The longest losing streak in the Josh Fay era is over for the Napavine High School football team.
Following four straight defeats, the Tigers used a dynamic second quarter to rout Raymond-South Bend 49-16 Friday night in Napavine.
After a scoreless opening frame, Napavine blitzed RSB with 28 second-quarter points and 14 in the third. Senior tailback Caleb Von Pressentin was the star of the show, rushing for a whopping 240 yards and five touchdowns on only 11 carries, good for 21.8 yards per tote. Masen Jeg also scored twice, once on an 85-yard kickoff return and again on a 10-yard run.
“I don’t think we could afford to lose too many more and think we could salvage the season. It’s a good win,” Fay said. “I think that it’s probably pretty pivotal in our season, and hopefully we can build on that for the next three weeks.”
Fay said the pivotal win came on the heels of what he called the best week of practice so far this season. It came at a crucial time when the Tigers’ backs were against the ball and their confidence was tested.
“Our intensity level at practice was really good. Guys were really getting after it. We probably amped up the level of physicality for one of our practices to something that these guys have never experienced,” Fay said. “They bought in and decided they were gonna practice hard, and we got after each other.”
The Tigers, still without starting quarterback Grady Wilson, did not throw the ball once against RSB but was dominant on the ground thanks to not only their talented backs but an improving offensive line.
“Our offensive line guys are executing better every week. Caleb ran hard, and I thought he did a good job of getting back to the line of scrimmage and getting in the hole,” Fay said. “He did an awful lot on his own after that.”
Two of Napavine’s (2-4, 1-1 Central 2B League) final three regular season contests are on the road, starting with a test at Ilwaco next Friday.
