Montesano faces tough test state quarterfinals against La Center

Bulldogs face state-semifinal favorites in one-loss Wildcats on Saturday in Woodland

By Ryan Sparks • November 20, 2024 5:00 pm
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano lineman Logan Roberts (77) blocks for quarterback Tyson Perry (7) during the Bulldogs’ 31-7 win in a 1A State Tournament game against Omak on Saturday. Monte takes on La Center in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano lineman Logan Roberts (77) blocks for quarterback Tyson Perry (7) during the Bulldogs’ 31-7 win in a 1A State Tournament game against Omak on Saturday. Monte takes on La Center in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.

Humbled would be a good word to describe the Montesano Bulldogs after suffering a 35-7 season-opening loss at the hands of the La Center Wildcats.

Fast forward 11 weeks and Montesano has a shot at redemption.

The Bulldogs will rematch with the Wildcats when the two teams square off in a 1A State Tournament quarterfinal matchup at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Woodland High School.

But looking at the Week 1 matchup as some sort of barometer for how Saturday’s game might play out would be a fool’s errand.

There has been a season of football between the two meetings and both teams have evolved over the season.

Montesano (8-3 overall) turned its season around with an upset win over No. 5 Nooksack Valley on Oct. 18 and hasn’t looked back, winning its past four games including a 31-7 drubbing over Omak in last week’s state-playoff game.

The Bulldogs are getting healthy, with previously-injured running back Terek Gunter and receivers Mason Rasmussen and Toren Crites all playing significant roles in last week’s victory.

Montesano’s defense has been solid throughout the season and has ramped up its play during the postseason, surrendering a total of 13 points over the past two weeks.

DAILY WORLD FILE PHOTO Montesano linebacker Marcus Hale (middle) performs a textbook tackle against Omak quarterback Teagen Mullin during the Bulldogs’ 31-7 win on Saturday in Montesano. The Bulldogs face La Center in a 1A State quarterfinal game on Saturday at Woodland High School.

DAILY WORLD FILE PHOTO Montesano linebacker Marcus Hale (middle) performs a textbook tackle against Omak quarterback Teagen Mullin during the Bulldogs’ 31-7 win on Saturday in Montesano. The Bulldogs face La Center in a 1A State quarterfinal game on Saturday at Woodland High School.

But the Wildcats (9-1) are a different animal.

Third-seeded La Center rolled through its schedule until running into a roadblock against No. 2 Seton Catholic in the regular-season finale on Nov. 1, falling to the Cougars 29-21 for its first loss of the season.

La Center cruised to a 58-6 victory over Elma one week later in the state play-in round to receive a No. 3 seed and a bye last week.

The Wildcats are led by senior quarterback Wyatt Eiesland and running back Isaac Chromey, each of whom scored touchdowns both on offense and defense in the win over Elma.

The Wildcats also sport a stingy defense that has allowed more than seven points a game just twice this season.

Monte head coach Terry Jensen knows the road to the state title gets tougher every week, and after exercising recent first-round disappointments with last week’s win, he knows the Bulldogs will have to continue to play great defense, finish drives on offense and clean up the penalties to upset the state-finalist favorites.

“We’re hoping we can continue to improve. La Center is a great team and we know that and they showed us that,” he said. “We need to put in a good week of work here.”

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Zach Timmons (4) looks for running room during a 31-7 win over Omak on Saturday. The Bulldogs face No. 3 La Center on Saturday at Woodland High School.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Zach Timmons (4) looks for running room during a 31-7 win over Omak on Saturday. The Bulldogs face No. 3 La Center on Saturday at Woodland High School.

Last week, Monte’s defense was able to corral the speedy Pioneers quarterback Teagen Mullin and gave him nobody to throw to. Look for tackling to be a key component in this week’s game as well as La Center likes to run the ball with Eiesland and Chromey, who are adept at breaking tackles and gaining yards after contact.

If the Bulldogs’ linebacking corps of 1A Evergreen League Defensive MVP Marcus Hale, Gabe Pyhala, Felix Romero and company can keep hold of Eiesland and Chromey and the secondary can cover La Center’s effective screen-passing game, Monte could find itself with a chance to advance to the state semis for the first time since 2015.