One quarter into the game and the outcome was abundantly clear.

Pe Ell-Willapa Valley wasted little time in taking care of Raymond-South Bend with a 53-14 win on Friday at Crogstad Field in Menlo.

The Titans (3-2 overall, 1-0 2B Central-West) scored two touchdowns in less than four minutes to start the game and held a commanding 47-7 lead at halftime.

Running back Cody Strozyk opened the scoring with he burst free for a 63-yard touchdown run just 14 seconds into the game followed by a 32-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Nathan Fluke to running back Lucas Lusk for a 12-0 lead at the 8:47 mark of the first period.

PWV would score twice more in the frame on a 13-yard pass from Fluke to receiver Cody Mican and a 72-yard touchdown run around the edge by running back Blaine King, staking the Titans to a 27-0 lead after one quarter.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD PWV running back Blaine King (3) avoids the tackle of RSB defender Isaac Schlueter (15) en route to a 72-yard touchdown run during a 53-14 win on Friday at Crogstad Field in Menlo.

Fortunes didn’t get much better for the RSB defense in the second period as PWV scored on a King 24-yard run and a Strozyk 32-yard scamper to take a 40-0 lead.

Ravens running back Isaac Schlueter broke the shutout when he got loose for a 70-yard scoring run with just over four minutes left in the first half.

But PWV closed out the quarter when King hauled in a 31-yard touchdown pass from Fluke to take a 47-7 halftime lead.

“We played a couple of good halves so far this year, so the challenge was to come out fast and play hard for 48 minutes,” PWV interim head coach Josh Seymour said. “So we really laid into these guys that it’s a brand new opportunity. Not many people get to start a new season in the middle of the season, so we’re taking it as an opportunity.”

Hank Swartz scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Fluke – his fourth scoring toss of the game – in the third quarter for a 53-7 lead and a running clock for the remainder of the game.

RSB quarterback Chris Quintana scored on a 24-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring at 53-14.

“We didn’t feel like we had put together four quarters of good football yet and I think the kids responded well to that challenge,” Seymour said. “It’s fun being in a rivalry game. … The kids really wanted to come out and show their best football. … You always want to show up against your rival.”

Strozyk had 144 yards on 11 carries and King ran the ball twice for 96 yards as the Titans consistently attacked the edges of the Ravens defense.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Pe Ell-Willapa Valley running back Cody Strozyk (20) rushed for 144 yards in a 53-14 win over Raymond-South Bend on Friday at Willapa Valley High School.

“We have some good athletes and if we can get the ball to them out in space, we can do some good things,” Seymour said. “Tonight, we were able to execute.”

PWV had a staggering 597 yards of total offense, 411 on the ground and 186 through the air.

By contrast, RSB totalled 131 yards of offense on just 33 plays. Of those total yards, 103 were on the ground for a Ravens team that has had three players eclipse 100 rushing yards in a game this season.

“Credit to (PWV defensive coordinator) Dave Strozyk, he had a great defensive game plan and credit to the kids. They worked hard this week on executing calls, stunts on the line and mixing things up. … (RSB) runs a lot of option, so you’ve got to do your job. Defense becomes really easy when you trust your teammates to do their job and you do your job.”

“(PWV) came out physical and completely punched us in the mouth and we didn’t have a response for it,” Ravens head coach Luke Abbott said. “I think we kind of took those punches and didn’t punch back. You could see it in the kids’ face. We’ve got to find a way to take that adversity and attack it instead of run from it. … If someone punches you in the face, are you going to run and hide from it or are you going to put up a fight.”

Abbott added that after he talked with his team about “playing for pride” at halftime, he saw a better effort in the second half, but it was far too little, far too late.

“We had a couple of drives that were alright,” he said. “But we just couldn’t recover from their physicality right from the get-go. … It’s tough to say, but we’re continuing to make mistakes that shouldn’t be made halfway through the football season. Those are things we’ve coached up. … We’re not doing what we’re coached sometimes and I’ve got to find a way to get through.”

Schlueter led RSB with 71 yards on six carries while Abbott commended the leadership of Quintana at quarterback.

“He had a positive attitude the entire game,” he said. “He was never down, he was always steady. He led his team correctly.”

Abbott added the play of defensive lineman Sawyer Duckworth was also a bright spot for the Ravens, as was the physicality of much of his junior varsity unit that got into the game in the second half.

Raymond-South Bend hosts Napavine at 7 p.m. on Friday at South Bend High School.

Pe Ell-Willapa Valley takes on Ilwaco at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Ilwaco.

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RSB 0 7 0 7 – 14

PWV 27 20 6 0 – 53

Scoring

First quarter

PWV – Strozyk 63 run (conversion failed), 11:46

PWV – Lusk 32 pass from Fluke (conversion fail), 8:47

PWV – Mican 13 pass from Fluke (conversion fail), 4:04

PWV – King 72 run (Keeton kick), 1:41

Second quarter

PWV – King 24 run (Keeton kick), 10:54

PWV – Strozyk 32 run (kick fail), 6:45

RSB – Schlueter 70 run (Mora kick), 4:16

PWV – King 31 pass from Fluke (Keeton kick), 1:07

Third quarter

PWV – Swartz 10 pass from Fluke (kick fail), 4:05

Fourth quarter

RSB – Quintana 24 run (Mora kick), 9:36

Passing: PWV – Fluke 11-14-0-186. RSB – Quintana 5-8-0-28.

Rushing: PWV – Strozyk 11-144, King 2-96, Lusk 6-43, Mican 2-38. RSB – Schlueter 5-81. RSB – Schlueter 6-71, Banker 6-23, Quintana 10-13, Stigall Silva 1-(-4).

Receiving: PWV – King 3-54, Strozyk 2-34, Lusk 1-32, Mican 1-14. PWV – Banker 3-28, Silva Diaz 1-4, Schlueter 1-(-4).