The Elma football team and Ocosta volleyball team saw their seasons come to an end in the playoffs as we review Twin Harbors sports from Friday.
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PREP FOOTBALL
La Center 58, Elma 6
A close contest flipped into a rout in Elma’s 58-6 loss to La Center in the first round of the 1A State Tournament on Friday at Kalama High School.
The Eagles (4-6 overall) trailed 13-6 after a 40-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Isaac McGaffey to senior receiver Traden Carter with just under five minutes left in the first quarter.
After La Center (9-1) took a 20-6 lead on a 25-yard pass from quarterback Wyatt Eiesland to running back Skyleigh Bishop early in the second quarter, disaster struck for the Eagles.
A McGaffey pass was intercepted by Bishop, who returned it 40 yards for a touchdown and a 27-6 lead.
On the Eagles’ next drive, a fumble was recovered by Eiesland, who returned it 23 yards for La Center’s second-consecutive defensive touchdown and a 34-6 lead.
Things rolled downhill for Elma from there as the Wildcats would add two more scores before the end of the half, taking a 48-6 lead at the break, all but ensuring Elma’s fate.
“We had a nice little first quarter, then they got that first pick-6 and things just kind of snowballed from there,” Elma head coach Larry Raynes said. “They are a really solid team and have a chance to go deep into the playoffs.”
After its first-quarter touchdown, Elma’s offense was shut down. The Eagles had just 76 total yards on 38 players (1.9 yards per play average), including minus-2 rushing yards in the game against the highly-ranked Wildcats.
La Center, by contrast, had 312 total yards on 48 plays (6.1 avg.) and were led by Bishop with 105 rushing yards on 11 carries.
“The team did a great job this year,” Raynes said of his team, which placed third in the 1A Evergreen League. “I’m just proud of the seniors and all the hard work they’ve done for us. We’re going to miss those kids. … We had a lot of great things happen this year. … Overall, they should be proud of the season they put together and proud of the foundation we’re trying to put together here in changing and rebuilding things. I think they did a good job of laying that foundation down. Now we’ve got to go to work every day and keep building from there.”
Elma 6 0 0 0 – 6
La Center 13 35 7 3 – 58
Scoring
First quarter
La Center – Bishop 8 run (Balboa kick), 8:15
LC – Bishop 27 run (kick fail), 6:52
Elma – Carter 40 pass from McGaffey (kick blocked), 4:48
Second quarter
LC – Bishop 25 pass from Eiesland (Balboa kick), 11:50
LC – Bishop 40 interception return (Balboa kick), 11:02
LC – Eiesland 23 fumble return (Balboa kick), 8:25
LC – Emerson 4 run (Balboa kick), 5:46
LC – Bishop 10 run (Balboa kick), 0:17
Third quarter
LC – Eiesland 2 run (Balboa kick), 8:08
Fourth quarter
LC – Balboa 31 field goal, 3:31
Passing: Elma – McGaffey 6-19-1-78. La Center – Eiesland 4-12-1-60; Balboa 1-2-0-10.
Rushing: E – Brookins 1-7, Muller 6-4, Radamacher 5-4, Landstrom 1-2, McGaffey 6-(-19). LC – Bishop 11-105, Eiesland 7-60, Emerson 4-35, Balboa 3-23, Bailey 4-15, Stevens 1-7, Whited 1-4, Coyle 1-3.
Receiving: E – Carter 1-40, Camus 3-19, Muller 1-10, Landstron 1-9. LC – Bishop 2-33, McKinney 1-14, Coyle 1-13, Suhajda 1-10.
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Ocosta 24, Tulalip Heritage 22
A fourth-quarter comeback followed by a late-game defensive stand propelled the Ocosta Wildcats to a 24-22 victory over Tulalip Heritage in a 1B State first-round 8-man playoff game on Friday in Westport.
Ocosta led 6-0 after running back Ronin Rutzer scored on a 58-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Trailing 8-6, the Wildcats (6-3) would close out the second quarter when quarterback Kayden Turner hit receiver Jonathan Lewis for a 30-yard score to take a 12-8 lead into halftime.
The Hawks (7-3) scored the only points of the third quarter to take a 14-12 lead into the final period of play.
Ocosta responded when Ben Tackett scored on a run inside the Hawks’ 10-yard line for an 18-14 lead in the fourth quarter.
Tulalip Heritage drove down the field and scored to regain the lead, 22-18.
With it’s season on the line, Ocosta’s offense came up clutch when it counted most.
Two 30-plus yard pass plays from Turner to Bryan Ceja Guevara set the Wildcats up in the red zone, and Rutzer cashed in with a 2-yard plunge to put Ocosta up 24-22.
With time running down, the Hawks once again drove inside the Wildcats 10-yard line, but the Ocosta defense held to force a turnover on downs, securing the 24-22 victory.
Turner went 9 for 14 for 176 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Rutzer had a big game on the ground, rushing for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
Ocosta’s defense recovered three fumbles in the game and was led by Tackett and Rutzer – each with double-digit tackles – and linemen Elijah Perry and Matthew Wyland.
Ocosta will find out its next opponent when the re-seeded pairings are announced, which is expected to be released by Sunday afternoon.
Tulalip Heritage 0 8 6 8 – 22
Ocosta 6 6 0 12 – 24
Passing: Ocosta – Turner 9-14-1-176.
Rushing: O – Rutzer 15-141, Turner 10-37, Ceja Guevara 7-37, Tackett 2-8.
Receiving: Lewis 3-50, Rutzer 2-50, Tackett 1-33.
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PREP VOLLEYBALL
Naselle 3, Ocosta 1
Ocosta’s run in the 1B District 4 Tournament ended sooner than expected as the top-seeded Wildcats saw their season end with a 3-1 loss to Naselle in a winner-to-state elimination game on Friday at Raymond High School.
The Wildcats (15-4) lost by scores of 25-16, 25-21, 16-25 and 25-12 to the No. 4 seed Comets (11-7), which beat Ocosta for the second time this season.
“It just wasn’t meant to be tonight. Naselle hit the ball well,” Ocosta head coach Erin Snider said. “My leading hitters Jolissa Schlegel and Anna Davis played a great all around game tonight as did Noel Cuzdey on the defensive end. I’m very proud of what we were able to accomplish this season.”
Davis and Schlegel had eight kills each.
Cuzdey had 19 digs while sisters Ava and Millie Tucker led the Wildcats with 10 assists apiece.
With the loss, the Wildcats saw their season end as Naselle advanced to the state tournament.
Naselle 25 25 16 25 – 3
Ocosta 16 21 25 12 – 1
Leading players: Ocosta – Davis (8 kills), Schlegel (8 kills), Cuzdey (19 digs), A. Tucker (10 assists), M. Tucker (10 assists).
