Weekend Roundup: Lake Quinault earns first home football win in six seasons

Also: Local cross country runners compete at Kehoe Invite; Hoquiam beats Elma in volleyball matchup

It’s been a long time since fans of Lake Quinault prep football have been able to celebrate a home-game victory.

The Elks gave them something to cheer about on Saturday.

Lake Quinault picked up its first win at home in six years with a 59-14 thrashing over Wishkah Valley on Saturday.

The Elks (1-2 overall) wasted little time to get on the scoreboard, scoring on the first play form scrimmage when Augustin Torres scored from midfield on a fly-sweep.

Lake Quinault kept the foot on the gas pedal, scoring 53 points in the first half en route to the victory.

“It was a great team effort,” Elks head coach Melvyn Houtz said, adding that it was “very relieving” to get the program’s first victory at home in six seasons.

The Lake Quinault program was disbanded in 2014 and returned under Houtz’s direction for the 2019 season.

Elks fullback Grady Fowler and tailback Cody Perry led the way for Lake Quinault with two touchdowns apiece, highlighted by Fowler’s 78-yard TD run up the gut and an 80-yard scamper from Perry on a power sweep.

“They were outstanding because the offensive line did their job,” Houtz said about linemen Emmanuel Benegas, Charles Gumecindo and Luis Estrada, to name a few. “The entire offensive line blocked great.”

Elks cornerback Jesse Ferry returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown in the 1B Coastal (8 man) League victory.

Wishkah Valley moved to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the 1B Coastal (8 man) League with the loss.

PREP CROSS COUNTRY

Twin Harbors athletes compete at Kehoe South Sound Invite

Led by some top performances from Aberdeen and Montesano runners, multiple local cross country runners competed at the Bill Kehoe South Sound Invite on Saturday at St. Martin’s University in Lacey.

The invitational meet featured hundreds of competitors from schools across the state, with multiple levels of competition ranging from junior varsity to elite level races.

In the Boys Purple Elite level race, Aberdeen senior Julian Campos continued his strong season with a season-best time of 16.23.0 to place sixth. Campos’ time is the 14th best time in state’s 2A class this season.

Bobcats senior Gary Sherman (17:27.0) finished 38th to help Aberdeen to a team total of 301 points, placing 12th out of 18 teams in the 123-competitor race.

Aberdeen sophomore Aliyah Castro finished the Girls Silver race with a time of 23:05.0, placing 55th out of 111 runners.

Montesano junior Aric Jacklin ran the 5K Boys Bronze race in a time of 16:51.70, taking over the lead at the 1.5 mile-mark to cross the finish line first ahead of Enumclaw’s McCoy Brooks (17:04.20, 2nd) and Rochester’s Levi Jennings (17:34.20, 3rd).

In the Girls Bronze race, Montesano senior Aubry Anderson placed 10th (22:30.10), junior Lilly Schweppe placed 17th (23:17.50) and freshman Polina Vitchitskaya finished in 19th place (23:21.10) for a Bulldogs girls team that finished seventh overall with 134 points in the 11 team field.

All Montesano competitors posted personal-best times on Saturday in the Bronze Division races, which had 219 competitors in the boys race and 111 in the girls competition.

Hoquiam was led by freshman Jane Roloff, who placed 34th in the Girls Silver race with a time of 22:29.50.

In the Men’s Open race, Ocosta senior Dylan Todd finished sixth with a time of 18:10.80.

For full race results, visit athletic.net/CrossCountry/Results/Meet.aspx?Meet=192229&show=all.

PREP VOLLEYBALL

Hoquiam 3, Elma 1

In a makeup match from a scheduled game that was postponed earlier in the season, Hoquiam defeated Elma in four sets on Saturday in Elma.

In a performance Hoquiam head coach Heather Bozich said was “not our best showing,” Hoquiam took the 1A Evergreen League contest 26-24, 17-25, 25-14 and 25-16.

Without its full lineup do to the scheduling changes and still rusty after a month-long layoff that ended last Tuesday, Hoquiam (5-1 overall, 4-0 1A Evergreen) started slow but made the proper adjustments to pick up the victory.

Chloe Kennedy had 10 kills and six solo blocks from her spot at the net while Carron Blood (15 digs) and Ella Folkers (21 assists) helped to keep Hoquiam undefeated in league play.

The Grizzlies were also good from the service line, with Ashlinn Cady (21-22 service) and Kirstina Goulet (18-19 service) recording near-perfect numbers from the service line.

“Still trying to find our footing after the hiatus, but we’re getting there,” Bozich said. “I’m proud of how we never gave up or got down after losing the second set.”

Elma (4-5, 3-2) was led by Aubrey Moore (19 assists, 3 aces), Torrey Thompson (7 kills, 3 blocks, 2 aces) and Hannah Warren (15 digs, 7 kills).

“I’m proud of how well we started the match tonight. We came out strong and with a lot of energy,” Elma head coach Kendra Dunn said. “Hoquiam continued to maintain their energy throughout the whole match. I’m proud of how well we passed and set tonight.”

Hoquiam 26 17 25 25 — 3

Elma 24 25 14 16 — 1

BOYS PREP TENNIS

Shelton 5, Aberdeen 1

Aberdeen lost 5-1 to Shelton on Friday in Aberdeen.

The Bobcats’ lone win came from No. 2 Doubles team Ashdon Swope and Colton Faulkner, who defeated Shelton’s Brady Walsh and Kal Ruiz 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Singles — Brenden Wagner (Shelton) defeated Foster Patterson (Aberdeen) 6-0, 6-0; Josh Brennan (S) def. Daniel Garcia (A) 6-2, 7-5; Connor McCullough (S) def. Luca Pisani (A) 4-6, 7-6 (3), (10-3).

Doubles — Jayden Lovingfoss/Wyatt Wagner (S) def. Andrew Troeh/Kyle Miller (A) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3; Ashdon Swope/Colton Faulkner (A) def. Brady Walsh/Kal Ruiz (S) 7-6 (3), 6-3; Caleb Brennen Richard Beckman (S) def. Kevin Eng/Brodyn Osina (A) 6-1, 6-1.

Aberdeen raised funds for boys tennis team

Aberdeen High School held a doubles fundraiser tournament on Saturday with proceeds going to benefit the boys tennis team.

Several alumni, families and community members competed in the tournament, which raised $380 for the Bobcats boys tennis team.

Doubles — 1, Holly Duffy/Ted Wiseman. 2, Colton Faulkner/Luca Pisani. 3, Vic Osina/Brodyn Osina. 4, Steven Isaacson/Ayden Giffin.