Day After Report: Week 4, 2011

Bryan Levesque of gshlfootball.com was sitting next to me Friday in the press box at Kiggins Bowl when he saw the score of the Prairie-Fort Vancouver game flash across his computer screen.

“70-to-zero.”

What? Did you say 70?

My immediate reaction: “Oh no. That’s going to look terrible.”

Any time there is a score like that, fans are going to think a coach ran up the score. 

So I got in contact with Prairie coach Terry Hyde late Friday night. He knew the question was coming, not just from a journalist but from the football community in general.

But he also knew that those who were not at the game had no idea how the score got to 70.

Prairie, a team that averaged 37 passes per game through the first three weeks of the season, threw the ball 10 times Friday and none in the final two-and-a-half quarters. 

“This game wasn’t fun for anybody,” Hyde said, referring to the margin of victory, not the victory itself. “Every kid on our roster participated tonight.”

The Falcons gave the ball to 15 different players. Nine different guys scored. One came on a defensive touchdown.

I appreciated the answer. Still, in the great words of Ronald Reagan: “Trust, but verify.”

Fort Vancouver coach Eric Ollikainen called the office just moments after my conversation with Hyde. Ollikainen wanted to let us know that his injured player, Flynn Crawford, was cleared at the hospital and was OK.

But I also wanted to ask the coach about the large margin of defeat.

He said he wanted to make it clear that the Falcons did not do anything unsportsmanlike in regard to the score.

“They were upstanding,” Ollikainen said. “We just didn’t tackle them. They didn’t do anything wrong.”

The Falcons did get to 70 points with a two-point conversion after their final touchdown. I was not there, but I just figured it was a botched snap on the extra point or something, and the Falcons ran in for two. Sure enough, one reader left a comment on our online story saying that’s exactly what happened.

There are some nights when games just get out of hand. 

If only one coach said there was nothing wrong with how the game played out, perhaps it could be left up to interpretation. But both coaches said the game was played the right way. I’m going to side with the coaches.

Now to some more game notes …

SKYVIEW 31, CAMAS 10
The Storm win the second half 21-0 to beat the Papermakers.

Keep playing: 
There were more than nine minutes left in the game. Skyview had taken a three-touchdown lead. It was probably over, but not necessarily, not if Camas scored quick. And it sure looked like the Papermakers were about to do that.
And then Parker Henry happened.
Henry, known more for his running back skills for Skyview, is also an amazing player on defense. 
Camas’ Zach Eagle caught a pass and raced down the sideline on his way to the end zone. But Henry chased him down, then stripped the ball. Skyview’s Reiley Henderson recovered the football just before sliding out of bounds. Camas had no chance after that. Henry rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns Friday, but nothing was more impressive than that chase-down tackle/strip.
(By the way, Eagle looked frustrated after that play, but he had an solid night despite that fumble, catching seven passes for 130 yards.)

Something special: 
Henry likes what he sees from his team, especially the past two weeks.
“I think we can do some big things if we keep our nose to the grindstone and not worry about what other people are saying,” he said.
The 0-2 start to the season might just help the Storm. No longer ranked, perhaps they can play under the radar a bit. The players know, though, that they went up against two defending state champions in Week 1 (Sherwood, from Oregon) and Week 2 (Coeur d’Alene, from Idaho). Since then, the Storm cruised to a 4A Greater St. Helens League win over Heritage, then topped last year’s 3A GSHL champion Camas.
“We’re getting closer to the team I thought we would be,” Skyview coach Steve Kizer said. “It’s still a work in progress.”

Memorable plays: 
Skyview’s David Garlington scored the first touchdown of the game Friday night, and it was his first varsity touchdown.
Garlington took a swing pass from Kieran McDonagh, found a hole after a nice open-field block, then outraced the Camas defense to the end zone for a 57-yard touchdown. He even appeared to put it in extra gear when a defender got close to him.
“I didn’t know I had that in me,” Garlington said.
In the second half, he picked off a Camas pass when the Papermakers were driving for the potential tying score. He returned the ball 28 yards to set up the Skyview offense. A few plays later, Henry was in the end zone for a 24-10 Skyview lead.
“Those are always good. They are momentum changers,” Garlington said. “I was just glad I could make a play to help my team win.”

So tough to defend: 
The Storm have the best of both worlds, a great passing game and a great rushing attack. 
You already know about Parker Henry’s 177 yards — including 136 in the second half — but quarterback Kieran McDonagh was on his game all night. He finished 15 of 21 for 247 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 58 yards. 
Skyview’s last TD was an absolute dart from McDonagh to Reiley Henderson for a 20-yard score. It was the kind of throw that makes college coaches drool.
McDonagh said the hurry-up offense in the second half really got to the Papermakers.
“We knew they couldn’t keep up as soon as we picked up our offense,” McDonagh said. “We really got in a groove.”
The Storm opened the second half with a seven-play, 80-yard drive that took less than two minutes, with Henry cashing in from two yards out for a 17-10 lead. McDonagh was 3 for 3 for 41 yards on the drive.
“And Kieran. You saw what Kieran was doing,” Henry said. “He’s Kieran. He’s awesome.”

Hello, I’m a knucklehead. And here’s my friend, the other knucklehead:
Camas coach Jon Eagle was gracious in defeat Friday night. The loss snapped a 12-game regular-season winning streak. He noted how it can be easier to get to the top than to stay at the top.
Then he had a little fun at my expense, as well as Bryan from gshlfootball.com.
“You two knuckleheads make it harder for me,” he said. “Everyone starts reading about us.”
He said it was a laugh, so we think he was kidding. 
We think.

BATTLE GROUND 21, HUDSON’S BAY 15
Tigers score two touchdowns in fourth quarter to rally for win.

Plays of the night not in the boxscore: 
The Hudson’s Bay Eagles had a 15-8 lead and were driving in an attempt to take a two-possession lead early in the fourth quarter. On a third-and-3 play from the Battle Ground 16-yard line, the Eagles got the look they wanted. It was a run to the outside by Richard Carter, with blockers out in front of him.
Battle Ground’s Trevor Ingram was the only guy there to not only stop a first down, but probably a touchdown, too.
He slipped past the blockers and then made a game-saving, open-field tackle, bringing Carter down for a loss of a yard.
From the press box, it looked like it was going to be a touchdown. Ingram had other ideas.
On the next play, fourth down, the Eagles ran a misdirection play. Three Tigers — Tyler Bergeron, Kiko Govea, and Juan Arellano — stayed home and blew up the play, giving the ball back to the Battle Ground offense.

There he goes:
Moments after that fourth-down stop, Tyler Bergeron found a big hole and then just kept running. He had one guy to beat — the free safety — and Bergeron made several moves to make it happen for a 76-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
“I was going one way and trying to make him go one way, and then I’d go the other way, he went the other way, and then I go the other way,” Bergeron explained.
(I was dizzy after this interview.)
The Tigers would then recover a pooch onside kick. Ingram ended up with the game-winner, a 21-yard touchdown pass from Ian Humphrey.

What it means:
The Tigers improved to 3-1, a year after winning just one game.
“Our win might not be the prettiest, but a win is a win,” Bergeron said. 
“This feeling in unbelievable,” Ingram said. “I can’t even explain it.” 
The Tigers also said that a win for them feels better than a win for Camas or Skyview because of what the program has endured in recent years.
Battle Ground coach Larry Peck is thrilled for his players, even if they nearly made him sick.
“I have mixed emotions,” Peck said. “My guts are killing me because it was so dang difficult. But I’m elated we got the win.”

UNION 42, KELSO 0
A 14-0 game at the half, the Titans crushed the Hilanders in the second half.

Special teams play: 
Union scored two touchdowns on punt returns: 45 yards by Trent Cowan, and 36 yards by Treve Ensley.
“We were on short fields and the kicks were a little short,” coach Cale Piland said. “Our kids did a good job of coming up and aggressively fielding them so they were kind of running downhill when they received them.”

Big numbers:
Ensley also rushed for three touchdowns and 172 yards on nine carries. His four total TDs were from distances of 55, 30, 22 and 36 yards.

Game time starts in second half:
After leading 14-0 at halftime, Union broke it open with three touchdowns in the third quarter.
“We played much better in the second half,” Piland said. “We just played a more physical second half. Offensively we eliminated our mistakes.”

EISNEHOWER 55, EVERGREEN 31
Plainsmen show signs of life on offense.

Getting better: 
Yes, it was another loss, but Evergreen had some success in the passing game to go along with its running attack.
Artum Conkin caught three passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore running back Justin Straup rushed for 134 yards on 17 carries, including 91 yards in the first half. (By the way, Conkin was not on the roster. We hope we are spelling his name correctly.)

MOUNTAIN VIEW 45, HERITAGE 3
Thunder recover fumble on opening kickoff and never look back in easy win.

Dual threat: 
Riley O’Dell rushed for three touchdowns and passed for two more in the first half, leading the Thunder to a 35-3 lead at the break. He certainly made the most of his few passes, completing 3 of 4 for 126 yards.

COLUMBIA RIVER 36, HOCKINSON 22
Hockinson took a lead in the third quarter, but the Chieftains scored 29 second-half points to win.

Wow plays: 
The two teams combined for several long TD plays.
Columbia River, known more for its rushing attack, got a 90-yard TD pass from Clayton Frank to Eli Evenson. Later, Frank found Chuck Thomas for an 84-yard TD pass.
Hockinson’s Nick Guinett returned the second-half kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.
Oh, and Remick Kawawaki had a 51-yard touchdown run for the Chieftains. 
Yeah, just 51. Slacker, right?

WASHOUGAL 40, CLATSKANIE 14
Panthers jump out to 34-0 lead, cruise to another win.

Any takers?
Give you a couple of guesses to pick the last undefeated team in Clark County. Not Camas, not anymore. Not Ridgefield, not anymore. Yep, Washougal. The Panthers improved to 4-0 as they prepare to open 2A GSHL play next week against R.A. Long.

Sorry for the confusion:
Several numbers in the boxscore in the paper were off from this game. The updated boxscore is online at 360preps.com. Caleb Howard rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Colton Sullivan threw for 104 yards and a score.


LA CENTER 34, RIDGEFIELD 21
Big early lead holds up for Wildcats

One bad game can change a perspective:
At the beginning of the season, we all thought La Center was going to be really strong. Then the Wildcats lost a tough game, and then they gave up 50 points in a blowout loss. Their record was 1-2 going into Friday’s game with 3-0 Ridgefield. So much for La Center, we thought.
To steal a line from Lee Corso, no so fast, my friends.
The Wildcats treated Week 4’s game like it was for their season. And it looks like they want to have a very successful season, still.
La Center jumped out to a 28-0 lead, saw it slip to a seven-point advantage, and then the Wildcats closed out the Spudders.
Mike Polyakov and Patrick Mayolo combined to rush for 173 yards and four touchdowns. 
“That was the worse loss we’ve had in league, maybe since I’ve been there,” La Center coach John Lambert said, referring to the game against Toledo in Week 3. “We had turnovers. We had lack of enthusiasm. Our emphasis (this week) was to bring energy and have fun and have a sense of urgency. If we lose this game, it’s going to be a long season. I was so happy how they came out.” 

SCIO 32, WOODLAND 14
Woodland kept it close against defending Oregon 2A state champion Scio, playing even for the first half.

Hanging in there:
Scio’s double-wing offense kept the ball grounded all game, and it eventually pulled away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
“We are competing, we just aren’t finishing in the second half,” Woodland coach Mark Greenleaf said. “We are giving up big plays.”
Woodland looks forward to its league opener against Mark Morris next week.
“We just need to execute and stop the big plays,” Greenleaf said.

…

That’s it for now.

Greg Jayne, Jeff Klein, and Paul Danzer contributed to this report.