The Montesano defense racked up the turnovers that the offense converted into points in the Bulldogs’ 41-0 East County Civil War victory over Elma on Friday in Montesano.
Monte (3-0 overall) scored 21 points off of four Elma turnovers en route to the victory.
Bulldog defensive back Colby Adams got the Monte defense going, intercepting Elma quarterback René Duran on the fourth play from scrimmage to give Monte excellent field position at the Elma 12-yard line. A few plays later, Monte quarterback Trace Ridgway plunged into the end zone from a yard out to give the Bulldogs the early 7-0 lead.
After Monte’s defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Elma possession, the Bulldogs offense extended the lead to 14-0 on a 10-yard run up the middle from junior Isaac Pierce.
Two plays later, Monte regained possession after an Elma fumble was recovered at the Elma 32. Seven plays later, Monte running back Isaiah Pierce scored from a yard out to give the Bulldogs their 14th point off a turnover in the first quarter and a 21-0 lead.
Montesano’s Mateo Sanchez, left, and Trace Ridgway tackle Elma quarterback René Duran during the Bulldogs’ 41-0 win on Friday in Montesano. (Photo by Sue Michalak Budsberg)
“I think we had a really good wave of momentum in the first quarter,” Ridgway said of Monte’s blistering start. “(Getting) a turnover on the first drive on defense. That helps a lot. … We were excited and ready to play and when everyone has energy we just play better and capitalize on turnovers.”
Fortunes didn’t fare much better for Elma (1-2) in the second quarter. The Eagles fumbled at midfield after forcing a Monte punt.
Again, the Bulldog offense made Elma pay.
Isaac Pierce caught a Trace Ridgway pass and found room down the right sideline for a 41-yard touchdown reception that put Monte up 28-0 with 9:44 until halftime.
Monte found pay dirt two offensive possessions later, driving inside the 5-yard line on a nifty double-pass from Ridgway to receiver Christian Prall, who then hit tight end Brent Hollatz down the left sideline for a 44-yard pass play with nine seconds left on the clock.
Prall was rewarded when he caught a Ridgway pass and ran it inside the left pylon for a 35-0 lead with just a half-second left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs got the running clock started when running back Aydan Darst scored on a 2-yard run to push the lead to 41-0 with 8:56 to go in the third quarter.
Monte collected its fourth turnover of the game when senior defensive back Ty Ekerson stripped and recovered an Elma fumble with 3:14 left in the game.
“The coaches were emphasizing turnovers all week,” Monte head coach Terry Jensen said. “We haven’t had an interception yet (this season), and we got one right away with Colby Adams and that set a tone. We got the momentum right there and were able to get down and score real quick. (The turnovers) get kind of contagious. You get one, then you get about three more after that. … Explosive plays and turnovers are key stats for us and we know when we win both of those, we have a good chance of winning the game.”
Monte compiled 273 total yards on offense to just 130 for Elma — the third consecutive game Monte’s defense has held an opponent to under 150 total yards.
Montesano running back Aydan Darst runs for a touchdown in the third quarter of the Bulldogs’ 41-0 victory over Elma Friday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano. (Ryan Sparks | The Daily World)
“We’ve played really physical and are really running to the ball,” Jensen said. “We’re just aggressive on defense and are playing really fast. That’s kind of been a key for our defense over the years. The faster we play on defense, the better we play, and we played really fast tonight.”
Ridgway went 9-of-11 for 96 yards and two touchdowns.
Darst ran for 64 yards on 11 carries to lead the Bulldogs while Isaac Pierce caught two passes for 69 yards and scored a touchdown both rushing and receiving for Montesano.
Elma junior running back Conan Baxter was a bright spot for the Eagles, rushing for 108 yards in the loss.
After looking sluggish in spurts in its first game, Monte has shown the form worthy of its top 10 ranking over the past two weeks.
“It was tough in the beginning because of a lot of adversity and we didn’t practice all summer,” Ridgway said. “But we hold each other accountable. We have high standards. Our teammates and coaches hold us to those standards and we just lift each other up and play as hard as we can each practice.”
Hoquiam 12, Tenino 0
Hoquiam speedster Troy McMinn had more than 200 yards of total offense as the Grizzlies defeated Tenino 12-0 on Friday at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam.
McMinn carried the ball 25 times for 174 yards and caught three passes for 65 yards to lead the Grizzlies, who picked up their first win of the season. McMinn also scored on a 7-yard TD run in the second quarter.
Hoquiam quarterback Dane McMillan scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter to open the scoring. The senior finished the game going 5-for-9 passing with 118 yards while rushing for 68 yards on 11 attempts.
Hoquiam quarterback Dan McMillan drops back to pass during Hoquiam’s 12-0 victory over the Tenino Beavers on Friday in Hoquiam. (Photo by Ben Winkelman)
Hoquiam (1-2) collected five Tenino turnovers on Friday, including a fourth-quarter interception by Camden Templer.
Grizzlies head coach Jeremy McMillan noted defenders Junior Ensminger, Jon Brown and Kyrin Bretz for making key contributions to the Hoquiam shutout.
“The Grizzlies have more work to get done,” McMillan acknowledged. “I’m pleased with the kids’ resilience and hard work all week.”
Wahkiakum 45, RSB 6
The Raymond-South Bend Ravens had a rough go of it on Friday at Wahkiakum High School, losing 45-6.
“Wahkiakum is a very physical, upper class-driven team who is well coached. They were relentless on both sides of the ball,” Ravens head coach Luke Abbott said. “We really struggled with their overall size and speed which, in my opinion, would be a difficult task for the vast majority of teams at this level to handle.”
Abbott added mistakes proved costly for RSB (1-1), which fell behind 32-0 at halftime.
“We made some mistakes and if we want to be competitive the rest of the season, those things need to get fixed,” he said. “I was happy with the fact we didn’t give up and didn’t quit, but we just need to get better on both sides of the ball. I am really looking forward to clean those things up next week.”
Joseph Villalpando led RSB with 16 carries for 80 yards and a third-quarter touchdown.
John Johnson had 54 yards on six carries for the Ravens.
Ilwaco 41, NB 14
North Beach fell to Ilwaco 41-14 on Friday at Ilwaco High School.
North Beach’s (1-1) scoring came off a 30-yard pass play from quarterback Sam Teague to receiver Josh Bighead and a 55-yard pass from Teague to Dominic Jerome.
Wyeland Lomedico had a two-point conversion while Bighead also had an interception in the contest for the Hyaks.
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Tumwater 57, AHS 0
Aberdeen struggled against the 2A defending state champions in a 57-0 loss to host Tumwater.
Aberdeen (0-3) started the game with a 28-yard kickoff return by senior Jeremy Roberts and proceeded to drive deep into Thunderbird territory. But an interception at the Tumwater 1-yard line thwarted the drive, and the Thunderbirds followed with a scoring drive of 14 plays that ate up much of the first quarter.
“And that’s when the wheels fell off,” said Aberdeen head coach Todd Bridge, whose team followed with a fumble that was scooped up by the Tumwater defense and run into the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
Aberdeen’s woes continued in the second quarter as Tumwater took control of the game, scoring three touchdowns that included a score off an interception and another on a punt return.
“I’m not too big on moral victories, but it honestly felt kind like we accomplished something by not have a running clock right after halftime,” Bridge said. “I saw anger in the eyes of many of our players. We weren’t starstruck as the word of the night was ‘Belligerent.’ I felt we played exactly that way, belligerent.”
Tumwater would score twice more in the third quarter and once more in the fourth, capitalizing off of five Aberdeen turnovers in the game.
“I thought (Bobcats assistant coaches Cory Martinsen, David Tarrence, John Bowers and John Takagi) put together a really good defensive scheme. Those 57 points can’t be hung on those men nor on our defense,” Bridge said. “Our offense continues to put our defense in a difficult situation, but we’re going to figure it out.”
Aberdeen finished the evening just shy of 90 yards of total offense, all of which was through the running game.
Bridge added that to beat the top-ranked team in the state, you have to play mistake-free football, and the Bobcats failed to do that on Saturday in suffering their third straight shutout to open the season.
“You have to play a perfect game if you’re stepping on the field with Tumwater High School,” he said. “We didn’t do that and the score doesn’t really reflect the general feel for how the game was. We made too many mistakes in order to keep it respectable. Day by day, we’ve got to get better.”
Forks 49, PWV 0
For a young team with little depth, it wasn’t the score that stung as bad for the Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans after being on the bad end of a drubbing against Forks.
It was the injury report.
The Titans lost two key players to injuries in a 49-0 loss to the Spartans on Saturday in Montesano.
Lineman Grady Christen (knee) and running back/defensive back Aiden Lee (collarbone) will both miss significant time due to injuries suffered during the game.
“As a team with very little depth, this really hurts us,” PWV assistant coach John Peterson said.
PWV (0-2) was overmatched against Forks, which dropped down to the 2B classification this season.
Spartans running back Hayden Baker had 138 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries to lead Forks.
PWV was held to negative yards on offense.
Other scores
Hoquiam running back Troy McMinn carries the ball during the Grizzlies’ 12-0 win over Tenino on Friday at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam. (Photo by Ben Winkelman)
