WESTPORT — Raymond’s goal coming into its matchup with Ocosta on Tuesday was to put together four solid quarters of football. It turned out the Seagulls only needed one really good one.
Leading 14-0 heading into the second quarter, Raymond exploded for three touchdowns in just 36 seconds to run away from the Wildcats, 47-14, in this Southwest Washington 2B Coastal Division contest. The Gulls also forced four turnovers in the second quarter and jumped out to a 40-0 lead at halftime.
Although the Gulls led early in the game, Raymond coach Luke Abbott said he was not entirely happy with the effort he saw from his team. Abbott brought his team to the sideline and gave a brief pep talk between quarters and the Gulls responded in the second to the tune of 26 points.
“They understood that we needed to play better and they stepped up to the plate at that point,” Abbott said. “Our main goal for this game was to come in and play four good quarters of football and they saw how we didn’t start out how I wanted them to and they took charge in the second quarter.”
“That first half, if we got things going, we shot ourselves in the foot,” Ocosta coach Brian Snell said. “You can’t beat a team as good as Raymond when you turn the ball over four times. Our offense didn’t help our defense too much, but our defense kept putting up a fight.”
The Gulls got on the scoreboard first just six minutes into the game when Kason Koski scored on a 1-yard run and Patrick Edwards added the 2-point conversion. Jace Duckworth found the end zone five minutes later to put the gulls up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
It would be a combination of offensive and defensive highlights fueling the Gulls in the second quarter. With 9:04 left in the second, Duckworth broke free on a 55-yard run to score. Duckworth would be back in the end zone just 15 seconds later as he picked up a fumble and scampered 20 yards for a 26-0 lead.
The Wildcats put the ball on the turf again moments later with Marcus Anderson recovering for the Gulls. Koski toted the ball in for another score on a 1-yard run to make it 32-0 with 8:28 left in the first half.
Koski connected with Reese Garcia on a 15-yard pass and ran in the 2-point conversion to cap the scoring for the first half and give the Gulls a 40-0 lead.
Raymond’s McCartney Maden, who grabbed two interceptions in the second quarter, scored the final touchdown for the Gulls on the night with a 3-yard run late in the third quarter.
Ocosta’s offense started rolling in the fourth quarter for two scores — Matt Hart rushed in from 10 yards out with 10 minutes remaining to put the Wildcats on the scoreboard and he found the end zone again on an 81-yard run with 5:30 left to seal the final margin.
In addition to Hart’s work, the Wildcats were led by Hayden Hoff’s eight carries for 46 yards. Dereck Thomas finished with eight tackles for Ocosta, while Kobe Beck had seven tackles. Thomas and Beck each chipped in with 38 yards receiving.
Edwards finished with 163 yards rushing on 15 carries for the Gulls, while Duckworth carried the ball 11 times for 104 yards.
Both teams will be back in action again on Friday when Raymond hosts South Bend and Ocosta travels to Ilwaco.
