Local team competed for playoff spots and positions as we review Week 8 gridiron games on the Harbor.
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PREP FOOTBALL
Elma 36, Hoquiam 14
Elma turned around an ominous start to score 36 unanswered points en route to a 36-14 win over Hoquiam on Friday at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam.
The Eagles (4-4 overall, 2-1 1A Evergreen) fell behind early as Hoquiam (2-6, 0-3) recovered an Elma fumble on the first play from scrimmage and cashed in when running back Kingston Case scored from 2-yards out for a 7-0 Grizzlies lead less than two minutes into the game.
After a three-and-out by the Eagles offense, Hoquiam charged back down the field and took a 14-0 lead when junior quarterback Joey Bozich hit sophomore tight end Lincoln Niemi for a 16-yard touchdown at the 6:16 mark of the period.
Another Elma three-and-out that included a 9-yard loss on a botched snap, forced an Eagles punt and threat of going down by three touchdowns inside the first 12 minutes of the game.
But one big play by Elma senior linebacker Bo Muller changed the tide of the game.
Muller stepped in front of a Bozich pass and ran 16 yards into the end zone for a pick-6 touchdown that seemed to wake the Eagles out of their slumber.
On the ensuing kickoff, an onside kick was recovered down the far sideline by Elma senior Jordan Meadows on a dead sprint.
The Eagles offense didn’t waste the opportunity, scoring four plays later when junior quarterback Isaac McGaffey broke free for a 29-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14-all heading into the second quarter.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma quarterback Isaac McGaffey (3) looks for running room during a 36-14 win over Hoquiam on Friday at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam.
“Bad start. … We finally made a play to get that pick-6, got the onside and evened up the game,” Elma head coach Larry Raynes said. “I just told the kids to settle down, there was a lot of game left. Settle down, get refocused and start over.”
Elma was gifted a 1st-and-goal at the Hoquiam 5-yard line after a bad snap on a punt attempt was bobbled by Bozich, who fell on the ball.
Two play later, the Eagles took the lead when senior running back Traden Carter scored on a 4-yard run for a 21-14 lead early in the second quarter.
After halftime, Elma put the Grizzlies away.
Elma scored its second defensive touchdown of the game when sophomore linebacker Colt Landstrom scored on a 68-yard interception return.
Later in the third quarter, McGaffey connected with senior receiver Ethan Camus for a 33-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch to put the Eagles up 34-14.
Elma added two more defensive points on a fourth-quarter safety, as the Eagles defense accounted for 16 of the team’s 36 points in the game.
“I’m super proud of the kids for what they did,” Raynes said. “The defense settled down and started getting after it and making plays. They saw what (Hoquiam) was doing to us and adjusted).”
McGaffey went 7 for 14 for 101 yards passing and a touchdown while rushing for a team-high 56 yards on four carries and a touchdown.
Camus was his favorite target, catching three passes for 84 yards and a score.
“That pick-6, that was a big momentum-changer for one, and two, we’ve got playoffs coming up and we wanted to get in and secure a spot,” said Camus, whose team secured no worse than the No. 3 spot in the state round of 32. “I want to thank my team. We did really good. I liked the way we could change the momentum just like that and come back out and get a win.”
Elma’s defense held Hoquiam to 69 rushing yards and intercepted Bozich three times, with McGaffey also recording a pick from his safety spot, while sacking the Grizzlies quarterback four times.
The Eagles also recovered two kickoffs in the game.
Case led Hoquiam with 98 rushing yards on 20 carries.
“We came out and the kids were on fire,” Hoquiam head coach Jeremy McMillan said. “I think from the coin toss, to the kickoff, to that first play on defense, our kids were dialed in. You couldn’t ask for a better start really. … (Elma) got momentum after the pick-6. … That’s just how it is. It felt all night like we were on a field that was 150-yards long and they were at the 25. You can’t expect to win a game like that.”
Elma will close out the regular season against Montesano at 7 p.m. Friday in Montesano, with second place in the 1A Evergreen League at stake.
Hoquiam closes out its season against Rochester at 7 p.m. Friday at Rochester High School.
Elma 14 7 13 2 – 36
Hoquiam 14 0 0 0 – 14
Scoring
First quarter
Hoquiam – Case 2 run (Byron kick), 10:04
H – Niemi 16 pass from Bozich (Byron kick), 6:16
Elma – Muller 16 interception return (Wood kick), 2:31
E – McGaffey 29 run (Wood kick), 1:23
Second quarter
E – Muller 3 run (Wood kick), 11:40
Third quarter
E – Landstrom 68 interception return (kick fail), 8:58
E – Camus 33 pass from McGaffey (Wood kick), 2:35
Fourth quarter
E – safety
Passing: E – McGaffey 7-14-0-101. H – Bozich 11-25-3-78.
Rushing: E – McGaffey 4-56, K. Radamacher 5-24, Muller 9-19, Carter, 1-10, C. Radamacher 2-7, McCalahan 2-6, Brookins 1-0, Bucy 1-9-4. H – Case 20-98, Kaikaka 3-9.
Receiving: E – Camus 3-84, Landstrom 1-15, McCalahan 1-2. H – Niemi 4-36, Byron 3-32.
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Napavine 66, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley 12
Disaster struck early for Pe Ell-Willapa Valley en route to a 66-12 loss to Napavine on Friday at Willapa Valley High School.
The Titans (5-3, 3-1 2B Central-West) lost standout senior Cody Strozyk to a leg injury in the first quarter and never recovered, leading to a 49-12 deficit at halftime to the Tigers (6-2, 4-0).
“Losing him as early as we did kind of changed a whole lot,” PWV interim head coach Josh Seymour said. “It kind of shook our guys a little bit and we weren’t really able to recover from that. It changed a whole lot of what we had hoped and planned to do. We were kind of scrambling after that.”
PWV got as close as 28-6 when quarterback Josh Fluke hit receiver Blaine King with a 10-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.
Napavine scored twice more before PWV’s Spud Swogger returned a kickoff 75 yards to make it a 42-6 game.
The Tigers would score once more before the half and outscored the Titans 17-0 in the second half to win the battle of first-place teams.
PWV had a total of 137 yards in the game.
Fluke went 8 for 20 for 92 yards with a touchdown, an interception.
Running back Lucas Lusk carried the ball 13 times for 33 yards while King caught four passes for 72 yards.
The loss moves PWV into a tie for second place in the league with Adna.
The two will square off at 7 p.m. Friday in Adna.
Napavine 28 21 7 10 — 66
PWV 0 12 0 0 — 12
Scoring
First quarter
N — Shields 40 run (conversion good)
N — Von Pressentin 15 run (kick fail)
N — Von Pressentin 63 run (PAT good)
N — Denault 42 pass from Wilson (PAT good)
Second quarter
PWV — King 10 pass from Fluke (conversion fail)
N — Wilson 20 run (PAT good)
N — Landram 1 run (PAT good)
PWV — Swogger 75 kickoff return (conversion fail)
N — Denault 56 punt return (PAT good)
Third quarter
N — Von Pressentin 5 run (PAT good)
Fourth quarter
N — Safety
N — Hipp 8 run (conversion good)
Passing: PWV – Fluke 8-20-1-92.
Rushing: PWV – Lusk 13-33, Strozyk 4-25.
Receiving: PWV – King 4-72, Mican 2-19.
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Forks 35, Raymond-South Bend 8
Raymond-South Bend remains winless in league play after a 35-8 loss to Forks on Friday in Forks.
The Ravens (2-6, 0-4 2B Central-West) fell behind 35-0 against the Spartans (3-5, 2-2) until junior linebacker Enrique Flores recovered a fumble in the end zone with 4:25 to play in the fourth quarter.
RSB’s offense was able to move the ball, with senior running back Isaac Schlueter (17 carries, 110 yards) and senior quarterback Chris Quintana (23-81) combining for nearly 200 rushing yards.
But the Ravens defense allowed 30 or more points for the sixth time this season, leading to the loss.
RSB closes out its season against Ilwaco at 7 p.m. Friday at Sanchez Field in South Bend.
RSB 0 0 0 8 – 8
Forks 14 14 7 0 – 35
Scoring
First quarter
Forks – Hernandez 25 run (kick good), 8:30
F – Davila 22 pass from Hernandez (kick good), 3:06
Second quarter
F – Olson 2 run (kick good), 11:57
F – Foster 13 pass from Hernandez (kick good), 2:46
Third quarter
F – Steffen 8 run (kick good), 1:43
Fourth quarter
RSB – Holmes 0 fumble return (Quintana run), 4:25
Rushing: RSB – Schlueter 17-110, Quintana 23-81.
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Clallam Bay 58, Wishkah Valley 26
Wishkah Valley scored more points than any of Clallam Bays opponents this season, but it wasn’t enough as the Loggers lost 58-26 on Saturday at Wishkah Valley High School.
The Loggers (3-2, 2-2 1B Coastal 6-man) had four different players throw passes in the game as Wishkah has been bit by the injury bug.
Despite that, the Loggers had three touchdown passes in the game and their 26 points is 20 more than any other team has scored against the Bruins (6-0, 5-0) this season.
“I was very proud of the team for playing hard the whole game and having a positive attitude,” Loggers head coach Eric Erickson said. “We hope to get back on the winning track next week. Hopefully, we’ll get a couple of starters back for that game.”
Wishkah had 130 passing yards and 34 rushing yards in the game.
The Loggers had touchdown passes by Drew Stewart, Boady Dhooghe and and Matthew Erickson in the game.
Kohl Bradner caught a touchdown and rushed for a 2-yard touchdown in the game while teammates Dhooghe and Quentin Haskey also caught TD passes in the contest.
Erickson (11.5 tackles), Dhooghe (10 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries, forced fumble) and Haskey (fumble recovery) led the Wishkah defense.
The Loggers sit in third place in the 1B Coastal League 6-man standings and will face the Washington School for the Deaf at 3 p.m. on Thursday in Vancouver.
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Other scores
North Beach 28, Chief Leschi 16
Naselle 85, Ocosta 22
Sound Christian 54, Taholah 36
Northwest Christian 61, Lake Quinault 0
