Aberdeen finds itself in a familiar situation after a chance to lock up the 2A Evergreen Conference’s No. 3 spot slipped through its grasp on Friday.
The Bobcats suffered a 41-34 loss to Shelton at Shelton High School, creating a three-way tie for third place in the 2A Evergreen Conference for the third time in the past four seasons.
Aberdeen is scheduled to compete in a Kansas tie-breaker against Shelton and Black Hills to determine the No. 3 and No. 4 playoff seeds, with the loser being eliminated from postseason competition.
On Friday, Aberdeen fell behind 13-0 before senior running back Jeremy Sawyer scored on a 1-yard run to cut the deficit to six points at the end of the first quarter.
Aberdeen (4-5 overall, 3-3 2A Evergreen) trailed again by two scores when quarterback Mason Goos lateraled back to junior lineman Anthony Sanchelli for an 18-yard touchdown on a rare tackle-screen play.
The Bobcats responded when Sawyer punched in his second rushing touchdown of the contest, this time from 8-yards out, to trail 20-13, but the Highclimbers (5-4, 3-3) scored just before halftime when quarterback Mason Goos hit receiver Dante Trikoff from 10-yards out.
Leading 27-13 at halftime, Shelton extended its lead when Goos — who was 19-for-26 for 264 yards in the game — connected with receiver Gabriel Menefee for a 32-yard touchdown and a 34-13 lead.
Aberdeen junior running back Aidan Watkins scored on an 8-yard run to close out the third quarter with the Bobcats trailing 34-20.
Eleton opened the fourth quarter with an 8-yard TD run, staking the Highclimbers to a 41-20 lead.
Aberdeen then rallied to pull to within seven points with fourth-quarter touchdown runs by senior running back Trey Anderson — from 8-yards out — and senior quarterback Kale Goings from three yards.
Trailing 41-34, Aberdeen’s defense held and a missed Shelton field goal attempt gave the Bobcats the ball on their own 19-yard line with under a minute left in the game.
The Bobcats offense moved the ball to midfield, but time ran out as the Bobcats fell 41-34.
Aberdeen rushed for 236 yards, led by Sawyer (17 carries, 90 yards) and Watkins (7-84).
The loss means if the Bobcats are to make the playoffs, they’ll have to do so through a Kansas tie-breaker for the third time in the past four seasons under head coach Todd Bridge.
Aberdeen is well-versed in the college-overtime style, tie-breaking format, having reached the playoffs through the Kansas tie-breaker in its previous two tries.
“I kind of like where we are at,” Bridge said, noting the Cats are the only team to compete in all three Kansas tie-breakers and their punishing running style is suited to the format. “We are a ball-control offense and the passing game is hampered and minimized by the 25-yard cushion.”
Aberdeen, Shelton and Black Hills will mix it up, Kansas style, at 7 p.m. Monday at Tumwater High School.
Aberdeen 7 6 7 14 — 34
Shelton 13 14 7 7 — 41
Scoring
First quarter
S — Eleton 12 run (Dickey kick), 9:17
S — Menefee 14 pass from Goos (kick fail), 7:30
A — Sawyer 1 run (Avalos kick), 0:43
Second quarter
S — Sanchelli 18 run (Wagener good), 5:22
A — Sawyer 8 run (PAT fail), 3:55
S — Trikoff 10 pass from Goos (Wagener good), 0:32
Third quarter
S — Menefee 32 pass from Goos (Wagener kick), 8:26
A — Watkins 19 run (Avalos kick), 4:28
Fourth quarter
S — Eleton 8 run (Wagener kick), 11:27
A — Anderson 7 run (Avalos kick), 8:13
A — Goings 3 run, (Avalos kick), 3:42
Rushing: A — Sawyer 17-90, Watkins 7-84, Anderson 7-29, Goings 10-36, Springer 3-(-3). S — Eleton 15-76, Fuller 7-35, Gilman 9-30, Zepeda 5-5, Goos 2-2.
Passing: A — Goings 9-12-0-80, Springer 1-4-0-4. S — Goos 19-26-0-264.
Receiving: A — Watkins 5-64, Sawyer 3-11, Hale 1-3, Avalos 1-(-3). S — Menefee 4-76, Anderson 1-13, Fuller 2-64, Trikoff 8-84, A. Eleton 1-8, Zepeda 1-30, No. 82 1-0.
Eatonville 42, Hoquiam 7
Hoquiam struggled against a healthy Eatonville Cruisers team in a 42-7 loss on Thursday in Eatonville.
Hoquiam (4-5 , 1-3 1A Evergreen) was unable to slow down the Cruisers run game, falling behind 42-0 after Eatonville (8-1, 3-1) scored three rushing touchdowns in each of the first two quarters.
With the Cruisers reserves playing the majority of the second half, Hoquiam prevented the shutout when quarterback Zander Jump hit senior receiver Owen McNeill for a 25-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“Their size and speed gave us trouble all night on both sides of the ball,” Hoquiam head coach Jeremy McMillan said of Eatonville. “We challenged the kids at halftime to win the second half and work on situations in the game that we would need in the crossover game. Our kids responded and were able to sustain drives on offense and made some plays on defense.”
Hoquiam is the No. 4 seed out of the 1A Evergreen League and will face Trico League No. 1 La Center in a district crossover game at 7 p.m. Friday at La Center High School.
Hoquiam 0 0 0 7 — 7
Eatonville 21 21 0 0 — 42
Scoring
First quarter
E — Kralik 5 run (Kralik good), 7:19
E — Nation 34 run (Kralik kick), 2:23
E — Norman 5 run, (Kralik kick), 0:00.5
Second quarter
E — Kralik 4 run (Krakik kick), 9:52
E — Bruun 7 run (Kralik kick), 6:04
E — Bruun 32 run (Kralik kick), 4:08
Third quarter
None
Fourth quarter
H — McNeill 25 pass from Jump (Wonderly-Leonard kick), 7:30
Rushing: Templer 4-14, Jump 8-12, Burtenshaw 2-5.
Passing: Jump 14-25-1-88.
Receiving: McNeill 8-54, Templer 3-8, Wonderly-Leonard 2-14, Bennet-Bryson 1-12.
Ocosta 34, North Beach 14
Senior quarterback Josh Figueroa led Ocosta to a 34-14 win over North Beach Friday on Senior Night in Ocosta.
Figueroa rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns in 11 carries — including a 55-yard scoring scamper in the Wildcats’ 22-point second quarter — and recorded two interceptions in the victory.
The senior signal-caller went 7-for-8 for 104 yards passing and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard strike to freshman receiver Ronin Rutzer.
Ocosta rushed for 304 yards in the game, including a triple-digit night from senior running back Kevin Agramon (17-101) and 70 yards from junior back Andrew Martin.
Martin also caught three passes for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Ocosta (7-1, 6-0 2B Central-Lower) honored seniors Figueroa, Agramon, Fredrick Bishop and Gage Grisby on Senior Night.
The Wildcats will take on Rainier in a 2B playoff game at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Westport.
North Beach finishes the season with a 2-4 record in the 2B Central-Lower 8-man league.
North Beach 8 0 6 0 — 14
Ocosta 0 22 6 6 — 34
