Last modified: Sunday, November 26, 2006 1:39 AM PST Jim Krois | Daily Courier Tiger Loren Stewart tries to get away from Mustang Dustin Mathews during Ontario’s 32-26 victory against Hidden Valley Saturday afternoon. Ontario holds off Hidden Valley Deena Manning Daily Courier Grants pass Seventh-ranked Hidden Valley saw more than enough of Ontario’s slippery two-headed rushing attack of Loren Stewart and Jake Turner in Saturday’s Class 4A state football quarterfinal. The Tiger duo was too much to handle as the pair ran for a 305-yard clip to lift Ontario over Hidden Valley 32-26 at Grants Pass High’s Mel Ingram Field. Even though Hidden Valley’s defense yielded 457 yards to Ontario (8-3), the No. 2 seed out of the Greater Oregon League, the Mustangs (9-3) came a play shy of stealing the victory with time winding down in the final period. After a Jordan Nielsen 26-yard field goal cut Ontario’s lead to 32-26 with 3:39 left, Hidden Valley held the Tigers to four-and-out on the ensuing possession. The Mustangs stuffed Turner (5-foot-9, 150 pounds) and Stewart (6-0, 213) on successive plays and then tossed receiver Matt Mauney (5-6, 180) for no gain, forcing the Tigers to punt. Hidden Valley had to use all three of its timeouts to preserve the clock. After a 28-yard punt, Hidden Valley took over on the 50-yard line. Mustangs’ quarterback L.B. Draper (6-2, 190), who finally found his passing touch in the fourth quarter, hit Peter Downs (6-0, 172) for a 25-yard gain and then scrambled 5 yards to reach the Tigers’ 20. Hidden Valley then elected to go to the ground, feeding tailback Jules DeVos (5-10, 182), who was met by the Tigers’ defense twice, gaining just 2 yards. As fans on both sides gripped the edges of their seats, the Mustangs snapped the ball on the Ontario 18 on a fourth-and-three attempt with just less than 40 seconds to play. Draper went back to pass and tossed the pigskin to tight end Dustin Mathews (6-1, 208). With the Tigers’ defense blanketing Mathews, the Hidden Valley senior failed to haul in the pass as the ball bounced out to preserve the Ontario win. “The thing is we never gave up. What more could I have asked for than having a chance to win the game in the end,” said Mustangs’ coach Jim Figoni, whose team also fell in the 2005 quarterfinals. “It was a valiant effort.” It was surprising the game went down to the wire after Hidden Valley struggled to make plays early on. The Mustangs’ offense was on the field for a total of 26 seconds in the second quarter and about four minutes in the opening period. Hidden Valley ran only 15 plays in the first half as Draper was 0-for-7 with a pick, and DeVos was held to 52 rushing yards on eight attempts. “It was definitely a roller-coaster ride, but the key was that we held the ball in the first half and didn’t give (the Mustangs) an opportunity to score,” said Tigers’ coach Randy Waite, whose team has only four seniors. In fact, the young Ontario squad led 19-10 at the break as quarterback Bryson Sap (5-10, 170) shredded the Mustangs’ defense, completing 6-of- 12 passes for 112 yards. Sap ended up 9-of-17 passing for 139 yards. Sap tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Mauney and added a 4-yard run to paydirt, all coming in the second quarter. Ryan VanCleave’s dazzling 98-yard kickoff return with 5:18 left in the first quarter kept the Mustangs close. However, when Stewart busted off a 66-yard touchdown run early in the third period to make it 25-10, the game looked to be getting out of reach. Stewart, who added a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, ended up with 197 rushing yards on 33 attempts. Turner added a 108-yard effort on 16 rushes for the Tigers, who finished with 65 rushes for 318 yards. “I was seeing nothing but green thanks to my linemen, who stepped up bigger than ever,” Stewart said. “The offensive line helped us out a lot, but our defense won the game.” Just when everything seemed to be going the Tigers’ way, a botched punt attempt deep in their own territory put the Mustangs back in business with 3:20 left in the third. Sap ended up taking the direct snap, which was supposed to go to the punter, and was thrown for a 22-yard loss. Hidden Valley took over on downs at the Tigers’ 6-yard line. Three rushes later, DeVos scored on a 1-yard run, and after Nielsen’s kick, it was 25-17. “One of the things we talked about at halftime is that we needed a huge play,” Figoni said. “It turned out to be a huge momentum-changer, and we perked up from there.” Draper helped turn the game around with four straight completions in the second half, his first a 75-yard bomb to Downs, who had two grabs for 100 yards. Draper ended up throwing for 151 yards, completing 5-of-16 attempts with an interception. Hidden Valley finished with 125 rushing yards. Ontario moves on to face second-ranked Siuslaw (11-0, 5-0 Far West League) this week in the semifinals.