Hoquiam 42, Sequim 35
The Hoquiam Grizzlies football team had quite a night on Friday.
First, they won another nail-biter, this time over a tough 2A non-league opponent — the Sequim Wolves — in a gritty 42-35 victory.
Then word came from Elma High School that the Eagles defeated Forks, 35-10, giving Hoquiam its first 1A Evergreen league championship since 2015.
Hoquiam’s Cameron Bumstead dives across the goal line before Sequim safety Taig Wiker can make the tackle in the Grizzlies 42-35 win on Friday. (Photo by Patti Reynvaan)
Hoquiam (8-0, 3-0 Evergreen 1A) found itself down 13-0 early against Sequim, which entered the game with a spotless 7-0 record.
The Grizzlies cut Sequim’s lead to a touchdown when quarterback Payton Quintanilla found receiver Cameron Bumstead for a 21-yard TD pass to make it a 13-6 ballgame.
After Sequim (7-1, 5-0 Olympic 2A) scored to go up 21-6, Grizzlies running back Matt Brown rumbled in from 18-yards out to trim the Wolves’ lead to 21-14.
The Wolves threatened to score with five seconds left in the half and a goal-to-go situation. But in a theme that has come to be one that typifies this Hoquiam team, the Grizzlies defense made big plays when it counted, stuffing the Wolves at the goal line to remain within a touchdown heading to the break.
“The defense has done what they’ve had to do every game,” Hoquiam head coach Jeremy McMillan said. “I told our team earlier this year, ‘We’re going to hang our hat on our defense this year.’ … I’m pretty proud of our entire defense.”
Hoquiam tied the game in the third quarter when running back Antonio Garcia, a first-year player that McMillan said has “caught fire at the right time” and “possesses track speed,” took a handoff from Quintanilla on a draw play and streaked to the end zone for a 64-yard score, tying the game at 21-21.
Hoquiam running back Antonio Garcia breaks free for a long run while Sequim’s Isaiah Cowan during the Grizzlies 42-35 victory on Friday. The Grizzlies remain undefeated on the season at 8-0 with the victory. (Photo by Patti Reynvaan)
The score wouldn’t stay tied for long, as on the Wolves first play on the ensuing possession, linebacker Ben Estes intercepted Sequim quarterback Riley Cowan and ran it back 24 yards for a TD to give the Grizzlies their first lead of the game at 28-21.
But the Wolves responded with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Cowan to Taig Wiker to knot the game up at 28-28.
As they’ve done all season, the Grizzlies responded to the pressure successfully. Brown capped a drive with his second rushing TD of the game, this time on a 6-yard run, to give Hoquiam a 35-28 lead.
After Sequim tied the game at 35 all early in the fourth quarter, Quintanilla scored on an 8-yard run to put the Grizzlies back on top for the third time in the game at 42-35.
The Hoquiam defense then had to survive a grueling final five minutes of the game, one that saw it multiple fourth down conversion attempts, penalties and a turnover late in the game by the Grizzlies offense. But the defense held firm, shutting down a late Sequim drive to pick up the win.
“Today we raised the bar,” McMillan said. “It seems like we do just enough to win. But the preparation of the coaching staff was phenomenal. They did a great job of breaking down film and getting the kids ready.”
Quintanilla finished going 12-for-20 for 137 yards passing and a touchdown.
Garcia led the Grizzlies on the ground, rushing for 112 yards and the long TD run on 10 carries.
Brown finished with 62 yards on 11 carries and two scores. He also had a stellar game on defense, leading Hoquiam with 12 solo tackles and four assists in the victory.
Hoquiam running back Matt Brown carries the football during Friday’s win over Sequim. (Photo by Patti Reynvaan)
Sequim 13 8 7 7 — 35
Hoquiam 6 8 21 7 — 42
Top Passers: Hoquiam — Quintanilla (12-20-0, 137, TD)
Top Rushers: Hoquiam — Garcia (10-112, TD), Brown (11-62, 2 TD)
Top Receivers: Hoquiam — Rayyon Dayton (3-54)
Rochester 28, Aberdeen 20
The Aberdeen Bobcats leaped out to a 14-2 lead but couldn’t make it hold up in a 28-20 loss to Rochester on Friday at Rochester High School.
The Bobcats (1-7, 1-3 Evergreen 2A) scored early in the first quarter when Bodie Wharton scored on a 9-yard touchdown run and, after the Warriors scored on a safety, extended their lead to 14-2 when quarterback Ben Dublanko scored on a 5-yard run with two minutes left in the frame.
Aberdeen took a 21-9 lead when Wharton scored for a second time on a 5-yard run with eight minutes to go in the third quarter.
But Rochester (2-6, 1-3) chipped away at the lead with a long TD run late in the third quarter to make it a 21-16 ballgame. The Warriors took a 22-21 lead on a rushing touchdown with nine minutes to go in the game.
Late in the game with the ball deep in their own territory, Aberdeen’s defense allowed Rochester to score in hopes of preserving enough time on the clock for the Bobcats offense to score the tying touchdown.
With the Warriors leading to 28-21 and less than a minute remaining in the game, Aberdeen drove to midfield but no further as the Bobcats were stopped on downs, ending the comeback attempt.
Dublanko was 9-for-22 for 122 yards and an interception.
The Bobcats totalled 277 yards of offense while Rochester tallied 356.
Aberdeen 14 0 7 0 — 21
Rochester 2 7 7 12 — 28
Raymond 37, Ilwaco 20
Raymond running back McCartney Maden and Patrick Edwards combined for over 400 rushing yards as the Seagulls kept their hopes for a top-playoff seed alive with a clutch 37-20 win over the Ilwaco Fishermen on Friday at Ilwaco High School.
Raymond (5-3, 5-1 Coastal 2B) entered the contest on a four-game winning streak and a half-game behind Ilwaco in the 2B Coastal standings.
After falling behind 6-0 on Ethan Personius’ 1-yard touchdown run, Raymond scored 16 consecutive points on a 35-yard TD run from Maden, a 14-yard run from Joseph Villalpando and a Seth Angelovich safety to take a 16-6 lead into halftime.
Edwards opened the second half with back-to-back touchdown runs to give the Seagulls a 29-6 advantage.
Ilwaco (5-2, 4-1) scored on a 70-yard touchdown run by Jeb Sheldon to trim Raymond’s lead to 29-14, but an Ilwaco grounding penalty in the end zone in the fourth quarter gave Raymond its second safety of the game and a 31-6 lead.
Edwards would put the game away with a 5-yard scoring run with 6:47 left in the game.
Sheldon scored on a 22-yard run with 3:25 left to complete the scoring.
Edwards ran 32 times for 239 yards and three scores. Maden had 164 yards on 15 carries and a score and Vilalpando had 56 yards and a touchdown on five carries.
With the win, Raymond locked up the league’s No. 2 playoff seed, though depending on what happens next week, could be one of three teams to end up in a first-place tie for the league title.
“We’re very excited to get the win,” Raymond head coach Luke Abbott said. “(The players) understand what is at stake. We talked about it all week. We can only control this game and know if we win, we could potentially compete for a No. 1 seed.”
If Ilwaco beat Pe Ell-Willapa Valley on Friday, Oct. 26, three teams in the league will finish with identical 5-1 league records. According to Raymond officials, a three-way coin flip will likely be used to determine the league’s top three playoff seeds if that is the case.
Raymond 0 16 13 8 — 37
Ilwaco 6 0 6 8 — 20
Top Rushers: Raymond — Edwards (32-239, 3 TD), Maden (15-164, TD), Villalpando (5-56, TD)
Elma 35, Forks 10
Elma secured its own playoff spot and eliminated Forks from postseason contention with a 35-10 win over the Spartans on Friday night in Forks.
Brady Shriver and Taitum Brumfield were a two-headed monster in the Elma backfield, rushing for 91 and 78 yards, respectively.
After giving up a field goal with 3:10 left in the first quarter, Shriver gave his team the lead with a 3-yard touchdown run that put Elma up 7-3 with 10 seconds left in the first.
Elma quarterback Cody Vollan showed off his wheels with an 18-yard scamper at 10:07 in the second quarter to push the lead to 14-3.
The Eagles (6-1, 2-1 Evergreen 1A) didn’t take their foot off the pedal in the second half, putting up 14 points on consecutive drives with touchdown runs from Shriver on the first possession of half and Brumfield on the second.
Brumfield was also creating problems for the Spartans on defense with 10.5 tackles and a sack.
Vollan also forced a couple of turnovers himself, picking off Forks quarterback Gabriel Reaume twice.
The Spartans fell to 1-2 in league play with the loss.
Elma 7 7 14 7 – 35
Forks 3 0 0 7 – 10
Leading Passer: Elma – Vollan (5-9-0, 133); Forks — Reaume (5-16-2 41)
Leading Rusher: Elma – Shriver (14-91, 2 TD); Forks — Tristen Pisani (29-96)
Leading Receiver: Elma – Carter Jacobson (3-63); Forks — Brett Moody (1-18)
Chief Leschi 20, North Beach 14
The North Beach Hyaks led 14-0 after the first quarter but were held scoreless the rest of the way in a 20-14 loss to the Chief Leschi Warriors on Friday at North Beach High School.
They Hyaks are now 0-7 overall this season, 0-5 in the 2B Coastal League.
They’ll face South Bend at 7 p.m. on Friday at South Bend High School.
No further information was available for this game at the time of this writing.
Chief Leschi 0 6 6 8 — 20
North Beach Hyaks 14 0 0 0 — 14
