Day After Report: Woodland 24, Mark Morris 6
postgame interviews for @WHSBEAVERS player @tyler_flanagan3 pic.twitter.com/sQeiSoTN7y
— Rene Ferran (@ReneJFerranJr) October 29, 2016
With the playoffs out of reach following Ridgefield’s victory Thursday over Columbia River, that left pride and sending the nine-man senior class off with a winning record as Woodland’s motivation Friday night against Mark Morris.
“My coach (Mike Woodward) just said to go play Beavers football,” said sophomore Tyler Flanagan, who set the school’s single-season reception record with 54, including six in Friday’s win. “We wanted to have a winning season for the year, so we had to go out and fight for the W.”
A fight did break out midway through the fourth quarter that sent four players—two from each side—to the sidelines for the rest of the game. There had been two incidents already in the game that led to offsetting dead-ball unsportsmanlike fouls, so the fight didn’t come out of the blue.
Still, while the fireworks left a sour taste in Woodward’s mouth, he didn’t want the fight to detract too much from celebrating his seniors.
“I can’t say our players reacted the right way,” he said. “But it’s a tough situation. I came to Woodland for a reason. I want tough kids. I don’t condone punching and unsportsmanlike play, and I know (Mark Morris) coach (Shawn) Perkins doesn’t either.”
Flanagan, who also ran for 224 yards and four touchdowns in Friday’s win and had six tackles and an interception at defensive back, was one of 20 underclassmen who started during the course of the season for Woodward.
Flanagan had to take on running back duties because of injuries to senior Tristan Thomas and junior Levi Orem. Orem will return along with Logan Knight, which should allow Flanagan to move back to wideout permanently, where he’d team with classmate Alex Bishop (14 catches) as a potent 1-2 receiving duo.
Junior quarterback Wyatt Harsh (9-of-13, 100 yards) threw for more than 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“This is the start of something special,” Woodward said. “If the kids buy into our offseason program, and I’m confident they will, big things are coming for Woodland football.”
THIS AND THAT: Woodland improved to 5-4 all-time against Mark Morris with the win. … The Beavers last suffered back-to-back seasons missing the playoffs when they had an 11-season drought from 1989-1999. … Mark Morris finished 0-9 and was outscored 264-81. … The Monarchs’ last winless season was in 2002. They’ve gone winless only four times in the program’s 58-year history. … Linebackers Trent Snead, a senior, and sophomore Elijua Schultz had 11 tackles each to lead the Beavers. Eight of Snead’s tackles were solo, including a sack. Woodland junior Damon Holland added nine tackles.
