Images from a SWW 2B Mountain Division football game between Napavine and Adna at Napavine High School on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019.
It didn’t take long for Laythan Demarest to re-capture his Lewis County Fantasy Football crown.
Young Demarest, the Tigers’ junior quarterback, led the league in scoring for the first two weeks of the season. He took a relative back seat against Wahkiakum in Week 4 with a “mere” 26 points, but countered with a huge Week 5 game against No. 5 Adna. Demarest broke off four touchdown runs of at least 69 yards, piled up 322 rushing yards, and tossed a touchdown for a cool 63 points.
He’s an interesting case in that he’s supremely opportunistic as a fantasy scorer. He doesn’t throw the ball as much as the last two Napavine quarterbacks, he isn’t called upon in short-yardage situations, and he isn’t asked to run the ball play after play like Dawson Stanley was last year. What he does, though, is manage to break free and find daylight on a notable percentage of his runs, and once he does, no one seems to be able to catch up to him (although that’s a combination of his own speed and his team’s downfield blocking).
And the Tigers’ regular season is already mostly done. They’re 1-0 in league with three Mountain Division games to go, and what looks like the most important 2B regular season game of the season coming on Oct. 18 in Onalaska. If both teams go in undefeated, the winner will, at that point, be the favorite for the No. 1 seed in the state playoff bracket.
Of course, given the strength of the Mountain Division, that could vanish before the crossovers. Onalaska wraps the season with Adna, while Napavine closes things out with Rainier, both of which could be top-10 teams going into the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the River Division heats up this week with … wait for it … Mossyrock at Winlock! The victor gets one of the two wins a team is likely to need for a crossover bid, and as both teams are winless in division games, this one has serious playoff implications. It may not have seemed likely six weeks ago, but Mossyrock/Winlock is suddenly an interesting proposition. And from this column’s standpoint, Winlock’s Bryce Cline and Mossyrock’s Evan Gootgeld both have big-game potential.
Here’s the roundup of the rest of Week 5’s top scorers.
Quarterback
1. Laythan Demarest, Napavine (63 points). Demarest ran for 322 yards and four touchdowns, with 85 passing yards and another touchdown, in the top-ranked Tigers’ win over Adna.
2. Josiah Johnson, W.F. West (35 points). Johnson threw four touchdown passes with 134 yards, and ran for 88 yards and a touchdown in a blowout of Black Hills.
3. Duke Schaplow, Toledo (27 points). Schaplow ran for 127 yards and a score and passed for 129 yards and a score against Toutle Lake.
Running Backs
1. Ashton Haight, Onalaska (38 points). Haight ran for 128 yards with three touchdowns, and ran in four conversions, in a blowout of MWP.
2. Evan Gootgeld, Mossyrock (32 points). Gootgeld ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns, with a conversion run, in a loss to Wahkiakum.
3. Jaiyden Camoza, W.F. West (31 points). Camoza racked up 191 rushing yards and two touchdowns against the Wolves, and his massive output so far this season easily puts him among Lewis County’s rushing leaders and could likely leave him somewhere near the Bearcat single-season record.
4. Braidyn Hoyt, Centralia (26 points). Hoyt ran for 204 yards and a touchdown during the Tigers’ loss to Aberdeen.
5. Max Smith, PWV (24 points). Smith ran for 69 yards with three touchdowns — two on kickoff returns — in a blowout of Chief Leschi.
6. Cole Fay, Adna (24 points). Fay ran for 54 yards and a touchdown, but hauled in six passes for 130 receiving yards as the Pirates’ top receiving threat against Napavine.
7. Gavin Parker, Napavine (23 points). Parker, a breakout sophomore, ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Adna.
8. Cade Lawrence, Onalsaka (22 points). Lawrence scored three touchdowns with 36 rushing yards and 18 receiving yards against MWP.
9. Kollin Jurek, PWV (21 points). Jurek ran for 91 yards and two touchdowns against Chief Leschi.
10. Blaine Wass, Centralia (14 points). Wass had two touchdowns and 29 rushing yards against Aberdeen.
Wide Receivers
1. Carlo Arceo-Hansen, Toledo (28 points). Arceo-Hansen notched three touchdowns, with 72 rushing yards and 38 receiving yards, as the Indians topped the Ducks.
2. Max Taylor, W.F. West (27 points). Taylor caught five passes for 91 yards with two touchdowns, and returned an interception for another score, against Black Hills.
Kickers
1. Bryce Laufenberg, W.F. West (12 points). A rare kicker spotting in LCFF! Laufenberg kicked one field goal (27 yards) and nine PATs against Black Hills.
