Day After Report: Week 4
And then there was one. The Camas Papermakers stand alone as the only unbeaten team in Clark County. Their big victory over Skyview improved their record to 4-0, while Ridgefield lost to La Center to fall to 3-1. … The only other unbeaten team in The Columbian’s readership area — Class 1A Stevenson — is from Skamania County. … Camas might stand alone atop all the standings in the county, but there are other quality teams. Union’s only loss to Washington schools the past three seasons has come against Bellevue. After losing to Bellevue in Week 1, the Titans have reeled off three consecutive wins, including two over ranked opponents. … Mountain View won a thriller over Class 4A Heritage to improve to 3-1. … And Skyview might be 2-2 now, but they have lost to the top-ranked 5A team in Oregon (the equivalency of the 3A class in Washington) and then to the No. 3 3A team in Washington. … Still, we start the Day After Report with Clark County’s best record.
CAMAS 28, SKYVIEW 12
The game lived up to the hype in that it was still competitive going into the fourth quarter. But that Camas defense really knows how to play with its back against the end zone. The Storm gained yards, but only got one touchdown.
Brent Hill, where are you? I might have been on deadline, but I was determined to find Brent Hill after the game.
I spoke with Logan Grindy, then Jeremy Faulkner. I found Kyle Goodnow. And Addison Owen. And all the time, I was looking up, trying to find the 6-foot, 2-inch Brent Hill.
No dice.
I went into the locker room. Nope, not there, either.
I went back to the field. Couldn’t find him.
Back to the locker room, just in case.
Still, no go.
So I was starting to get a little worried. I had to write my story. Still, I really wanted to talk to Brent.
Well, one of his teammates told me he had split.
Really, I asked?
Yep. He was gone, just like that. I was even told he is a bit shy.
Seriously.
Well, Brent, no reason to be shy after the game you just had.
Here is a little bit of what Brent Hill brought to the field Friday night:
He used his blazing speed to get behind the defense for a 39-yard touchdown reception, giving Camas a 14-3 lead.
And he was more effective on defense.
He had the interception in the end zone right before half, to keep it a 21-3 lead. He played superb defense on other pass plays that looked to be sure completions. He had one pass-defense on a third-down play to force a punt. He had another on a fourth-down play to give his team the ball again. (On most fourth-down plays, that’s better than an interception because of field position.) He also had a tackle-for-loss in the second half.
Addison Owen had the biggest play of the second half — the interception return for a touchdown to pretty much sealed the deal — but a case can be made that Hill had the best overall night for the Papermakers, offense and defense.
Booooooooom: Jeremy Faulkner had one of those “oooooooooh” moments. He hit someone so hard, the crowd went “oooooooooh.” Faulkner was blocking downfield and smashed an unsuspecting Skyview player.
“We call them ‘Pows.’ We have a defensive chart, and that’s what they’re called,” Faulkner said.
Wait, but you were playing offense.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said.
Nope, not with a hit that big. It definitely counts as a Pow.
Faulkner also said he made sure he made the hit with his shoulder, not his helmet. And the Skyview player bounced right up after the hit.
“I made sure I got low,” Faulkner said.
And what about that hit, and the sound from the crowd?
“It’s almost better than scoring,” he said.
More defense: Kyle Goodnow was another one of the players from Camas who had big plays when it counted.
He had a tackle-for-loss and was in and around the ball much of the game. His biggest play might have been sniffing out a screen pass to Skyview’s Parker Henry. It was a third-down play early in the fourth quarter, and Skyview was needing a score on that drive. Henry caught the ball, and would have had a lot of open space had it not been for Goodnow, who made the tackle for no gain, setting up a fourth-and-long. If Goodnow was not there, Henry probably would have picked up a first down and kept Skyview’s hope alive.
“Big hype, big plays,” Goodnow said. “We came through. I’m really proud of the team. Just pumped. Just pumped.”
Solid night in defeat: Parker Henry had another strong outing for the Storm. He rushed for 150 yards on 19 carries and scored his team’s lone touchdown, a 7-yard run in the third quarter to make it 21-10.
The Skyview defense also improved. After a tough second quarter, the Skyview defense limited Camas to 60 yards in the second half.
Grindy lights up second quarter: The Papermakers had the ball four times in the second quarter. They scored on three of the possessions, then took a knee for the final play of the half, up 21-3.
Quarterback Logan Grindy was 4 for 5 for 81 yards and three touchdowns in the period.
“Logan was throwing in rhythm. When he does that, he’s pretty tough to stop,” Camas coach Jon Eagle said. “He was throwing some great balls.”
No typical coach speak here: There is a lot to respect about coach Jon Eagle. From the media’s perspective, he rarely falls into the “coach-speak” with just a bunch of safe, conservative answers to questions. Earlier this year, instead of trying to lower the high expectations for this team, he said this is what teams should strive for, to have high expectations. And this week, he did not try to downplay the importance of the game.
A lot of coaches would say it was just a non-league game. That might be true, but the players on both sides of the ball did not consider it “just” a non-league game.
Eagle said he and his staff approached this as a playoff game. Quality competition. A great atmosphere. In other words, a big game.
Last year, Skyview edged Camas. The Papermakers got the Storm this year. And it meant something to the teams involved.
PRAIRIE 47, FORT VANCOUVER 23
The Falcons improve to 1-1 in league play.
A quirk of football statistics: The Falcons outgained the Trappers in total offense, 479-331. But Fort led in first downs, 22-16. Fort’s offense was able to move the ball effectively, but the yardage came in small chunks, while Prairie ripped off big plays. The Falcons had nine running plays of at least 10 yards, and seven pass plays of at least 20 yards.
QB play: After throwing an incompletion on his first attempt of the game, Prairie quarterback Colin Seitz got untracked. His next three passes were a 63-yard touchdown to Jesse Zalk, a 38-yard completion to Tyler Vea, and a 42-yard TD to Avi Slifer. Less than five minutes into the game, Seitz had thrown for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
Yellow flags: After that fast start, Prairie’s offense spent the rest of the first half shooting itself in the foot. The Falcons had eight penalties for 50 yards in the first half, and finished with 12 penalties for 74 yards.
“We just focused on what we needed to do, which was continue to play good defense, and settle down on offense,” Prairie coach Terry Hyde said.
Seitz said: “We could have had a couple more scores that half. We just needed to finish off drives.”
League play: Prairie came into the game with an 0-1 record in the Class 3A GSHL, after losing to Mountain View. Fort was playing its league opener.
“Their backs were against the wall, as far as making the playoffs,” Fort Vancouver coach Cal Szueber said. “Our backs weren’t against the wall. We could tell we weren’t focused in the second half.”
What a night: Zalk’s three touchdowns covered 111 yards — passes of 63 and 20, and a 28-yard run. He caught three passes for 91 yards and ran four times for 58 yards — nine touches for 149 yards from scrimmage.
That was fast: With 8:51 to play in the third quarter, Prairie led 14-7. Just 12 minutes and 13 seconds of football later, the score was 41-7.
LA CENTER 27, RIDGEFIELD 13
Wildcats rebound from first loss of the season, hand Spudders their first loss.
Back to work: After a disappointing loss to Toledo on Sept. 17, La Center coach John Lambert had his team’s attention heading into the visit from unbeaten Ridgefield.
“We had a very physical week of practice,” Lambert said. “Some of the guys were even a little beat up coming into the game because we wanted to make sure we were ready. They’re getting a well-deserved rest this weekend.”
Lambert treated it as a make-or-break week.
“I told the kids, this game could define our season,” Lambert said. “If we had lost this, we would have really been looking from the outside. It’s satisfying because Ridgefield’s a really good team.”
Specifically, Lambert was concerned about Ridgefield running back Dylan Young.
“They can throw the ball and run the ball really well,” Lambert said. “Dylan Young, he has some of the best vision and footwork I’ve seen in a running back in a long time. We just tried to contain him.”
La Center controls ball: By halftime, Lambert was hoping his team would wear down the Spudders in the final 16 minutes, and that’s pretty much what happened. Though the Wildcats scored just one TD in the second half, they ran 30 offensive plays to only 10 for Ridgefield.
Ridgefield coach Kitt Rawlings gave La Center credit for imposing its will.
“We weren’t very physical,” Rawlings said. We were kind of soft, to be honest. We’ll get that changed.”
Growing pains: The Spudders were 3-0 entering the game. But theirs is a program learning how to be consistent. The Spudders lost two fumbles in the opening minutes and fell behind 13-zip.
“To our credit we did fight back. We got the game well within reach and manageable. We just didn’t execute,” Rawlings said.
The coach added that La Center’s execution wore on his team mentally as much as physically.
“It’s every bit as critical to be mentally prepared as physically prepared. We have a lot of young kids, and it’s no excuse, but by the same token there’s a maturation process that goes on.”
UNION 36, KELSO 0
The Titans rolled to another victory.
Zak Browning for four more: Union running back Zak Browning was known more for his amazing play as a linebacker prior to the last two weeks. Now, he is an offensive machine, as well.
Browning rushed for 170 yards and four touchdowns in the easy win over the Hilanders. That gives him 455 yards and eight touchdowns the past two weeks. That’s not a misprint. That’s a Wow.
Quite a run: The Titans are 27-4 in their last 31 games. The losses have come to a California power in 2009, and to Bellevue three times — in the 2008 state championship game, the 2009 state semifinals, and the 2010 season opener. The other 27 wins include teams from Washington and Oregon. Yeah, I think we can say that Union is still pretty darn good.
Also not a misprint: Union’s defense stuffed Kelso for just 22 yards of total offense. Helping the cause for the Titans were 12 plays for losses by Kelso. Kelso had 10 running plays that resulted in -59 yards. Two of the Hilanders three pass completions went for negative yards.
Relaxing halftime: Union went into the locker room at halftime up comfortably 22-0. But wait, the Titans didn’t exactly go into the locker room. They crossed the field in the direction of the locker room, then stopped and stood out in front of the locker room door and then watched the Union dance team’s halftime routine that included some area grade school students.
So, apparently, there wasn’t any need for halftime adjustments for the Titans. The message was “just keep doing what you’ve been doing.” And it worked.
In the third quarter, Kelso ran seven plays for -4 yards and one interception.
In the entire second half, Kelso ran 16 plays for -3 yards and two interceptions.
For the record, it’s often Union’s practice not to send the entire team into the locker room at halftime, because the locker room is small and Union’s roster is big. The Titans will often just bring in groups of players if there are specific things they want to discuss.
MOUNTAIN VIEW 30, HERITAGE 29
Thunder kick field goal in final seconds of wildest game of the night.
Who wants it? Well, judging by the lead changes, both teams wanted it. The lead changed five times in the second half of this thrilling contest.
Clutch: Hey, it was “only” a 21-yard field goal, but it was a do-or-done moment for the Thunder. Chave Camargo was true, giving Mountain View a 30-29 lead with 23 seconds remaining.
Ground game beats air assault: Mountain View’s P.J. Jones rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns, and Jeff Carmody had 100 yards and one touchdown. Mountain View did not complete a pass in the game. Heritage quarterback Riley O’Dell had his second consecutive strong outing, this time passing for 317 yards. He completed 27 of 37 passes — with no interceptions.
Another heartbreaker for Heritage: Heritage heads into Week 5 with an 0-4 record. But what’s more frustrating for the Timberwolves is how close they have come to being 3-1. They lost 24-21 to Mark Morris in Week 2 when they passed on a potential tying field goal in the closing seconds to try for a touchdown from inside the Monarchs’ 10. They pass was incomplete and Heritage loss. In Week 3, they rallied to force overtime with Skyview. But an interception in overtime led to a Heritage loss. In Week 4, the Timberwolves could not stop Mountain View on a final drive and lost on a field with 23 seconds left.
Red zone is dead zone for Heritage: Adding to Heritage’s frustration was its inability to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns.
On the T-Wolves’ opening drive, they had a first-and-10 at the Mountain View 11 that they moved into a third-and-1 at the 2. But a run for no gain and a run for a 2-yard loss ended that possession with no points.
On their second possession, Heritage had 1st-and-goal at the 5. But a run for no gain, a 1-yard pass and an incompletion led to the first of Garrett Worle’s three field goals.
After their next two possesions resulted in touchdowns, Heritage had a second-and-goal at the 2 on its first possession of the third quarter. But a 1-yard run and a four-yard loss led to another Worle field goal.
After another TD at the end of the third quarter, Heritage drove to a first-and-goal at the Mountain View 1. But a 1-yard loss on a run, a 14-yard sack and an incompletion led to Worle’s third field goal.
Punter? We don’t need no stinkin’ punter: Heritage did not punt on Friday. Their drives ended with the following: a loss of down at the Mountain View 2, field goal, touchdown, touchdown, end of half, field goal, touchdown, field goal, end of game.
No punter for Thunder either: Mountain View had two punts in the first half. But none in the second half. Their first three possessions of the second half ended with touchdowns. The final drive also might have ended with a touchdown. But coach Adam Mathieson opted to kick the game-winning field goal with a 1st-and-goal from the Heritage 5 because the clock was inside 30 seconds and the Thunder had no timeouts left.
“Once we find our rhythm, we’re unstoppable,” Mountain View running back P.J. Jones said. “Every player on this team in a weapon. When (Heritage) took the lead, we just said ‘OK, time to get the job done.’ “
Downs or yards: Heritage coach Nate Becksted made an interesting decision during Mountain View’s game-winning drive.
Mountain View had a second-and-10 from the Heritage 44, when the Thunder ran a sweep that Heritage read and stopped the Thunder for a 1-yard loss. But on the player, Mountain View was flagged for a holding penalty. The flag was dropped at the 46, meaning a penalty would have moved the ball back to the Mountain View 44.
So Becksted had a choice: Accept the penalty to set up a second-and-22 at the Mountain View 44; or decline the penalty and give Mountain View a third-and-11 from the Heritage 45. With about two minutes to play, Becksted took the downs over the yards.
Jeff Carmody ran 10 yards on the next play, to set up a fourth-and-1 at the Heritage 35, then Dylan Peterson rushed for four yards to keep the drive alive.
Next: Mountain View, 3-1, takes on Union, 3-1. This will be the first meeting between these teams. Union has faced the other two teams in its school district, but not Mountain View.
HUDSON’S BAY 35, BATTLE GROUND 14
Eagles win their first game of the season.
Big win for new coach: Will Ephraim celebrated his first win as a head coach. The Eagles had a close loss or two in the early going, but got it going in Week 4. The offense, which has been struggling, scored five touchdowns in the first half.
“It was much needed,” Ephraim said of the victory. “The guys stuck it out. They kept working.”
Good start: The Eagles scored first, and Ephraim said that gave his previously winless team a lift, a confidence boost.
Sure looked that way, with four more touchdowns in the first half.
Quarterback Travis Roberts threw for 161 yards and four touchdowns.
Defense, too: Musa Bah, Devonte Elliott, and Emilio Alcantar each had interceptions for the Eagles.
COLUMBIA RIVER 35, RAINIER 12
Chieftains improve to 2-2 with big fourth quarter.
It was close, then it wasn’t: The Chieftains scored three touchdowns in the final quarter to pull away from the visitors from Oregon. Dylan Derhalli returned a fumble 20 yards for a score to give the Chieftains a 21-12 lead. Clayton Frank and Remick Kawawaki scored touchdown runs to put it away. Frank, by the way, finished with 110 yards rushing.
STEVENSON 27, CASTLE ROCK 13
The Bulldogs just keep winning.
Just like that, it’s over: Stevenson went up 21-0 at the half, courtesy of the big plays.
Quarterback Zach Castro threw three touchdown passes, covering 50, 88, and 34 yards. He finished the game with “just” 10 completions, but he threw for 272 yards. That’s an average any coach would take.
Stevenson is tied with Kalama and Toledo atop the Trico League standings.
WASHOUGAL 24, CLATSKANIE 8
Three wins already for the Panthers.
No more news: Still have not heard from anyone associated with Washougal, so we have no stats. But congrats to the Panthers, anyway. That’s three wins, already one more than last year.
Week 5 Games
Friday
Battle Ground vs. Evergreen, 5 p.m, at McKenzie Stadium
Columbia River vs. Hudson’s Bay, 8 p.m. at Kiggins Bowl
Fort Vancouver at Kelso, 7 p.m.
Camas vs. Prairie, 7 p.m. at District Stadium
Mark Morris at Woodland, 7 p.m.
Washougal at R.A. Long, 7 p.m. at Longview Memorial Stadium
La Center at Ilwaco, 7 p.m.
Stevenson at Ridgefield, 7 p.m.
White Salmon at Castle Rock, 7 p.m.
Kalama at Toledo, 7 p.m.
Heritage at Grant, 7 p.m.
Lincoln vs. Skyview, 5 p.m. at Kiggins Bowl
Union vs. Mountain View, 8 p.m. at McKenzie Stadium
Tumwater at Hockinson, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Mary M. Knight at King’s Way Christian, 1 p.m. at WSD Stadium
