Important league games and postseason positioning were on the line as we review Week 7 of the Twin Harbors high school football season.
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PREP FOOTBALL
Tumwater 55, Aberdeen 20
The breaks didn’t go Aberdeen’s way in a 55-20 loss to Tumwater on Friday at Tumwater High School.
The Bobcats (4-3, 1-2 2A Evergreen) took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard scoring run by senior running back Micah Schroeder in the first quarter and were in the game at halftime, trailing 27-14 after the Thunderbirds (6-1, 2-0) had some calls go their way.
Most glaringly, a Schroeder run deep inside Tumwater territory turned into a strip fumble return the other way for a long touchdown. The Aberdeen coaching staff disagreed with the call as they felt the play should have been whistled dead.
“Micah was clearly down as well as his forward progress had been stopped for at least two seconds,” Aberdeen head coach Todd Bridge said. “Suddenly, a Tumwater defender emerged from the scrum sprinting 70-plus yards the other way for a touchdown.”
The play turned what could have been a 14-13 Bobcats lead with a touchdown and extra point into a 20-7 advantage for the second-ranked Thunderbirds early in the second quarter.
T-Birds running back Peyton Davis scored on a 2-yard run later in the period to put Tumwater up 27-7.
Aberdeen battled back and responded when senior running back Riley Wixson punched in a 1-yard run with 1:00 left in the first half to trim the deficit to 13 at halftime.
Tumwater put some distance between itself and the Bobcats in the third quarter on a 10-yard scoring run from Davis and a 69-yard punt return from junior Ethan Bello.
“Tumwater excels in special teams play so we avoided conventional punting formation except for on one occasion,” Bridge said of the play. “They blocked us extremely well and we were not disciplined enough to stay in our running lanes. That’s something we need to correct moving forward.”
Another Wixson 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter trimmed the T-Birds lead to 41-20, but two more Tumwater touchdown runs over the final eight minutes of play secured Aberdeen’s fate.
“One things for certain, our Bobcats never gave up,” Bridge said. “In the last two drives, where their efforts were futile, we pulled starters out of the game in large chunks. We have a creed before every contest where we chant, ‘We never stop fighting and we never give up,’ and as I pulled those seniors out of the game I told them, ‘You never gave up. You never quit. I pulled you out, not you pulling you out.’ I think there’s a powerful life lesson there.”
Aberdeen was led by junior quarterback Mason Hill, who completed 14-of-25 passes for 188 yards without an interception. His favorite target on the night being senior receiver Gabe Matthews, who caught five passes for 119 yards.
Schroeder and senior receiver Adonis Hammonds both returned to the lineup after missing time due to injuries over the past two weeks. Schroeder finished with 81 yards on 24 carries while catching two passes for 17 yards. Hammonds caught six passes for 52 yards in his return to action.
On a positive note for Aberdeen, the 20 points scored against Tumwater was more than their past seven meetings combined and the most in the series since the Bobcats’ 29-22 loss in 2009.
“(Aberdeen offensive coordinator Macoy) Gronseth had another excellent game plan offensively where we produced three touchdowns and nearly 300 yards of offense,” Bridge said. “I’m not sure if anyone has amassed 300 yards of offense against Tumwater’s stingy defense and outside of the past two state title games, no 2A school has scored three touchdowns against Tumwater since W.F. West back in September of 2023.”
With the loss, Aberdeen is headed for another battle for third place against Black Hills and potential play-in scenario against the No. 4 seed out of the 2A Greater St. Helen’s League.
The Bobcats host the Wolves at 7 p.m. on Friday in Aberdeen.
Aberdeen 7 7 0 6 – 20
Tumwater 13 14 14 14 – 55
Scoring
First quarter
Aberdeen – Schroeder 1 run (Matthews kick), 6:59
Tumwater – Davis 2 run (PAT failed), 5:54
T – Davis 42 run (kick good), 2:40
Second quarter
T – Heryford 95 fumble return (kick good), 11:25
T – Davis 2 run (kick good), 3:20
A – Wixson 1 run (Matthews kick), 1:00
Third quarter
T –Davis 10 run (PAT failed), 9:02
T – Bello 69 punt return (PAT good), 7:29
Fourth quarter
A – Wixson 1 run (PAT failed), 9:45
T – Davis 28 run (kick good), 7:54
T – Varona 56 run (kick good), 6:31
Passing: A – Hill 14-25-0-188. J. Budd 5-10-0-103.
Rushing: A – Schroeder 24-81, Wixson 12-30, Schreiber 2-3, Crawford 1-5, Carroll 1-0. T – Davis 15-180, Varona 2-62, Tyler 6-28, Wall 3-27, J. Budd 1-20, Hinchcliffe 2-17.
Receiving: A – Matthews 5-119, Hammonds 6-52, Schroeder 2-17, Creamer 1-(-1). T – Millard 1-59, Crawford 1-22, Wall 1-11, Bello 1-8, Davis 1-3.
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Tenino 43, Hoquiam 21
A handful of mistakes turned out to be the difference in Hoquiam’s 43-21 loss to Tenino on Friday at Beavers Stadium in Tenino.
The Grizzlies (3-4, 0-2 1A Evergreen) took the lead in the first quarter when Moses DeShazer stripped the ball out of the hands of the Beavers punt returner, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Hoquiam at the Tenino 1-yard line.
Freshman quarterback K.J. McCoy ran it in one play later followed by an Ethan Byron extra-point kick for a 7-0 lead after one frame.
But Grizzlies miscues in the second quarter piled up, and Tenino (6-1, 2-1) made Hoquiam pay.
Trailing 8-7 after a Beavers touchdown, McCoy was sacked and stripped of the ball, which was recovered by Tenino at the Grizzlies 10-yard line.
The Beavers converted the turnover into points with a touchdown to go up 15-7 at the 6:50 mark.
On the ensuing possession, a Hoquiam punt was returned for a Tenino touchdown to extend the Beavers’ lead to 22-7.
Hoquiam was forced to punt again and faced going down further when Tenino picked up a first down after pass interference was called against the Grizzlies on a 3rd-and-forever play.
But Hoquiam senior Joey Bozich intercepted a pass late in the half to keep the score at 22-7 entering the break.
In the third quarter, Hoquiam senior defensive lineman Ryan Pullar forced a fumble that was recovered by junior Lincoln Niemi, but a Grizzlies turnover deep in Tenino territory halted the drive.
Tenino scored with just under four minutes left to take a 29-7 lead.
Hoquiam then drove down field and scored on a McCoy pass to Bozich. The duo also connected on the two-point conversion to make it a 29-15 game heading to the final period of play.
Tenino responded by returning a McCoy pass for a pick-6 touchdown early in the fourth quarter to go up 36-15.
McCoy then found Niemi for a touchdown to cut the gap to 36-21 with 8:53 to play.
The Beavers then drove down the field, chewing up clock and scoring to go up 43-21 with 3:01 left to play.
Hoquiam’s final drive of the game came up short, securing its 43-21 loss.
“Really comes down to execution. We must execute better in all three phases of the game. Need to eliminate our mental errors and penalties on the road,” Hoquiam head coach Jeremy McMillan said. “The coaching staff has done a great job this season. Our seniors have been leading on and off the field, with Bozich, Pullar, Andrew Le, Jerry Jeremiah, Javonni Koth, Chris Curley, Memphis Orama and Kingston Case while he’s been sidelined. I’m really happy with the growth of our young players stepping up and taking advantage of their opportunities to play. We’ve come a long way in a few short weeks. We’re green and growing.”
McCoy went 12 for 23 for 115 yards and a touchdown while rushing 17 times for 48 yards to lead the Grizzlies.
Bozich caught three passes for 64 yards while Koth hauled in four receptions for 24 yards.
Hoquiam’s defense was led by Brayden Gonzales (10 tackles), Pullar (9 tackles, forced fumble), Koth (9 tackles) and Nite Turpin (8 tackles).
The Grizzlies play at Elma at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Hoquiam 7 0 8 6 – 21
Tenino 0 22 7 14 – 43
Passing: Hoquiam – McCoy 12-23-1-115.
Rushing: H – McCoy 17-48, DeShazer 10-10.
Receiving: H – Bozich 3-64, Niemi 1-12, Koth 4-24, DeShazer 2-10, Byron 2-10.
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PHOTO BY MATT RUMBLES Pe Ell-Willapa Valley running back Blane King, seen here in a file photo, rushed for over 200 yards in a 34-9 win over Forks on Friday.
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley 34, Forks 9
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley made a bit of program history with a 34-9 win over Forks on Friday at Forks High School.
“We had never won there,” PWV head coach John Peterson said. “For us to do as well as we did, I was pleased.”
The Titans (6-1, 3-0 2B Central-North) opened the scoring when senior Blane King sprinted 89 yards on a touchdown run in the first quarter.
Sophomore running back Eddie Clements scored on a 4-yard run followed by a Brody Ritzman pass to receiver Cody Mican for two points and a 14-0 lead.
Ritzman scored on a 1-yard run and, after a bad snap led to a Forks safety, PWV entered the half up 20-2.
Clements scored on a 2-yard run for a 28-2 lead in the third quarter and – after a Forks touchdown later in the frame – senior running back Spud Swogger closed out the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
PWV had 387 total yards – 294 via the running game – and were led by King, who ran for 202 yards on 12 carries.
Forks (1-5, 1-2) was held to 103 total yards of offense thanks to a Titans defense led by Lucas Lusk (13 tackles), Clements (8 tackles) and senior lineman Tyler Frasier (5 tackles, sack).
Penalties continue to be a problem for PWV, with the Titans earning 13 yellow flags for 110 yards.
The Spartans weren’t much better, with 10 penalties for 100 yards.
At one point of the game, penalty flags were thrown on seven consecutive plays.
“The penalties killed us. … It just kills our drives,” Peterson said. “It was a sloppy game, but we’re so happy to come up here and get a win I can barely contain myself. That’s a hard place to play and a long dang drive.”
PWV can win the highly-competitive 2B Central-North League with victories in its final two games of the season.
The Titans face Napavine at 7 p.m. on Friday at Napavine High School.
PWV 14 6 8 6 – 34
Forks 0 2 7 0 – 9
Scoring
First quarter
PWV – King 89 run (PAT failed), 7:17
PWV – Clements 4 run (Mican pass from Ritzman), 2:05
Second quarter
PWV – Ritzman 1 run (PAT failed), 9:27
Forks – safety, 1:18
Third quarter
PWV – Clements 2 run (Mason from Ritzman), 6:50
F – 5-yard run (kick good), 3:21
Fourth quarter
PWV – Swogger 5 run (PAT failed), 8:37
Passing: PWV – Ritzman 6-11-1-93. Forks – Healvey 7-17-0-40.
Rushing: PWV – King 12-202, Lusk 13-59, Ritzman 7-13, Clements 6-13, Swogger 2-7, Hamilton 2-2, Corder 2-(-2).
Receiving: PWV – King 4-58, Mason 1-20, Mican 1-15.
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Raymond-South Bend 49, Columbia (White Salmon) 14
Raymond-South Bend snapped a four-game losing streak with a 49-14 victory over Columbia (White Salmon) on Friday at Columbia High School.
The Ravens (3-4) dominated from start to finish over the Bruins (1-5), largely through a rushing attack that compiled 560 yards of total offense.
Standout senior running back Chris Banker had a huge game with 255 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries to eclipse 1,000 yards this season.
Banker now has 1,182 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.
Ravens running backs Manny Becerra-Souza and Keeton Nichols also found plenty of wide-open spaces in the running game as each eclipsed 100 rushing yards in the game.
Becerra-Souza had 123 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries (17.6 yards per carry) while Nichols had 122 yards on just six carries (20.3 ypc) and a touchdown.
Junior Miguel Perez also scored a touchdown for RSB on a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Three of RSB’s seven touchdowns in the game were for 40 yards or more.
RSB returns to 2B Central-North League play at 7 p.m. on Friday against Forks at South Bend High School.
RSB 14 14 7 14 – 49
CWS 0 0 6 8 – 14
Scoring
First quarter
RSB – Banker 10 run (kick good), 11:11
RSB – Becerra-Souza 10 run (kick good), 3:12
Second quarter
RSB – Banker 10 run (kick good), 5:07
RSB – Banker 80 run (kick good), 0:00
Third quarter
RSB – Becerra-Souza 45 run (kick good), 1:59
CWS – MacCormack 50 pass from Wang (PAT failed), 0:56
Fourth quarter
RSB – Perez 5 run (kick good), 9:57
RSB – Nichols 65 run (kick good), 2:22
CWS – Reynolds 70 pass from Wang (PAT good), 0:29
Rushing: Banker 18-255, Becerra-Souza 7-123, Nichols 6-122.
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Other games
North Beach 60, Winlock 14
Naselle 2, Taholah 0 (Taholah forfeit)
Wishkah Valley 2, Easton 0 (Easton forfeit)
