off Goal No. 1 and that was to win a league championship,” said Sherman coach Bill Blevins. “Another mindset that the kids have gotten into is that this is not enough. So, we are going to enjoy this, but it is not the end for us to win the league title. We have some other goals that we would like to accomplish and I think that the boys realize that.”
After a turnover on their opening possession, the Huskies used an interception by Jacob Justesen. Perrydale’s first drive to get the momentum back in their favor.
The offense then scored on five straight first-half possessions to put the Pirates away.
Justesen started the scoring surge with a 53-yard touchdown run, Fields hit Treve Martin for a 17-yard pass, Winslow cruised 50 yards to the end zone, Fields added a 79-yard scoring scramble and Winslow capped a seven-play, 57-yard drive with a one-yard plunge to give the Huskies a 36-0 lead with one minute and nine seconds left in the half.
Three of those drives were in three plays or less, and the Huskies racked up 383 yards, 276 rushing, on 20 carries.
“I am very proud of Nic Lesh, Zach Fluhr and myself. We have come a long way since our first game,” said senior lineman Ryan Asher.
“Every game has shown that we have improved a lot. That is due to our coaches, coach (Kyle) Blagg, coach (Kyle) Pfeiffer and coach (Reed) Jensen. They have done so much to help us get to this point in our development.”
Out in front by a 36-6 score in the third quarter, the Husky onslaught continued, as Sherman scored on its first three possessions to invoke the 45-point running clock rule.
Coles capped a seven-play, 96-yard drive with a 54-yard touchdown scamper, Winslow tacked on a 21-yard run and then Coles hauled in a swing pass from Fields and glided 65 yards to the end zone to give the Huskies a 56-6 advantage.
At the 7:06 mark of the fourth quarter, junior running back Chris Ballesteros scored a touchdown in his third consecutive game, finishing off Perrydale with a 40-yard score to move the Huskies ahead, 62-14.
Winslow had eight rushes for 121 yards and three scores, Coles tallied 107 yards rushing and a touchdown, and added three catches for 92 yards and another score.
Justesen, who had three interceptions on defense, rushed six times for 89 yards and a touchdown and had 25 yards passing, and Fields threw for 168 yards and rushed three times for 94 yards.
Through the air, Treve Martin totaled six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown and Max Martin tallied one catch for three yards and had a conversion catch for the Huskies, who notched a season-high 642 yards of offense.
“We feel like we have a lot of weapons that we can use in a lot of different ways,” Blevins said. “We have just scratched surface in our playbook and what we are able to do. Treve is such a great weapon for us. He does a great job of going up and coming down with the ball on all the passes that go his way. Our backs are doing a nice job of catching the ball out of the backfield and I think we have some deep threats on the long ball as well.”
When Asher, Coles, Fields, Max Martin and Winslow were honored for their years of contributions on senior night, Asher talked about winning league and also about trying to vault back into the state championship for the first time since 2014.
“I think this accomplishment is excellent for everybody, from our coaches, the players and the program as a whole,” Asher said.
“Losing in the state championship two years ago, that was a heartbreak. Losing in the first round last year was pretty heartbreaking, but I think we have a really good chance this year. And I think that is due in part to how our coaches are leading the way.”
Over the past three-plus seasons, the Huskies have posted a 30-12 record and a 3-3 record in playoff games, including a pair of first-round exits in 2013 and 2015.
Winning a state championship in basketball last season was great, but Treve Martin said his group wants much more from the gridiron.
“Over the last year, we have had that motivated mindset since basketball season,” the junior said. “We have wanted to get back to the state championship. Things happen. Like last year, Kyle (Fields) goes down, I go down and a few guys get banged up. Stuff happens. It just shows you how lucky we are to have the team that we have right now and everything is clicking. We are as hungry as anyone to go back and it showed tonight. We really want to get back. I think we put ourselves in a great position for that after this win.”
Sherman (7-1 overall, 6-0 league) travels to Elgin (3-4) for a non-league game at 7 p.m. next Friday to wrap up the regular season.
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