ADNA — There’s some saved memories in the noggins of the 12-member Adna High School football team’s senior class.
A mixture of good and bad ones. Yet several of the negative ones all involve a particular team that wears red and black. Grayson Humphrey believes it goes back to even middle school.
“You can’t explain the emotion, they have kicked our butt for three years of high school football,” the wide receiver/defensive back said.
The Pirates made sure to return the favor on Friday night.
Spurred by forcing five turnovers, controlling the line of scrimmage and some clutch plays, Adna gave its seniors a checkmark it long desired for with a 42-18 victory over Toledo at home.
For the first time since 2019, Adna secured a season-opening win. And it snapped a five-game losing skid to the Riverhawks, the last win also coming in the ‘19 campaign.
“It is pretty special,” Pirates head coach Aaron Cochran said. “I’m proud of them. The kids play hard and that’s what you got to have.”
It was a talking point at the end of Adna’s midnight practice about what the last three years have looked like when the two sides met. It was 35-7 margins in ‘23 and ‘24 and a 51-26 verdict last fall.
The tables completely flipped on Friday. Adna, even with several new pieces on the offensive and defensive lines, controlled the line of scrimmage. The Riverhawks did manage 174 rushing yards, but only a handful went into double figures.
Cash Smith, Naillon Ramirez and Ryker Workman were swarming to the ball carriers nearly every play. Evan Hultberg paced the defense with 10 tackles and three others had over five. Smith recovered a pair of fumbles to boot.
“We focus on pursuit everyday and if we’re not pursuing we’re not going to be very good,” Cochran said.
The first half was owned by the Kephart brothers. Humphrey had his shine in the spotlight over the final 24 minutes.
Adna tied the game at 6-6 when quarterback Trevin Salme connected with Kephart on a 24-yard slant route from the slot. That came after Salme picked off his QB counterpart in Toledo’s Joaquin Acosta.
Then it was Trent Kephart’s turn for an interception five plays later. On the third play from scrimmage on the ensuing Pirates drive, Salme targeted Smith in the slot on a seam route for a 56-yard catch-and-run for a one-score lead.
Adna never trailed the rest of the evening. Kannen Kephart added a 33-yard TD reception on the first play in the second quarter.
“Between Kannen and Grayson and Landen and Beau, those guys have put in a lot of work to get to this point,” Cochran said. “I felt like we took what they gave us.”
Riverhawks head coach Mike Christensen chalked it up to an inexperienced secondary going up against experienced pass catchers.
“They just got beat because they have really good athletes,” Christensen said. “We knew that was a threat. We could have played those balls better.”
Humphrey took the second half kickoff for a 20-plus yard return and capped a nine-play drive with a 18-yard touchdown and put the Pirates back in front by two scores.
That wasn’t his biggest moment.
After Adna got called for both holding and unsportsmanlike conduct calls, it went from knocking on the door of a score to the Toledo 35-yard line. And a minus-five yard pass put it at 3rd and 33 from the 40.
It was a broken play and Humphrey beat his man and Salme delivered a dime to make it 34-18 with 1 minute, 18 seconds left in the third quarter. Salme finished 12-for-18 with 260 yards, at one point completing eight in a row, and Humphrey totaled a team-best four catches for 71 yards.
Beau Miller paced the ground game with 78 yards on 17 carries while Kannen Kephart added 99 yards on just three receptions.
“It felt like a dagger,” Humphrey said of the third-and-long play. “Eventually we twisted it. It was awesome.”
Toledo, the reigning 2B runners-up, opened the game with a seven-play, 65-yard drive capped by an Austin Reed 8-yard plunge. Reed also unleashed a 55-yard scamper in the third quarter to make it a nine-point game.
The inability to stop the 3rd and 33 score was just the beginning. A halfback pass to open the fourth quarter put the Riverhawks in prime position only for a bad snap and fumble ended that brief scoring chance.
Acosta was sacked on third and fourth down on their next possession, the latter was also a fumble that turned into a Workman 43-yard scoop-and-score as the final exclamation point.
“You can’t play a good team, turn the ball over five times and expect to win,” Christensen said. “I wish we would have played better. A good, physical football game is what we needed.”
Reed led the way with 115 rushing yards while Nico Acosta finished with 40 on the ground.
The Riverhawks turn their attention to their home opener versus Granite Falls next week while Adna prepares to take on 1A Seton Catholic, who is coming off getting dismantled by Onalaska, which is Adna’s Week 3 opponent.
No shortcuts, which is exactly how the Pirates prefer it.
“Obsorb everything you can,” Humphrey said. “Looking ahead, it is going to be a battle, but we’re ready.”
