T-Wolves Grind Away to Win Over Mountaineers

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Rainier certainly didn’t make anything easy, but the Morton-White Pass football team got just enough going offensively to stay perfect on the year, rolling out 16-6 winners at home in Morton on Friday.

The Mountaineers held the T-Wolves to just 154 rushing yards, and even less early on.

“We were running against a nine-man front most of the night,” MWP coach Lee Metcalf said. “They totally sold out to stop the run and make us throw the football, and we’ve got to get better at that.”

MWP ended up having limited success in the aerial department, with the lone real positive play coming on a halfback pass from Carter Dantinne to Hunter Hazen. Beyond that, Dantinne did most of the heavy lifting on the ground, rushing for 114 yards.

The T-Wolves made up for any offensive struggles with yet another shutdown performance on defense. A safety put the hosts on the board, and while Rainier put up 265 yards when it was all said and done, the Mountaineers only managed six points.

“It was tough sledding early on, they made things hard on us,” Metcalf said. “I’m just proud of our kids. We buckled a couple times, but we didn’t break.”

Jake Meldrum went 10 for 18 for 141 passing yards, while Trevor Anderson led the Mountaineers with 56 rushing yards Christopher Gray added 51. Hunter Howell paced the receivers in orange and black with five catches for 58 yards; he also scored Rainier’s touchdown on a six-yard run in the third quarter.

But after seeing its 10-point lead slashed to just four, MWP’s offense kicked right back into gear, with Dantinne striking from 27 yards out to get the points right back.

“It was good for our kids to respond like that,” Metcalf said. 

Morton-White Pass (4-0, 2-0) is set to stay at home but move east to Randle next week, hosting Pe Ell-Willapa Valley. Rainier (0-4, 0-2) will make the lengthy trip to Ilwaco.