VANCOUVER — The Tigers were down at halftime, but scored 26 points in the second half and the Centralia defense was stout to lead the Tigers to a 48-33 win in a non-league 2A football game here on Friday night.
Centralia rushed for 478 yards, led by Chase Sobolesky-Reynolds with 137 yards on 14 carries. Brady Hoyt added 132 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries and Blaine Wass chipped in 126 yards on 14 carries and a score.
“Our running backs played well. There were a lot of dudes getting the ball tonight,” Centralia coach Jeremy Thibault said. “Our linemen were pancaking kids downfield. Last year, we would have rolled over. Our defense shut them down in the second half and made a bunch of big plays."
Quarterback Cameron Erickson was 1-for-6 with 22 yards and a touchdown pass to Benito Valencia.
Columbia River had 408 yards of total offense. Quarterback Mason Priddy did a little bit of everything for the Chieftains, going 13-of-23 for 263 yards and four touchdowns. Jacob Ayres caught four passes, all touchdowns, for 198 yards.
Each team scored seven points in the first quarter but Columbia River scored 20 points in the second quarter to lead 27-22 at halftime. Columbia River scored the opening touchdown of the second half and were blanked after that. The Tigers were able to seal the win with a long drive in the fourth quarter, capped off by a 3-yard touchdown run by Wass to put the game away.
“I thought we played awesome. If we put long drives together, they couldn’t stop us and that’s why we won the game,” Thibault said. “I thought our kids played their asses off, especially the offensive line.”
Centralia (1-0) will host Evergreen next Friday at Tiger Stadium in a non-league game.
Bearcats Overcome Turnover Bug to Elude Hawks
OLYMPIA — The Bearcats tried to be their own worst enemy here on Friday night but managed to get out of their own way just long enough to snare a 29-20 victory from the claws of the Hawks.
W.F. West turned the ball over seven times, including five interceptions, and hemorrhaged 93 yards due to penalties in the game. That meant they had to rely on their defense and running game to salvage the season opening road win. In the end the Bearcats picked up 250 yards rushing and limited the Hawks to just six second half points.
“Our O-line played very well tonight. They really run blocked pretty exceptional all night long for us which kept us moving the football,” said W.F. West coach Dan Hill. “And our special teams played a big role for us tonight. We did a great job on kick off and a good job on punt coverage. Our defense was on the field most of the night and really stepped up. I know they gave up three scores but they were put in tough positions all night long.”
W.F. West held a 14-7 advantage after the first quarter thanks to an eight yard touchdown pass from Josiah Johnson to Leandre Gaines and an interception by Carter McCoy that was returned 25-yards for a score. The Bearcats added eight points in the second quarter on a four yard touchdown run by Johnson that was backed up by a Jaiyden Camoza two-point conversion carry. That score put W.F. West up 22-14 at the half.
Camoza added a four yard touchdown run in the third quarter to put the Bearcats ahead for good and finished the night with a game-high 209 rushing yards.
Hill singled out Trent Peters as an offensive lineman who was essential to the Bearcats success on the ground.
Hill was relieved to leave Olympia with a win but emphasized that his team will need to clean things up next week at practice.
“Taking care of the football and really just kind of flushing it and moving on. Hopefully it’s just one of those freak nights and we’ll keep plugging away,” said Hill.
W.F. West (1-0) will host Capital next Friday.
