Heppner’s Caden George runs the ball for a touchdown Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, against the Weston-McEwen TiferScots during the second half in the quarterfinal round of the Oregon School Activities Association Class 2A state football playoffs at Les Payne Field in Heppner. The Mustangs won 40-0 and face the Coquille Red Devils in the semifinal game Nov. 20 in McMinnville.

HEPPNER — Greg Grant admitted he loses sleep this time of year. The longtime Heppner football coach said he wants to make sure he doesn’t let his players down during the state playoffs.

Grant should have slept soundly Saturday, Nov. 13, after the Mustangs punched their ticket to the Oregon School Activities Association 2A state semifinals with a 40-0 victory over Blue Mountain Conference rival Weston-McEwen.

“This is their last home game, and I wanted it to be a win and a good experience,” Grant said of his seniors. “This is a good group of kids. Winning is a relief; I wanted to get them there. They work hard and they care.”

The top-ranked Mustangs (11-0) will play Coquille (8-1) in the semifinals Nov. 20 at noon at McMinnville High School.

“It’s incredibly exciting,” Heppner senior Conor Brosnan said of advancing. “It’s crazy to think back to our sophomore year, and to go this far again with these guys, it means a lot.”

And it’s not an easy thing to do.

“It takes a lot of brotherhood and teamwork,” senior Jace Coe said. “We are nervous, but we don’t acknowledge it. We stay in our own lane and don’t talk about it.”

The TigerScots finished their season with an 8-2 record.

“This senior class, I can’t say enough good things about them,” Weston-McEwen coach Kenzie Hansell said. “Three years ago, they didn’t know me. I can’t thank them enough for their leadership and character. Congratulations to Heppner, they are well coached and they execute well. Best of luck to them in the semifinals.”

The Mustangs, who are on a 29-game win streak, scored on their first possession of the game as Caden George took the ball in from the 1-yard line. The ensuing kick failed as Heppner took a 6-0 lead.

The TigerScots ended up punting on their first drive, and Heppner wasted no time finding the end zone once again as Landon Mitchell ran the ball in from the 2-yard line on the first play of the second quarter. Mitchell connected with Brock Hisler on the 2-point conversion to take a 14-0 lead.

The remainder of the second quarter saw Weston-McEwen punt twice, and quarterback Blane Peal was intercepted by Zander Fisher to stall another drive.

The TigerScots got the ball back when Taylor McGill picked off Mitchell to give the team the ball on its own 29 with 13 seconds left in the first half.

“Our team came out ready to play,” Hansell said. “It was 14-0 at the half, and with a minute to go in the third quarter. We’d move the ball, then stall. It got away from us in the fourth quarter.”

Weston-McEwen did a good job of bottling up Hisler in the first half. Brosnan said the offensive line was partially to blame.

“We weren’t playing well as a team,” he said. “The line wasn’t communicating. We were trying to do fancy stuff instead of what we know — grit and hard work.”

Weston-McEwen got the ball to start the second half, and the TigerScots drove from their own 31 to the Heppner 40 behind some nice running by Levie Phillips. On third-and-9, Heppner’s Blane Mahoney sacked Peal to force a punt.

“We knew after the half, they would fire up the intensity,” Coe said of the TigerScots. “We wanted to be prepared.”

Heppner took over on its own 23, and ran nearly 7 minutes off the clock during its drive that ended with George running 11 yards for his second touchdown of the day for a 20-0 lead.

Heading into the fourth quarter, W-M had third-and-37 at its own 13.

The TigerScots were later forced to punt. Hisler blocked Peal’s punt to put the Mustangs at the Weston-McEwen 13. Hisler then ran the ball in for a touchdown and a 26-0 lead.

From there, the Mustangs added a 58-yard touchdown run from Coe, and a 2-point conversion run by Hisler for a 34-0 lead with 7:33 to play in the game.

“We were disappointed at halftime,” Grant said of his team. “They knew they had to get to work.”

On the TigerScots’ ensuing drive, Peal hit Dylan Youncs on third-and-3. Youncs was hit by Heppner defensive lineman Conor Brosnan, who knocked the ball loose. Brosnan picked up the ball and rumbled 25 yards for the touchdown.

“Those hits do feel good, not going to lie,” Brosnan said of the play. “I was running and my calf was cramping. I didn’t think I was going to make it.”

Grant likes to see his linebackers get a little glory now and again.

“It’s nice to see his play pay off,” Grant said. “Our kids stepped up and they were resilient.”

Hisler finished with 110 yards rushing for the Mustangs, who had 301 yards on the day.

Hisler also had eight tackles, while Mahoney had six and two sacks. Brosnan added seven tackles, while Toby Nation and Tucker Ashbeck each had six. Cade Cunningham and Kegan Steagall each recorded a sack.

The TigerScots were held to just 76 yards of offense, and 115 yards in penalties came back to haunt them.

“I want to thank the senior class, the fans and the community,” Hansell said. “We have so many fans that follow us everywhere.”

Score by quarter

Weston-McEwen; 0; 0; 0; 0. Total: 0

Heppner; 6; 8; 6; 20. Total: 40

Scoring plays

H — Caden George 1 run (kick failed).

H — Landon Mitchell 2 run (Brock Hisler pass from Mitchell).

H — George 11 run (pass failed).

H — Hisler 13 run (run failed).

H — Jace Coe 58 run (Hisler run).

H — Conor Brosnan 25 fumble recovery (kick failed).

Statistics

PASSING — W-M, Blane Peal 5-20-1-38. Heppner, Mitchell 6-11-1-45.

RUSHING — W-M, Levie Phillips 14-46, Peyton Sincleir 5-22, Aiden Wolf 1-6, Peal 2-(minus-1). Heppner, Hisler 18-110, Coe 3-81, Mitchell 7-40, George 6-34, Hayden McMahon 1-(minus-4).

RECEIVING — W-M, Cameron Reich 1-35, Theo White 1-5, Chase Fehrenbacker 1-0, Phillips 1-0, Dylan Youncs 1-(minus-2). Heppner, George 2-15, Coe 2-13, Zander Fisher 1-10, Ty Boor 1-7.