From the Herald and News March 25 2007

Klamath Falls topples Salem

	H&N photo by Todd E. Swenson Salem’s Rahni Grants leaps to intercept a pass intended for Landon Trammell of the Klamath Crusaders during a game Saturday at Viking Field. The Crusaders won, 27-10.

March 25, 2007

The Salem Monarchs had one main focus entering Saturday night's Oregon Football League game - stop Klamath tailback Landon Trammell.

After the Crusaders opened up the passing game and seized momentum, the Monarchs had no chance catching him.

Trammell put Klamath ahead with a 17-yard reception from Matt Miles on the last play of the first half, then he ran for 190 of his 269 yards in the second half as the Crusaders cruised to a 27-10 victory at Viking Field and improved to 2-0 on the season.

“Last year, they put nine guys in the box on us and focused in on Trammell, so we tried to get the passing game opened up and soften them up, then get Trammell into a broken field,” Miles said.

“You get Trammell past that first wave and into that second wave, it's over. He was the fastest guy in the state in high school, and he makes people miss.”

The Crusaders went to Trammell for their first 10 offensive plays in the third quarter, and the former Mazama standout responded with 81 yards. That helped him get into a rhythm that couldn't be stopped.

“I'll play decoy all day long if that's what the team needs,” Trammell said. “But once we got rolling in the second half, I finally just told Matt: ‘We're feeling it. Give me the ball.' And he did.”

Trammell did plenty of his own work once he got through the initial line of defense, but the offensive line also had a stellar effort opening up holes, and the receiving core threw key open-field blocks on some of Trammell's biggest plays.

“A big part of that is the offensive line doing their job, I take my hat off to all eight of the guys who rotated in,” Miles said. “We've got guys all the way from 18 to 41 (years of age) playing that line, and they mesh really well.”

Monarchs run for 1 yard

On the other side of the ball, the Crusaders completely shut down the Monarch running attack. Salem ran the ball 22 times and earned a single yard.

Even without a 20-yard loss on a botched punt snap, Klamath allowed one-yard per carry.

“Our interior D-line played excellent football tonight,” linebacker Jake Juhl said. “They were the most valuable players on our defense, and they allowed our linebackers to drop into the passing zones and take that away.

“We were able to roam freely, because they were just stopping everything.”

When Salem quarterback Slade Crooks was able to evade the defense, he was successful, throwing for 160 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown to complete the game's scoring.

Getting away was easier said than done, as the Crusaders picked up six sacks, including three in the fourth quarter. Mike Pett had a pair of sacks, Will Bennett and Jantz Kahl had 1 1/2 apiece, and Juhl added one.

Crusaders get momentum

After a rough 2006 campaign, which included a tough loss to Salem, Klamath is off to a 2-0 start and likes its chances to remain atop the OFL as the season progresses.

“The team just didn't have confidence, and we didn't have any real leadership (last year),” Trammell said. “So, it's really nice to start off like this.”

Salem provided a stiffer challenge than Columbia River did in a 51-6 Crusader victory last week, and after Klamath adjusted to the higher level of competition, the Crusaders took over.

“They definitely have a lot of guys, and they came to play hard,” Juhl said. “Last year, they beat us up there, so we really needed this game to get back into the upper echelon of the league this year.

“We had a little bit of nerves early, but we adjusted pretty well.”

Klamath Falls makes its first road trip of the season next Saturday, when the Crusaders travel to Brookings for a game against Siskiyou.

The Crusaders' next home game is April 7 against Southwest Oregon. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

- Josh Petrie