Aidan Miller scores four touchdowns as Prairie beats Corvallis 48-14

CORVALLIS, Ore. — As Aidan Miller came off the field following his fourth touchdown on Friday, the senior said. “I got one more in me.”

But for coach Will Ephram, it was more than enough.

Miller caught six passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns, and he returned a kickoff return 76 yards for a score as the Falcons snapped a three-game losing streak with a 48-14 non-league win over Corvallis on Friday.

“We came down loose,” Miller said. “Coach gave us a good speech before we left. We made sure we had our minds right before we stepped on the field, and we executed.”

Prairie opened the season 3-0, but then dropped its next three — including back-to-back tough league losses to Kelso and Mountain View.

“Psychologically, those losses did take a toll on us,” Ephraim said. “So we focused on just being positive. Letting them know that they are talented athletes, and they can compete. And they feel it, and they understand it.”

The Falcons answered their coach’s call early. After blocking a Corvallis field goal and returning to midfield, the Falcons got on the board with a 54-yard touchdown pass from Braeden Slamp to Ethan Cabral.

On Prairie’s second possession, it was Miller’s turn, catching a 32-yard touchdown pass from Slamp to go up 14-0.

Miller and Cabral also intercepted passes on defense, with Cabral returning his 70 yards to set up Alex Ford’s 1-yard touchdown run to put Prairie up 27-0 in the second quarter.

“Our defense played much better,” Ephraim said. “The defense didn’t play flat. We got a lot of stops, lot of turnovers, which is the way our defense is supposed to play.”

After Corvallis scored a touchdown, Prairie took firm control before halftime with Miller returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown and a 34-7 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Miller added touchdown receptions of 20 and 48 yards as the Falcons pulled away. Braeden Slamp completed 11 of 19 passes for 264 yards and five touchdowns.

Back above .500 at 4-3, the Falcons will now turn their attention to their final two league games against Evergreen and Heritage. Mountain View’s loss to Kelso on Thursday kept a path open to the playoffs still open for Prairie.

“We needed this because there’s still some hope,” Ephraim said. “We wanted to finish our season strong in these last three games. We’ve got one down and we’re going for the next two. Next week is a big game. I think this really helped out confidence.”

Miller agreed.

“It’s just a little pump for us to go into next week against Evergreen ready to go, and ready to ball out,” he said.

PRAIRIE 48, CORVALLIS 14

Prairie 14 20 14 0—48

Corvallis 0 7 0 7—14

First quarter

P — Ethan Cabral 54 pass from Braeden Slamp (Ashton Ferguson kick)

P — Aidan Miller 32 pass from Slamp (Ferguson kick)

Second quarter

P — Pierson Lameh 23 pass from Slamp (Ferguson kick)

P — Alex Ford 1 run (kick failed)

C — Truman Brasfield 15 pass from Axel Prechel (Aaryan Indra kick)

P — Miller 76 punt return (Ferguson kick)

Third quarter

P — Miller 20 pass from Slamp (Ferguson kick)

P — Miller 48 pass from Slamp (Ferguson kick)

Fourth quarter

C — RJ Young 1 run (Indra kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Prairie: Alex Ford 8-44, Pierson Lameh 6-13, Ethan Cabral 1-(-1), Colby Majewski 4-13, Braeden Slamp 3-20, Preston Hill 2-25, Alijah Machida 1-5, Ernesto Espinosa 1-0. Corvallis: RJ Young 6-16, Toby Worsch 8-17, Caden McGowan 1-11, Axel Prechel 3-(-1).

PASSING — Prairie: Braeden Slamp 11-19-0-264, Isaac Watson 4-6-1-31. Corvallis: Alex Prechel 24-43-3-222.

RECEIVING — Prairie: Ethan Cabral 5-100, Aidan Miller 6-143, Pierson Lameh 1-23, Alijah Machida 2-19, AJ Burke 1-10. Corvallis: Truman Brasfield 11-130, Trey Johnson 4-18, Toby Worsch 1-(-1), Caden McGowan 4-34, Jackson Trimmer 1-7, RJ Young 3-34.