UPDATE: Added information for Ocosta and Raymond games. Also updated information for the Aberdeen Bobcats
Aberdeen 46, Centralia 30
Aberdeen running back Ethan Morrill scored three touchdowns in a second-half flurry that led the Bobcats to a 46-30 victory over the Centralia Tigers on Friday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.
Tied 22-22 at halftime, Morrill scored on a 7-yard run after the Bobcats recovered a muffed Centralia punt as Aberdeen (2-3, 1-0 Evergreen 2A) retook the lead at 28-22.
Later in the third quarter, Morrill scored on a 9-yard run to give the Bobcats a 38-22 lead.
Morrill scored again to give Aberdeen a 46-22 lead and secure the Bobcats league-opening victory.
Morrill lead Aberdeen with 179 yards rushing on 28 carries as the Bobcats ran for 365 as a team.
Aberdeen compiled a 16-0 lead after scoring first-half touchdowns on a pass from quarterback Elijah Brown to receiver Morgun Murrow followed by a 44-yard touchdown run by running back Connar Sherman.
But Centralia (3-2, 0-1) rallied to tie the game at 16-16 on touchdown runs by Blaine Was and Braiden Hoyt.
With 1:09 left in the second quarter, Aberdeen’s Dylan Ritchie burst through the Centralia defense for an 81-yard TD run to give the Bobcats a 22-16 lead.
Aberdeen went for an onside kick, which was recovered by Centralia at midfield.
A few plays later, Was scored on a 39-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 22-22 with 20 seconds until halftime.
The Bobcats’ 46 points was the most by an Aberdeen team since a 56-14 victory over Rochester back on Oct. 20, 2017.
Ritchie had 117 yards on 12 carries for an Aberdeen team that amassed 405 yards of offense and 17 first downs. Sherman finished with 67 yards on eight carries.
Aberdeen head coach Todd Bridge offered that the Bobcats’ opening drive helped set the tone for the game.
“That opening drive was a thing of beauty,” Bridge said of Aberdeen’s 17 play, 9:13 second drive that ended on a touchdown pass from Elijah Brown to Morgun Morrow. “There’s not a lot of teams who can go 17 plays in a row without committing a penalty or turnover. … (The drive was) both impressive on any standard and demoralizing for the opponent’s defense.”
Bridge went on to commend his team’s rushing attack and the intensity brought by his non-starters during last week’s practices.
“We nearly had three running backs with 100 yards each. You don’t see that everyday,” he said.
“I would like to acknowledge our scout team for strapping it on everyday and giving the varsity players a great look. They are the unsung heroes of this past week.”
Aberdeen faces the state’s top-ranked 2A team, the Tumwater Thunderbirds, at 7 p.m. on Friday at Tumwater District Stadium.
Montesano 41, Forks 6
Montesano quarterback Trace Ridgway accounted for over 300 yards of offense in leading the Bulldogs to a 41-6 victory over Forks on Friday at Spartan Stadium in Forks.
Ridgway was 10-for-15 for 142 yards and two touchdown passes while also leading Monte in rushing with 173 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries.
The 6-foot-2 junior scored on a 3-yard run at the 8:57 mark of the first quarter to open the scoring followed by TD tosses to Jordan King (18 yards, 0:29, 2nd quarter) and Sam Winter (13 yards, 8:45, 4th quarter).
Six different Monte players scored in Friday’s game. In addition to Ridgway, King and Winter, running back Aydan Darst scored on a 22-yard run at the 4:54 mark of the second quarter with Brent Hollatz and Isaac Pierce scoring on fourth-quarter touchdown runs.
Though Monte (5-0, 1-0 Evergreen 1A) amassed 347 yards of offense, Bulldogs head coach Terry Jensen said his team “didn’t play very well and had too many penalties.”
“Any win is a good win, but we found some things out about ourselves and have some things to clean up,” Jensen said. “We were able to persevere.”
One area Jensen was pleased with was the play of his quarterback and his defense, which held Forks (3-2, 0-1) to just 199 yards of total offense and one touchdown, a 16-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Carter Windle to receiver Hayden Queen early in the fourth quarter.
“Got a big game out of Ridgway and I think our defense played well tonight,” Jensen said.
Montesano faces Woodland in a non-league contest at 7 p.m. on Friday at Beaver Stadium.
Montesano 7 13 7 14 — 41
Forks 0 0 0 6 — 6
Passing Leaders: Montesano — Ridgway (10-15, 142, 2 TD)
Rushing Leaders: Montesano — Ridgway (27-173, TD); Darst (12-69, TD)
Receiving Leaders: Montesano — Braden Dohrmann (4-68)
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley 52, Chief Leschi 0
The Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans were firing on all cylinders in a 52-0 thrashing of the Chief Leschi Warriors on Friday at Chief Leschi High School.
PWV (3-2, 2-0 Pacific 2B) hit the gas pedal from the get-go, scoring on the first play of the game as Max Smith returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.
And the Titans never let up, scoring 45 points by halftime to put the game away early. PWV quarterback Logan Walker scored on a 5-yard run and Smith tallied his second touchdown on a 16-yard run to cap a 21-0 first quarter for the Titans.
In the second frame, PWV running back Kollin Jurek got into the mix. Jurek scored on runs of 12 and 34 to give PWV a 35-0 lead approximately halfway through the period.
A sack for a safety by senior defensive end Andrew Minton gave PWV a 37-0 lead and that was followed by another lightning strike as Smith returned the ensuing free kick 60 yards for a touchdown.
A 32-yard TD run by sophomore Landin Isaksen at the 5:41 mark of the third quarter put the Warriors down for the count as PWV called the dogs off at 52-0.
“We came out and played non-stop for the entire game and that’s what I asked for,” PWV head coach Josh Fluke said of his team’s performance, which included holding Chief Leschi (1-4, 0-3) to minus-34 yards rushing on 23 carries and 28 yards passing. “Travelling to Puyallup is always tough, but we played an excellent game in all facets. … Our defense played stellar. There were all over the place tonight, every one of them.”
The Titans did not get out of the contest unscathed, however, as staring quarterback Logan Walker left the game early in the first quarter with what was thought to be a broken collarbone.
Sophomore quarterback Tyler Adkins performed well in Walker’s stead according to the PWV coaching staff.
“Tyler stepped up and had a hell of a game,” Fluke said. It hurts losing a leader like Logan, but you got to keep playing and Tyler stepped in and did a great job.”
PWV hosts Baker (Oregon) in a non-league contest at 7 p.m. on Friday at Pe Ell High School.
PWV 21 24 7 0 — 52
Chief Leschi 0 0 0 0 — 0
Rushing Leaders — Jurek (6-91, 2 TD); Smith (5-69, TD)
Elma 62, RA Long 7
Elma’s Isaiah O’Farrill and Cody Vollan helped the Eagles offense take flight as Elma soared past RA Long for an emphatic 62-7 victory in Longview on Friday.
Cody Vollan had two passing touchdowns and O’Farrill found paydirt as the senior running back logged 14 carries and picked up 147 yards on the ground against the Lumberjacks (1-4, 0-2 Greater St. Helens 2A).
Brady Shriver got the scoring started for Elma (3-2) with a 10-yard touchdowns run that put the Eagles up 7-0 at 9:01 of the first quarter.
RA Long picked up its only score of the night with a touchdown reception from Jacob Johnson-Valencia to tie the game with 6:25 left in the first quarter, but Elma didn’t waste time untying the game. Vollan threw two touchdown passes on the next two possessions to put Elma back on top 21-7 at 11:11 in the second quarter.
O’Farrill and Rene Duran both added rushing touchdowns before halftime to send Elma into the locker room with a 42-7 halftime lead.
Elma’s defense held steady in the second half as well and held the Lumberjacks to 28 total yards of offense.
Elma will try to stay hot when it faces Hoquiam for what will be the Eagles’ first league match of the season on Oct. 12 in Hoquiam. Kick off for the clash of 1A Evergreen foes is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Elma 21 21 20 0 – 62
RA Long 7 0 0 0 – 7
Rushing Leaders: Elma – O’Farrill (14-149, TD)
Passing Leaders: Elma – Vollan (5-10-109, TD)
— Hasani Grayson, Grays Harbor News Group
South Bend 48, Mary M. Knight 34
South Bend eliminated any doubt of the outcome in the third quarter against Mary M. Knight, scoring 22 points in the frame to pick up the 48-34 home victory.
South Bend (3-2) came out of the locker room at halftime with a 26-20 lead and outscored Mary M. Knight 22-14 as the Indians offense kept rolling after the break.
South Bend signal caller Chase Flynn passed effectively, completing all three of his throws for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
Flynn was even more active on the ground with 171 rushing yards, including an 88-yard touchdown run.
Hunter Clements also had a good night carrying the ball for the Indians, with 102 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.
Mary M. Knight’s record drops to 1-4 with the loss.
South Bend will face Oakville on the road at 7 p.m. on Friday.
South Bend 14 22 22 0 — 48
Mary M. Knight 8 12 14 — 34
Rushing Leader: Flynn (13-171, 2 TD)
Passing Leader: Flynn (3-3, 118, TD)
— Hasani Grayson, Grays Harbor News Group
Ocosta 53, Northwest Christian 22
Ocosta’s Dakota Davis had 226 total yards and scored five touchdowns as the Wildcats cruised to a 53-22 victory over Northwest Christian on Friday in Westport.
Opportunistic Ocosta (5-0, 1-0 Pacific 2B) started the game off when linebacker Brandon Thomas forced a NWC fumble that was scooped up by the Wildcats’ Jorge Orozco and returned to the ball the Knights’ 35-yard line. Three plays later Hatton completed a 32-yard scoring pass to Davis to put the Wildcats up 8-0 after the subsequent two-point conversion.
Later in the first quarter, Thomas recovered another NWC fumble, setting up a 1-yard TD run by Hatton to put Ocosta up 13-0.
But NWC (0-4) responded when speedy running back Daishaun Nichols scored on a 60-yard TD scamper, cutting Ocosta’s lead to 13-8.
The Wildcats responded with a 25-yard TD pass from Hatton to receiver Dylan Mefford for a 20-8 Ocosta lead.
NWC cut into the lead with a 10-yard scoring run after the Knights intercepted a Hatton pass, making it a 20-14 game.
Bad fortune then hit the Wildcats. Ocosta, which was already without starting linebacker Isaac O’Hagan who was out with an illness, lost Hatton to a shoulder injury with approximately five minutes left in the second quarter.
Davis stepped in at quarterback and promptly hit Thomas for a 37-yard completion and then scored on a 32-yard run for a 27-14 Ocosta lead.
Late in the first half, Ocosta’s Devin Godfrey sacked NWC quarterback Nathan Joslin on a fourth-down play to give Ocosta the ball at the NWC 35-yard line. On the next play, Thomas scored on a 35-yard run to push the Wildcats’ lead to 33-14.
Nichols scored on a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line to make the score 33-20 at the half.
It was all Ocosta in the second half as Davis took the second-half kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown and followed that up with a 33-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
Up 46-22, Thomas forced another Knights’ fumble, which was recovered by Davis who ran it in from 54-yards out, securing Ocosta’s 54-22 victory.
Omar Luque filled in for O’Hagan at middle linebacker and was praised by Ocosta head coach Chris Raffelson for limiting the Knights’ offensive production.
“Luque stepped up big against a team we knew would pound the ball up the middle,” he said. “Omar with six tackles, one sack and another tackle for a loss was a big reason we were able to slow them down.”
Thomas finished the game with six tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and two pass deflections for the Ocosta defense.
The Wildcats take on Ilwaco in a league contest scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday at Ilwaco High School.
King’s 52, Raymond 14
Tied at 14-all at the end of the first quarter, the Raymond Seagulls were outscored 38-0 over the final three quarters of the game en route to a 52-14 loss to the King’s Knights on Friday in Seattle.
Raymond (1-4, 1-1 Pacific 2B) struck first when running back McCartney Maden scored on a 33-yard touchdown run at the 9:15 mark of the first quarter.
King’s (1-4) responded with a 6-yard TD run by quarterback Hayden Teeter with just under six minutes to go in the frame.
The Seagulls and Maden regained the lead just over a minute later when the senior ball carrier broke loose for a 76-yard scoring run to give Raymond a 14-7 lead.
But the Knights scored to tie the game once again, this time on a 30-yard touchdown reception by receiver Davis Campbell.
From that point on, it was all Knights. King’s scored 24 points in the second quarter, capped by scoring 10 points in the span of eight seconds with just under a minute-and-a-half left in the second quarter.
Two more Knights touchdowns in the third quarter rounded out the scoring and handed the Seagulls their fourth loss in five games this season.
Raymond gets back to its league schedule on Friday when they host North Beach at 7 p.m.
Raymond 14 0 0 0 — 14
King’s 14 24 14 0 — 52
Other Games
Ilwaco 44, North Beach 13
Clallam Bay 45, Lake Quinault 33