W.F. West got exceptional play out of its defense but couldn’t get its offense churning in a 7-0 defensive-battle loss to visiting Kelso Friday night.
The Bearcats were held to just six first downs and 94 total yards of offense, including 51 on the ground as Kelso’s defense held tight.
“It was a hard-fought game and a downhill grind for both teams trying to run the ball,” W.F. West coach Dan Hill said.
The Bearcats yielded 373 yards of offense to Kelso, including 269 on the ground, but played lockdown defense when it mattered. The Hilanders’ lone score came on a 23-yard run with 6:31 left in the first quarter.
“The positive for tonight was our defense fought hard and kept us in the game,” Hill said.
Brock Guyette led the Bearcats with nine rushes for 35 yards, while junior quarterback Gavin Fugate eight carries for 12 yards. Fugate was 5-for-15 passing for 43 yards and two interceptions.
“Offensively, we have a lot of work to do,” Hill said. “We’ve got to get better. We have a lot of new guys and a lot of raw guys. We’ve got to fix our mistakes.”
W.F. West (0-1) travels to Vancouver to face another Class 3A opponent in Heritage (0-1) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11.
Centralia found tough sledding and a worthy opponent in a 35-6 non-league loss at home to a powerful Class 3A Evergreen team Friday.
The Tigers were held to 86 yards of total offense, compiling just five first downs as the Plainsmen used staunch defense to thwart the Tigers’ offense. Centralia was forced to start as many freshmen on offense as seniors, including five sophomores on defense.
“I thought for our personnel and how good Evergreen is that we played phenomenal,” Centralia coach Jeremy Thibault said. “We created turnovers and the kids played hard.”
Centralia was led by Gabe Seymour’s 30 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries. Sophomore signal-caller Landon Jenkins added six carries for 17 yards.
Thibault praised the performances of Blake Seymour, Gabe Seymour, Rex Akins and Anthony Saucedo.
“I told the kids I would judge them for their effort and not the scoreboard,” Thibault said. “Their effort was phenomenal.”
Centralia (0-1) continues non-league play when it travels to Class 1A Elma for a 7 p.m. matchup on Friday, Sept. 3.
Top-ranked Tumwater had no trouble putting Enumclaw to rest in a 56-6 thrashing of the Hornets at home on Friday.
Payton Hoyt ran for 141 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Thunderbirds, while Carlos Matheney rushed 10 times for 101 yards and a 35-yard TD. Karson Schreiner tacked on two touchdowns.
“Our offensive coaches did a great job of seeing what they were doing,” Tumwater coach Bill Beattie said. “They were putting our kids in the right position to get some blocks. Our whole line did a great job and (tight ends) Austin Terry and Ryan Otton opened things up on the edge for our sweeps.”
Tumwater (1-0) hosts Capital in non-league action at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
