Rainier running back Sean Mahaffey takes off against Adna on Friday.
Adna quarterback Ryan Young (1) runs around end on a QB scramble against Rainier Friday.
Rainier's Jacob Uch gets lifted up by teammates after catching a 40-yard touchdown pass against Adna on Friday.
Adna linebacker Asher Gurerro tackles Rainier quarterback Mike Green.
Adna's Gabe Slape scoops up a Rainier kickoff Friday.
Rainier's Jacob Uch (17) catches a touchdown pass from Mike Green in the first quarter.
Rainier tailback Jake Jeske gets brought down by Adna defenders.
The ball comes loose just before Sean Mahaffey gets the scoop and score for Rainier Friday against Adna.
Rainier sophomore tailback Jake Jeske rushes against Adna on Friday.
Adna quarterback Ryan Young (1) hands off to a Pirate rusher against Rainier Friday.
Rainier quarterback Mike Green winds up for a pass in the redzone against Adna Friday.
Adna running back Zach Berg braces for a collision with a Rainier defender Friday.
RAINIER — A flurry of Adna penalties and turnovers spelled defeat for the Pirates and offered Rainier all the opportunity it needed as the Mountaineers took a 34-6 victory at home Friday night in Southwest Washington 2B Football League action.
Adna, in its first game since the state semifinals in November 2019, committed 12 turnovers and turned the ball over five times in what would prove costly against a Rainier team that was coming off a narrow 16-12 defeat to Toledo four days earlier and jumped at every chance the Pirates gave them.
The trouble started early for the Pirates, surrendering a 40-yard touchdown reception from Mountaineers’ quarterback Mike Green to wideout Jacob Uch on a 4th-and-20 that put Rainier up for good with eight minutes left in the first quarter.
Sophomore running back Jake Jeske made it 14-0 after punching one in from 2 yards out with 9:41 left before halftime. A little over a minute later, Adna fumbled and Mahaffey scooped it up and took it 15 yards for the score, giving the Mountaineers a 20-0 lead with 8:04 left before the break.
The Pirates’ troubles continued when they botched the punt return and Rainier’s Uch fell on it on the Pirates’ 40-yard line. A few plays later, Jeske tacked on another rushing score, this time again from 2 yards out to put Rainier up 26-0 with six minutes still to go before the half.
Yardage-wise, the game ended up being surprisingly even. Rainier ran for 138 yards and passed for 59 for a total of 202. Adna ran for 131 and passed for 16 more for a total of 147.
Jeske led the Mountaineers in rushing with 13 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns. Green was 5-for-11 passing for 59 yards in the air and one touchdown to go with 65 yards rushing. For the Pirates, Zach Berg carried the ball 14 times for 45 yards, quarterback Ryan Young ran nine times for 40 yards and Gabe Slape had seven touches for 30 yards.
“It was ugly football and the conditions were terrible,” Adna coach K.C. Johnson said. “We struggled getting anything going. It was weird. Like I told the kids, ‘If you don’t have 12 penalties and five turnovers, it’s a battle.”
The road gets no easier for Adna (0-1) as it faces Kalama at noon on Saturday in Montesano. Rainier (1-1) takes on state semifinalist Napavine on Saturday in Montesano.
Toledo continued its hot streak Friday night in Menlo, dropping the Titans 28-7 in a Southwest Washington 2B Football League matchup between the Upper North and Upper South divisions.
The Indians, in the Upper South Division, move to 2-0 on the year after edging Rainier 16-12 in a snow battle at home Feb. 16 in the season opener.
For Pe Ell-Willapa Valley, this was its season opener after its original first game with Adna was canceled Feb. 16 due to field conditions in Yelm. With Toledo having just played four days earlier, and PWV hitting the field for the first time since late 2019, the Indians’ one game of experience this year showed.
The Indians are the ones who actually struggled early on, fumbling on their first four possessions and losing all four, one of which the Titans turned into Josh Fluke’s two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to put PWV up 7-0.
The Titans would hold that lead all the way until 19 seconds before the half, when Toledo senior tailback Davin Kinsman barreled into the endzone from seven yards out. The two-point conversion pass was no good and PWV took a 7-6 lead into the break.
The third quarter was an even battle until the Indians began wearing the Titans down in the fourth quarter. Kinsman would run in two more touchdowns and record a safety, while Jacob Marley ran in a 15-yard score to give the Indians a 28-7 victory.
“I’m proud of the way we bounced back, responded and showed resilience,” Toledo coach Mike Christensen said.
Kinsman ran the ball 29 times for a game-high 157 yards, three rushing touchdowns and a safety. The Indians racked up 326 total yards of offense compared to 100 total yards for PWV.
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley coach Josh Fluke said he was proud of the way his young team, which has six sophomores and one freshman starting, hung in there against a tough Toledo squad. He commended quarterback Tyler Adkins for a strong performance on both sides of the ball.
Adkins was 4-for-10 passing for 57 yards, while Derek Fluke had a team-high 38 rushing yards and one TD on 16 carries.
“Everyone did their job,” Fluke said. “The intensity was there. I’m proud of our team.”
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley takes on Forks in Montesano on Saturday. Toledo faces Onalaska at 10 a.m. Saturday in Montesano.
