Gladiators humble sixth-ranked Rangers
The Gladiators rally around junior quarterback Taylor Taft to bounce Estacada 28-0
GLADSTONE — The Gladstone Gladiators christened their new artificial turf football field in grand fashion Friday night, humbling the sixth-ranked Estacada Rangers 28-0, to the delight of a large supportive home crowd.
It was the first loss of the season for the Rangers, after three straight victories in non-league contests. Estacada had allowed three earlier opponents a combined total of only 42 points en route to defeating Banks, Sweet Home and Tillamook.
The Gladiators orchestrated one of their best aerial assaults in years to put the Rangers away. Gladstone quarterback Taylor Taft completed 16-of-24 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns, and he didn’t throw an interception.
And the Rangers found they could do little to slow Taft down, as the 6-1, 170-pound junior hit three different receivers for four or more passes.
Senior running back Brady Regier hauled down six passes for 142 yards and a touchdown; senior wide receiver Darrell Fields made four catches for 51 yards and a touchdown; and junior wide receiver Austin Foteff hauled down four passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.
“We were successful [with our passing game] for several reasons,” said Gladstone coach Jon Wolf. “One, Taylor Taft’s very talented, he’s competitive and he’s a student of the game. He’s gone to several quarterback camps and he’s worked very hard.
“Two, I think our opponents have worked hard at stopping the veer, so they weren’t expecting it.
“Three, Taylor’s got some very good receivers….
“Four, the offensive line was relatively young at the start of the season. They’ve still got room for improvement, but they’ve really gotten better.”
Paul Sander was another factor. The 5-11, 225-pound running back kept the Ranger defense honest, carrying nine times for 66 yards and a fourth touchdown.
Meanwhile the Gladiator defense toughened up every time the Rangers entered the red zone.
“It was a great win against a pretty good football team,” said Wolf. “We were very resilient defensively. When they tried to get outside, they couldn’t get outside, because of our speed.”
Wolf said that middle linebacker Drew McNall, Regier at outside linebacker and Fields at cornerback played huge roles in keeping Estacada out of the end zone.
The Rangers never penetrated past the Gladiators’ 10-yard line.
The Glads finished with a 297 to 169-yard advantage in net offense.
The Rangers had no passing game and 5-11, 182-pound sophomore Alex Pursel was the Rangers’ top ground-gainer, with 19 carries for 68 yards.
Gladstone’s offense took off in the second half, when the Gladiators scored 21 of their 28 points.
Taft hit Foteff with a 23-yard first-quarter scoring strike for the only scoring of the first half.
Regier hauled in a pass and raced 64 yards to the end zone to make it 13-0 Gladstone in the third period.
Fields had a 23-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, and Sander scored on a 3-yard sprint as the game was winding down.
The win put the Gladiators at 1-0 in the Capital Conference and 3-1 overall heading into this Friday’s game at undefeated North Marion (4-0, 1-0). The Huskies stopped Stayton 13-2 last Friday.
“It should be a heck of a game,” said Wolf. “They’re disciplined; they’re fundamentally sound; and they’re 4-0. We have to play well to win it, and I think we can.”
In other league games last Friday, third-ranked La Salle pushed its season record to 3-0 with a 34-6 rout of defending conference champion Molalla; and fourth-ranked Cascade (4-0, 0-0) remained unbeaten with a 55-6 non-league rout of Pleasant Hill.