It doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says. It doesn’t matter what the box score reads.
Frankly, it doesn’t matter if it’s the most flawless game of football the likes of which anyone has ever witnessed.
Aaron Cochran will still unleash his finisher.
“We have to keep getting better.”
That growth mindset has been the burning fire underneath the Adna Pirates since Cochran took over the program in 2023. And that mindset has led the Pirates back to the 2B state tournament for the second straight year, as Adna demolished Mossyrock 61-0 in a crossover at Centralia’s Tiger Stadium Friday night.
From the average witness on a chilly night in the Hub City, Adna could do no wrong in all three phases. After all, the Pirates more than tripled Mossyrock’s offensive yardage, forced three turnovers and housed two punt returns, both of which came just in the first nine minutes.
Adna only snapped the ball five times on offense in the first quarter and still led 28-0 entering the second.
To Cochran? The chase for perfection is just as heavy as the chase for a state title. There’s always room for improvement, but that doesn’t push out his pride in the team’s effort and growth.
“Tonight, there was stuff that we needed to improve upon. I know it sounds stupid with the score, and yeah, I think we’re playing well, but that all comes crashing down if you don’t have a great week of preparation and you’re not dialed in,” Cochran said. “It’s just what I say. Our focus is to get better every week. Since I’ve been at Adna and even coaching before that, all of my teams really focus on that, and the kids buy into it and the coaches buy into it.”
Adna was dialed in from the kickoff. Its defense, led by linebackers Oryn Nelson and Steven O’Dell, could not be contained and wiped out the Vikings rush attempts repeatedly.
The game could not have unraveled any faster for Mossyrock. After a three-and-out on the Vikings opening drive, Kannen Kephart took a punt 57 yards for the game’s opening score. On Adna’s first offensive snap from scrimmage, which succeeded a Mossyrock turnover on downs, quarterback Trevin Salme threw a pass to Grayson Humphrey in the flat, and the junior wideout evaded the entire defense for a 42-yard score. A Mossyrock fumble and two offensive snaps later — a 10-yard rushing touchdown by Beau Miller. Then a Vikings three-and-out and another punt, with Humphrey this time rocketing into the end zone.
With three minutes left on the clock, it was 28-0 Adna.
“Aaron’s a good coach. He’s got a lot of things in his back pocket, and he figured out our weaknesses,” Mossyrock head coach Robbie Dailey. “Once the snowball gets rolling down the hill, it gets tough to get going.”
The snowball turned into an avalanche in the second quarter. Following an interception of Vikings offensive lineman-turned-quarterback Austin Isom, the Pirates made it 35-0 on their longest drive of the night, a five-play march capped off by a Naillon Ramirez 1-yard run.
Adna piled on two more scores before halftime, with the Pirates entering the locker room up 48-0.
The running clock ignited as soon as the second half began, and Adna closed the game out with a pair of scores from the second unit. The Pirates finished with 341 total yards of offense despite running just 26 offensive snaps — good for 13.1 yards per snap.
Meanwhile, Adna’s defense, which pitched its third straight shutout, allowed just 94 total yards and did not give up a play longer than 9 yards. In fact, the unit has now given up a point in 15 straight quarters. Stacked with the two return touchdowns, it’s as complete a performance as a team can ask for with a state berth on the line.
“It’s definitely been a grind from last year. Losing last year in the state quarters sucked, but I feel like we’ve all got a big goal this year,” Miller said. “None of us want to be done yet.”
But to Cochran, there’s always something to improve upon.
“There’s a lot of stuff to clean up. There’s penalties that are unacceptable. Tonight is alright, but in the future, that’s not going to be the case,” he said. “I’m happy. I’m excited to go to state, but we have a lot of cleaning up to do.”
Adna (8-2, 5-0 C2BL) will learn of its state fate on Sunday when the bracket is released. Mossyrock’s wild season ends with a 2-7 record, but despite forfeiting a league game against Onalaska earlier in the year, the Vikings clinched a crossover spot with a win over Morton-White Pass.
“A lot of ups and downs,” Dailey said, summing up his first season as head coach. “There’s some good things that happened with this group. I had a good group of seniors that we’re definitely going to miss. The mantra is to just get in the weight room, get strong and build on this. To squeak into the playoffs and to just be here, it says something about our program.”
