The long and drawn-out drought of high school football on the Twin Harbors is no more.
After local high school football teams had to wait another few days after much anticipated season-opening games were rescheduled due to the weekend’s snowy weather, the start of the 2021 prep football season kicked off on Monday with a slate of games.
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Montesano quarterback Trace Ridgway makes a pass against Tenino on Monday in Montesano.
Montesano 23, Tenino 6
Montesano overcame a sluggish start to earn a 23-6 victory over the Tenino Beavers at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.
The Bulldogs (1-0) overcame 12 penalties for 90 yards as the defense was able to hold Tenino (0-1) to 127 yards of total offense.
Monte first got on the scoreboard in the second quarter. Senior quarterback Trace Ridgway scored on an 11-yard run, followed by a 22-yard scoring scamper by senior running back Aydan Darst to take a 14-0 lead at halftime.
The Monte defense forced a Tenino safety in the third quarter and the Bulldogs took a 23-0 lead when Darst scored his second touchdown of the game on a 5-yard run early in the fourth quarter, capping off Monte’s best drive of the game in the process.
Tenino scored on a late touchdown catch off a deflected pass to round out the scoring at 23-6.
Montesano head coach Terry Jensen spoke of his team’s perseverance and the need to clean up some of the mistakes it made Monday.
“I just think our kids have persevered really well and adapted well to everything,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of things to clean up. We had a lot of penalties and they were big today. … We’ve got to finish plays and we’ve got to learn from (watching film) and grow.”
Ridgway finished the game going 5-for-10 passing for 76 yards.
Montesano rushed for 125 yards as a team.
Though pleased with the victory, Jensen and his staff addressed the work still needed if their student-athletes are going to raise their level of play.
“We have a standard we need to play to, and we’re not sure if we played to that standard today,” Jensen said. “I thought when we got into our tempo (offense), that was really effective for us. But we just have a lot of things to work on.”
Elma 27, Hoquiam 13
After seeing an early 13-0 lead nearly evaporate, the Elma Eagles scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to earn a 27-13 victory over Hoquiam at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.
Elma (1-0) opened the scoring on a 4th-and-goal touchdown pass from quarterback René Duran to tight end Noah Huttula from two yards out early in the second quarter.
The Eagles then capitalized on a Hoquiam turnover on the ensuing kickoff, scoring a few plays later when junior running back Conan Baxter blasted his way into the end zone from inside the 5-yard line to make it a 13-0 game.
Hoquiam responded just before halftime, when senior quarterback Dane McMillan sprinted to the right pylon for a 2-yard TD run, cutting the deficit to 13-7 at the half.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam quarterback Dane McMillan, middle, makes a pass during the Grizzlies’ 27-13 loss to Elma on Monday in Montesano.
The Grizzlies crept closer in the third quarter. After an Elma fumble thwarted an Eagles scoring drive at the Hoquiam 1-yard line, the Grizzlies gave up a safety to make it a 15-6 game. On the ensuing drive, a bad Eagles snap was recovered by Hoquiam at the Elma 12-yard line. Three plays later, Hoquiam capitalized to cut the Elma lead to 15-13 heading into the fourth quarter.
But Elma responded in the final frame, as Baxter scored after a Hoquiam fumble, and capped off the evening with a 15-yard TD run — his third of the game — with time winding down to give Elma the 27-13 victory.
“I think we ran the ball extremely hard,” Elma head coach Ron Clark said before giving credit to his defense for making key plays against a talented Hoquiam offense. “Our defense made quite a few big plays when they had to and the pressure we were able to get on (McMillan) in the fourth quarter was kind of what tipped the balance there. … Considering the past year, for those guys to come out and give that effort is pretty special.”
Raymond-South Bend 24, Ilwaco 13
Raymond and South Bend high schools, once bitter cross-town rivals, combined to win the inaugural game of its newly-designated combination team — the Ravens — defeating Ilwaco, 24-13, in thrilling fashion Monday in South Bend.
Things got off to a raucous start for RSB (1-0) as running back Josh Johnson took the opening snap 62-yards for a touchdown and an early 6-0 lead.
But two big Ilwaco plays — a 98-yard TD run in the first quarter and a fumble recovery for a score in the third quarter — had the Ravens facing a 13-6 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
That’s when the Ravens offense took flight. RSB’s Deleak Hubbard scored on a 47-yard TD run, followed by a 44-yard TD catch by running back Joseph Villalpando from quarterback Adrian Quintana.
Villalpando capped off the evening with a 27-yard TD run to put the game on ice and give RSB its first win as a program.
“We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times,” RSB head coach Luke Abbott said, adding that he thought his defense played great all night and kept the Ravens in the game until the offense could finish drives. “In that fourth quarter, we kind of figured out what worked for us and what was available.”
Villalpando finished with 167 total yards — 112 of those via the run — and one touchdown to lead a balanced Ravens ground game.
Johnson had 10 rushes for 99 yards, while Hubbard added 11 carries for 85 yards, each scoring a touchdown in the process.
Quintana finished 2-for-4 for 52 passing yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, RSB was led by Hayden Stephens’ 10 tackles. Ty Reidinger and Villalpando added nine tackles a piece.
“We fixed the mistakes, especially in the fourth quarter, and I was very happy with the determination and how we finished as a team,” Abbott said before providing some insight on the feeling inside the RSB locker room after a landmark victory. “When I walked into the locker room, it was dead silent. No one said a word. I went to hang my hat up, as I always do before a speech, and I turned around to face them and I just kind of had my hands up and I just said ‘Yes! Yes!’ And they jumped. They were screaming. They were so excited.”
WF West 42, Aberdeen 0
The Aberdeen Bobcats found it rough going against the state’s 10th-ranked team in the 2A classification, falling 42-0 to WF West on Monday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.
Bearcats senior running back Max Taylor ran for 116 yards and scored four touchdowns in the game, including TD runs of 70 and 60 yards, to lead WF West (1-0).
The Bearcats led 14-0 after one quarter, 21-0 at the half and 35-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
WF West sophomore quarterback Gavin Fugate completed 14 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
Aberdeen was led by sophomore running back Jeremy Sawyer (10 carries, 33 yards) and Connar Sherman (12 carries, 30 yards) in a game where the Bobcats managed just 106 total yards of offense, 105 of those via the rushing attack.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen running back Connar Sherman, left, carries the football against WF West on Monday in Aberdeen.
“Winning conceals what losing reveals,” Aberdeen head coach Todd Bridge said after the loss, adding the defeat will be used as a measuring stick for his players. “In the game of life, there are these crossroads. … We’re going to dive into some film and fix some stuff, but how they approach this will be a dictation for the rest of their life. They put everything into this. … And we get the No. 10 team in the state that is loaded and very well-coached.
“The big thing for them is they have to maintain that passion and hunger they brought on Feb. 1. … How they respond these next 48 hours is pivotal, but I think they’ll be fine.”
A bright spot Bridge and his coaching staff addressed in the postgame meeting was how they felt the players didn’t quit despite the lopsided loss.
“Film doesn’t lie, but I didn’t see anybody quit,” Bridge said. “The kids are dejected because they put their heart and soul into what we have going on and you just got gut-wrenched and beat by 42. … But we’re going to bounce back and we’re going to go into Black Hills (next Saturday) and give them all they want.”
Other scores
Morton-White Pass 48, Ocosta 13
GIRLS SOCCER
Ocosta 7, Montesano JV 0
Ocosta (2-1 overall) — Natalie Carloza (G); Kylee Denny (G, A); Miki Ness (G, A); Nevaeh Smith (G); Ryann Raffelson (2 G); Maddie Schaeffer (A).
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma quarterback René Duran (18) escapes the tackle of Hoquiam defender Kohltan Philamalee during the Eagles’ 27-13 victory on Monday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen’s Austin Neeley, center, pressures WF West quarterback Gavin Fugate during the Bobcats’ 42-0 loss Monday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.
