Woodburn High School senior Cruz Veliz finished with 209 yards passing and a game-high 79 yards rushing on four carries, totaling five touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs over Class 4A Molalla 52-21 on the road on Saturday, Sept. 7.
"We identified some blocking scheme issues that we weren't doing correctly in the last game," Woodburn head coach Robert Kassebaum said. "And we made some adjustments on those, and you could see the production, especially on our counter. … We got some receivers that haven't played a lot of football, so they're getting used to catching the ball more."
Veliz and his receiving core were in a groove all afternoon — throwing 9-for-12 — as he connected with Daniel McNeal, Daniel Basargin and Anthony Figueredo on four scores. Sophomore Cash Mead led Molalla with 92 yards passing, completing 5-of-11 attempts, while sophomore Angel Cortes added a team-high 43 rushing yards.
"Woodburn's a pretty big school — they are a 5A school, and they had some dudes," Molalla head coach Sean McElhaney said. "But really it was more about us not being where we needed to be. They didn't run anything we didn't practice against."
The Bulldogs opened the first quarter on an offensive onslaught, jumping to an 18-0 lead entering the second period. Veliz scored the afternoon's first touchdown, scampering 56 yards to the house. After an empty Molalla possession, the Bulldogs soon found the end zone once again, scoring on a 23-yard completion to McNeal.
On the ensuing Molalla drive, Veliz picked off Mead, following it instantly with a 32-yard heave to Figueredo. Later in the drive, the Bulldogs gambled on 4th down in the red zone, with junior Brady Shaw muscling his way to a 7-yard touchdown.
It wasn't until the second quarter that Molalla registered its first 1st-down of the game. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a spark. A fumble recovered by Woodburn in Molalla territory led to another score, with McNeal knabbing a 26-yard touchdown.
Molalla finally managed to respond late in the first half, starting with a 12-yard passing touchdown from Cash Mead to Mason Mead. On the next Bulldogs drive, Spencer Mueller telegraphed Veliz perfectly, intercepting a pass at Woodburn's 46-yard line. The Mead connection continued soon afterward, a leaping catch from Mason Mead positioning Molalla on Woodburn's 2-yard line.
A false start and a fumble ultimately pushed Molalla back to Woodburn's 10-yard line. Facing a 4th and goal, tight end Colton Graf made it 24-14 with under 30 seconds left in the first half off an out route. A huge sack in the final seconds from Molalla seemed to shift the game's momentum entering the second half.
But nobody told Woodburn that.
McNeal recorded a sack of his own on Molalla's opening drive, forcing a punt. The Bulldogs had little issue marching up the field, culminating their drive in a 13-yard passing touchdown from Veliz to Basargin. Around three minutes later, Woodburn cashed in again, as a Molalla fumble led to a 40-yard dime from Veliz to Shaw, setting up Braden Schindler to punch it in from the 1-yard line.
Molalla, unfortunately, kept spiraling, allowing a Woodburn score two minutes later after an interception from Figueredo, who scored immediately after on a 34-yard completion from Veliz. Damien Vasquez added an insurance score for the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter, while the Mead's collaborated on a final 48-yard touchdown as time expired.
Schindler finished with 60 yards rushing on 12 carries. Sammy Villa, Shaw and Vasquez added a combined 60 yards rushing for Woodburn. McNeal was Veliz's biggest target with three receptions for 59 yards and two touchdowns. Mason Mead, meanwhile, posted a game-high 76 receiving yards.
Woodburn (1-1) will hit the road and face 4A Junction City (0-1) next Friday, Sept. 13. Molalla (0-2) looks to bounce back against Sweet Home (1-0) on Friday, Sept. 13, at home.
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