PREP FOOTBALL
Aberdeen 50, Rochester 6
Ethan Morrill ran for over 300 yards and scored five touchdowns as Aberdeen earned a key 50-6 victory over the Rochester Warriors on Friday at Stewart Field.
Morrill ran for 212 yards on touchdown runs alone to lead Aberdeen (3-5, 2-2 Evergreen 2A) to victory. The senior running back scored on runs of 58 and 72 yards in the first four minutes of the game and broke off a 69-yard scoring run to give the Bobcats a 43-6 lead at the half.
Morrill finished the game with a whopping 315 yards on 22 carries, 308 of those by halftime.
Aberdeen also picked off Rochester quarterback Landon Hawes five times and also recovered a fumble. Aberdeen senior defensive back Gio Pisani snared three interceptions in the game, including a 20-yard pick-6 in the third quarter to complete the scoring at 50-6.
Aberdeen quarterback Elijah Brown (9) attempts a pass during the Bobcats’ 50-6 victory over Rochester on Friday at Stewart Field. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
Bobcats junior linebacker Kaiden Schubert also had an interception and Aberdeen’s defense held Rochester to minus-57 yards rushing, most of those coming on off-target snaps when the Braves were in a shotgun formation.
With the victory, Aberdeen moved into a tie for third place in the 2A Evergreen League with Centralia, which lost to WF West 49-14 on Friday.
The Bobcats needed a win to remain in playoff contention, something head coach Todd Bridge reminded his team in the practices leading up to Friday’s contest.
“(They) were in a similar situation last season. They had to run the table against Rochester and WF West to get into the playoffs,” Bridge said. “So I had the kids bring up what it felt like in your heart and in your gut after (last season’s loss to Rochester). Our core remembered it and I said, ‘Let’s not repeat that. Let’s suit up and get after it.’”
The Bobcats close out the regular season against WF West at 7 p.m. on Friday at Stewart Field. An upset against the Bearcats (7-1, 3-1 Evergreen 2A) would put Aberdeen in no worse than a tie for the No. 2 spot in league.
Rochester 0 6 0 0 — 6
Aberdeen 22 21 7 0 — 50
Elma 27, Forks 24
Elma receiver Tysen Richardson capped off a great game with a great catch as he got separation from his defender for the game-winning touchdown with 40 seconds left to play. The second of Richardson’s touchdown grabs gave Elma the 27-24 win over Forks in a victory that puts the Eagles through to districts.
After a defensive stop gave Elma the ball back with 2:20 remaining, the Eagles took the ball 60 yards with a mix of run and pass plays to get the ball deep in the red zone.
Elma quarterback Cody Vollan’s 6-yard pass to Richardson capped off a game that Elma head coach Ron Clark said was full of ups and downs.
“We fought through a lot of adversity. Some of the adversity was caused by Forks other was due to things beyond our control,” he said. “The kids came up with a great scoring drive to win this thing. It was one of the most tense games I’ve been a part of.”
Richardson also got the scoring started for the Eagles with a touchdown reception at 7:17 to give Elma a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
In addition to his work on offense, Richardson also had two interceptions in the contest.
Vollan also found Noah Huttula for a 25-yard touchdown reception with 10:33 left in the second quarter to bring Elma’s lead to 14-0.
Forks responded with two touchdowns. The first one came from a Logan Olson reception and the other came in the form of a 10-yard quarterback run from Carter Windle to tie the game at 14-14 in the second quarter.
Vollan’s arm helped untie the game with 8:26 in the third quarter when he found Brady Shriver for a 14-yard touchdown reception to put Elma back up 21-14.
Forks tied the game at 21-21 with a touchdown reception by Hayden Queen with 43 seconds to go in the third quarter.
Forks’ Ethan Bello then kicked what appeared to be the game-clinching 29-yard field goal to go up 24-21 with 6:40 left to play.
Forks nearly ran out the clock from there before Richardson’s late-game heroics, and Clark gave the Spartans credit for a well-played game.
“Forks plays hard, they’re fast and the kids are pretty scrappy. They made it a tough game,” he said.
Elma will next play the East County Rivalry game at home against Montesano at 7 p.m. and can force a tie for first place with a victory.
Elma 7 7 7 6 — 27
Forks 0 14 7 3 — 24
Passing Leader: Elma – Vollan (18-29-200, 4 TD); Forks – Carter Windle (13-37-0, 171 2 TD)
Rushing Leader: Elma – Isaiah O’Farrill (26-134); Forks – Tony Hernandez-Flores (18-80)
Receiving Leader: Elma – Richardson (7-43, 2 TD); Forks – Hayden Queen (3-80, TD)
— Hasani Grayson, Grays Harbor News Group
Montesano 55, Tenino 0
Montesano remained unbeaten on the season with another complete performance, blasting the Tenino Beavers 55-0 on Friday at Beaver Stadium.
It took all of 11 seconds for Monte (8-0, 3-0 Evergreen 1A) to get on the scoreboard against Tenino (2-6, 0-4) as quarterback Trace Ridgway connected with receiver Sam Winter for a 41-yard touchdown.
It wouldn’t be the last time the two got together to put points on the board, as Winter caught a Ridgway pass for a 5-yard touchdown to give Monte a 21-0 lead with less than a minute to go in the first quarter.
Ridgway was an efficient 14-for-16 passing for 206 yards and three touchdown passes as the junior gunslinger also threw a 12-yard TD pass to Isaiah Pierce in the second quarter.
Winter caught nine passes for 147 yards as Monte held a 358-74 advantage in total yards of offense.
Bulldogs head coach Terry Jensen has been impressed with Ridgway’s development this season.
“He’s played beyond our expectations. … It’s been amazing at how much he’s grown as a quarterback,” Jensen said of Ridgway. “He’s taken ownership and possession of the position.”
Jensen also said Monte has “hung its hat” on the Bulldogs’ near-impenetrable defense, which recorded its second shutout in a row and fourth of the season while holding the Beavers to 30 rushing yards on Friday.
“Our defense sets the tone for everything we do and has been the staple of our program over the years,” he said. “We want (the defense) to set the tone for us every Friday night.”
Ridgway led Monte with 83 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground, accounting for 289 yards and five scores.
Running back Aydan Darst scored on a 5-yard TD run in the first quarter for Monte and Pierce had a 2-yard scoring run to go along with his 12 yard TD catch.
Junior running back Kasen Willis-Werner scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter and Jordan King went a perfect 7-for-7 on PAT attempts.
Monte remains in first place but has yet to lock up the 1A Evergreen League title after Elma defeated Forks on Friday.
The Bulldogs face the Eagles at 7 p.m. on Friday at Davis Field in a game that will decide the league title.
If Monte wins, the Bulldogs are league champions.
An Elma win means coagulation atop the league standings, as the Eagles and Bulldogs would be tied for first place in a scenario that could include a three-way tie with Hoquiam if the Grizzlies take care of business against Forks on Friday.
“We don’t have anything locked up yet,” Jensen acknowledged. “There is a lot riding on next Friday’s game. It’s for a league championship now.”
Montesano 21 28 0 7 — 55
Tenino 0 0 0 0 — 0
Passing Leaders: Montesano — Ridgway (14-16-0, 206, 3 TD)
Rushing Leaders: Montesano — Ridgway (6-83, 2 TD); Pierce (3-16); Brent Hollatz (4-11); Darst (1-8, TD); Willis-Werner (1-1, TD)
Receiving Leaders: Montesano — Winter (9-147, 2 TD)
Sequim 14, Hoquiam 12
What appeared to be a last-minute touchdown turned into a turnover as Hoquiam fell 14-12 to Sequim in a non-league contest on Friday in Sequim.
In a game that hearkened back to an old-school, smash-mouth style of football, Hoquiam (5-3, 2-1 Evergreen 1A) fell behind 8-0 in the first quarter when Sequim quarterback Taig Wiker scored from 2-yards out on a 4th-and-goal play and followed with a two-point conversion to give the Wolves an 8-0 lead.
Hoquiam’s quarterback Dane McMillan cut into the lead when he capped a Grizzlies drive with a 2-yard touchdown run at the 5:31 mark of the second quarter. But the Grizzlies failed to convert on the conversion attempt and faced an 8-6 deficit at halftime.
After the half, the Hoquiam defense stopped Sequim (7-1, 4-1 Olympic 2A) three-and-out and drove the ensuing possession to inside the 5-yard line. But in a sequence that repeated itself multiple times over the course of the game, Hoquiam was stopped near the goal line and turned the ball over on downs.
With 9:30 left in the third, Wiker threw a pass deep downfield toward receiver Michael Young. Hoquiam defender Cayden Kempf broke up the pass, but Young caught the tipped ball and was able to scurry downfield for a 70-yard touchdown, giving the Wolves a 14-6 lead.
“It was a busted coverage and Cayden made a play on the ball,” Hoquiam head coach Jeremy McMillan said. “It just didn’t work out for us.”
Hoquiam got on the scoreboard again in the fourth quarter when senior running back Matt Brown plunged into the endzone from a yard out to bring the Grizzlies to within two points at 14-12 with 5:33 left in the game.
But a repeat of the power running play on the subsequent conversion attempt fell short as Brown was stopped approximately an inch from the goal line.
Later in the quarter, Hoquiam’s defense came up with a stop on fourth down at its own 30-yard line, providing the Grizzlies with one last drive to win the game.
“There was three minutes left and we had all three timeouts,” Coach McMillan said. “It was perfect situational football.”
Again, Hoquiam drove to within a yard of the goal line and on third down with 30 seconds left in the game, Brown reached across the goal line for what appeared to be a game-winning touchdown, but the referees ruled the ball was slapped away by the Sequim defense before crossing the line, giving the Wolves a fumble recovery and a touch-back in the end zone, ending Hoquiam’s upset bid.
“Matt crossed the goal line from our angle,” said Coach McMillan who, while frustrated with the officiating, was quick to insure the officials were not to blame. “We’ve got to execute better.”
Dane McMillan went 15-for-18 for 160 yards, 11 of his passes going to receiver Cameron Bumstead, who had 121 yards on the night.
Hoquiam finishes the regular season against Forks at 7 p.m. on Friday at Olympic Stadium.
Hoquiam 0 6 0 6 — 12
Sequim 8 0 6 0 — 14
Passing Leaders: Hoquiam — McMillan (15-18-0, 160)
Rushing Leaders: Hoquiam — Malaki Eaton (18-60); McMillan (14-45, TD); Ben Estes (6-44); Brown (7-23, TD)
Receiving Leaders: Hoquiam — Bumstead (11-121); Kyle Larsen (2-20); Kempf (1-16); Camden Templer (1-7); Eaton (1-5)
Raymond 24, Ilwaco 8
In a season where Raymond has had its share of struggles, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for the Seagulls.
In what Raymond head coach Luke Abbott called “the best half of football we’ve played all year,” the Seagulls scored 24 straight points in the first half en route to a 24-8 victory on the road in Ilwaco on Friday.
“We had a wonderful first half,” Abbott said after running back McCartney Maden scored three touchdowns by halftime. “Our line did a great job and our backs found the holes.”
Maden scored on first-quarter runs of five and 39 yards and gave the Seagulls (3-5, 3-2 Pacific 2B) a 21-0 lead with a 51-yard run 10 seconds into the second quarter.
Delgado then booted a 29-yard field goal to extend Raymond’s lead to 24-0 with 2:54 left in the first half.
Raymond’s defense held Ilwaco off the scoreboard until just under nine minutes left in the game when Trevor Hutson scored on a 17-yard TD run.
“Defensively, I was so proud of the way they played downhill,” Abbott said. “We tackled as a team and did a great job of not allowing them to do what they wanted to do.”
Maden finished with 114 yards on 18 carries. Teammate Joseph Villalpando carried the ball 17 times for 53 yards.
The win was a big one for the Seagulls as Raymond moves one game ahead of Ilwaco and into third place in the 2B Pacific League Coastal standings.
The Seagulls host Vashon Island in a non-league matchup to close out the regular season at 5 p.m. on Friday.
Raymond 14 10 0 0 — 24
Ilwaco 0 0 0 8 — 8
Rushing Leaders: Raymond — Maden (18-114, 3 TD); Villalpando (17-53)
South Bend 52, Mary M. Knight 12
South Bend’s offense hammered Mary M. Knight as the Indians earned a 52-12 victory on Friday in Elma.
South Bend (5-2) rushed for 266 yards and outgained the Owls 383-91 in total yards.
Josh Johnson led South Bend with 106 yards on nine carries, including touchdown runs of 50 and 38 yards.
Chase Flynn added 98 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns for South Bend, which scored 24 points in the first quarter and led 52-12 by the end of the third frame.
Mayson Estle caught four passes for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns, for the Indians.
South Bend quarterback Chase Flynn threw two TD passes, a 26-yarder to Estle to give South Bend a 32-6 lead early in the third quarter followed by a scoring toss to Seth Ogilvie late in the frame to round out the scoring at 52-12.
Max Crow also completed a TD pass to Estle in the third quarter.
South Bend plays at Lake Quinault at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 to close out its first season in 8-man football.
South Bend 24 0 28 0 — 52
Mary M. Knight 6 0 6 0 — 12
Passing Leaders: South Bend — Flynn (3-4, 79, 2 TD); Crow (3-5, 28, TD)
Rushing Leaders: South Bend — Johnson (9-106, 2 TD); Flynn (16-98, 2 TD); Hunter Clements (7-26); Crow (4-18)
Receiving Leaders: South Bend — Estle (4-108, 2 TD)
Other Scores
Chief Leschi 22, North Beach 19
Taholah 58, Darrington 8
Oakville 24, Lake Quinault 21
