Swirling winds and pelting rain did little to slow the Napavine offense on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Centralia, as the third-ranked Tigers scored seven touchdowns in a 52-0 blowout win over No. 14 Columbia (Burbank).
“They did a nice job playing in the elements,” Napavine coach Josh Fay said. “We were really limited tonight, but I thought we answered well. Hats off to our kids for executing in the conditions.”
The weather played a factor early on, as Grady Wilson couldn’t haul in a high snap on the goal line, but the Tigers quickly adjusted.
Wilson scored the first touchdown of the day on an 8-yard scamper, but after that, it was the Colin Shields show.
Shields scored a rushing touchdown on three of the next four Napavine drives, and he returned an interception 61 yards to the house for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half.
He added two more touchdowns on the ground in the second half to finish with six total touchdowns.
“He’s been solid for us offensively since we moved him into the back field,” Fay said. “The pick six is what I liked … It was a good read. It was in the scouting report, he read it and jumped it. That’s what you have to do in the playoffs to be successful.”
The Shields pick six was one of several impressive plays made by the Napavine defense. Wilson also grabbed an interception just two plays after the early turnover, and as a team, the Tigers held the Coyotes to just 16 total yards.
“If this was the test and we did the homework all week, we got an A-plus on the scouting report,” Fay said. “We executed really well. Guys knew what was coming for the most part.”
Next up for the Tigers is a familiar foe, as they’ll host No. 11 Adna, which upset No. 6 Liberty Bell 8-3 earlier in the day on Saturday.
This will be the first time that the Tigers and Pirates have met in the state postseason since a semifinal in 2018. In their matchup this season, Napavine came away with a 27-13 victory.
Fay, an Adna alum, said he was disappointed that the bracket lined up the two C2BL foes so early, and he also believes the Pirates are a better team now than they were when they met on Oct. 4.
“I hate to see teams out of District 4 cannibalize each other,” Fay said. “But they’re playing really good football. They’ve peaked at the right time and we’re gonna have our hands full. This is gonna be a war.”
Napavine and Adna will most likely meet on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Tiger Stadium in Centralia, with the winner advancing to the 2B semifinals.
