Business as usual for Huskies in semifinals

Only at Sutter High could making a section championship game seem routine.

There were no long embraces or celebratory hugs. Instead, it was just regular pats on the back. There was no fiery speech by Huskies coach Scott Turner. Instead, it was just an itinerary of Saturday's practice.

"Tomorrow we're going to meet at noon in the weight room," he said.

This is exactly where the defending section champion Huskies expected to be. So for the Sutter faithful, Turner and his legion of players with their blue mowaks, the 43-6 drubbing of No. 4 Anderson in the Northern Section Division II semifinals on Friday was just business as usual.

"This is what it's all about," Turner said. "This is what our goal is every year."

To fully attain that goal, the No. 1 Huskies will face a familiar opponent in No. 2 West Valley in the championship game on Wednesday at Wayne Gadberry Field. Last season the Huskies edged the Cottonwood team 21-20 to take the section title.

"We beat them our freshman year, our sophomore year and both times our junior year," senior linebacker and team captain Devin DeWitt said. "So it would be cool to go undefeated."

If the Huskies wanted, they could have started thinking about a rematch against West Valley at the end of the first quarter, because by then the game was all but over.

In fact, it took only 20 seconds for the Huskies to show they were superior.

On the first play from scrimmage, Sutter quarterback Jon Garcia faked a hand-off to fullback Rowdy Robinson then gave the ball to a streaking Dane Turner, who was running toward the left sideline. Using some key blocks at the line of scrimmage, Turner turned upfield and blazed past the Cubs' secondary to score Sutter's first touchdown with 11:40 to play in the first quarter.

"I was pretty excited on the first play on (offense) to get into the end zone," Dane Turner said.

Following a Cubs three-and-out, Dane Turner scored again at 6:22 in the first on a 12-yard run. Then with four minutes to play, Garcia aired it out to tight end Kyle Morehead, who was running to the right sideline, for a 41-yard touchdown.

Sutter's offensive prowess continued in the second quarter as Garcia showed why he is among the top signal callers in the Mid-Valley. With 9:33 to play he connected on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Craig Smith. After showing off his arm, he showcased his feet with a 14-yard rushing score with 4:14 left in the half.

Coupled with a vicious Sutter defense that absolutely stunted Anderson's revered veer-option offense, the Huskies took a 36-6 lead into halftime.

"We shut them down the entire game," DeWitt said. "We practiced it every day. We had the scout team run (the veer-option) all week."

The preparation showed, as the Cubs gained just 99 total yards on the ground. And of those yards, the majority came as a result of a Victor Timmons 40-yard run that went up the middle before he found the sideline. The run would set up Anderson's only score, when the Cubs quarterback ran it in from 2 yards out at 7:02 in the second.

Garcia finished 9-of-11 for 162 yards with an interception. Dane Turner finished with 98 yards after not taking a carry in the second half and Robinson rushed for 73 yards on 14 attempts with a touchdown.

All were efforts that will be broken down Saturday when the Huskies study film. Sutter is off this week for Thanksgiving break, meaning the focus will be on nothing but defeating West Valley.

"They're big up front and have good back," Scott Turner said. "They'll bring their A-game because we got them twice last year."