Myrtle Point tops Gold Beach in football opener

John Gunther, The World, Coos Bay, Ore.
·3 min read

Mar. 6—MYRTLE POINT — The Myrtle Point football team has been looking forward to this season for a long time, with a big group of athletic seniors anticipating a big final season on the field.

It finally started Friday and the Bobcats got going in style with a 32-16 win over visiting Gold Beach.

"It was a lot of fun," said quarterback Luke Nicholson, one of the seniors. "It's a good feeling to start off with a win."

Myrtle Point, which has a cooperative agreement with Powers this season, had a single win each of the past two seasons and hadn't won its season opener since 2016.

"I'm excited," Nicholson said. "If we keep the energy up, we will do good."

Nicholson got Myrtle Point on the scoreboard with a 10-yard keeper on the Bobcats' first possession and Enrique Camacho, another of the seniors, added the two-point conversion.

Gold Beach, playing its first season as an eight-man program, tied the score early in the second after stopping another Myrtle Point drive deep in the Panthers' end of the field. Josh Rodriguez broke free on an 87-yard run, pulled down from behind by Nicholson at the 1-yard line. Rodriguez scored on the next play and Landyn Miller added the conversion run to tie the score.

But Myrtle Point's Troy Warner returned the kickoff 75 yards for a score and Nicholson added the conversion.

The score stayed 16-8 until midway through the third quarter, as Myrtle Point failed to capitalize on a fumble recovery by Jacob Koser and an interception by Andreas Villanueva.

Just past the midway point of the third, Nicholson scored on a 7-yard keeper and Warner added the conversion.

The Myrtle Point defense continued to come up with stops until Miller pulled in a pass between two defenders and completed a 30-yard catch-and-run touchdown from quarterback Trenton Storns with 4:08 to go in the game.

But Myrtle Point got a clinching touchdown by Warner with just over 2 minutes remaining to secure the win.

Nicholson completed a number of passes during the game, but Myrtle Point's best production came on the ground.

"I like our offensive line this year," he said. "Our run game thrives off that. They did a good job."

Myrtle Point coach Ryan Miller was happy his players started on a good note.

"It was good to see the guys play with passion," he said. "They had a lot of emotion."

A big part of that is the senior leadership.

"We are very fortunate to be led by a lot of seniors," Miller said. "They made some great plays."

The Myrtle Point coach also was impressed with Gold Beach, which is adjusting to the eight-man format.

"Gold Beach came in and they were ready to play," he said. "They gave a lot.

"Fortunately, we made a few more plays than they did."

Myrtle Point next hits the road for a game at Days Creek on Friday, while Gold Beach visits the combined Yoncalla/North Douglas team.

Myrtle Point 32, Gold Beach 16

Myrtle Point;8;8;8;8;—;32

Gold Beach;0;8;0;8;—;16

Scoring Summary:

MP: Luke Nicholson 10 run (Enrique Camacho run)

GB: Josh Rodriguez 1 run (Landyn Miller run)

MP: Troy Warner 75 kickoff return (Nicholson run)

GB: Miller 30 pass from Trenton Storns (Storns run)

MP: Warner 7 run (Nicholson run)