He just thought he was being caught by a tackler.

“It just fell into my lap, and I started running for my life,” said Harshman, of Heritage. “I thought they were a lot closer than they were. That’s why I dived in. It looked good, though.”

There were not a whole lot of good-looking plays in the all-star game at Columbia River High School.

Harshman’s 50-yard touchdown was the second TD by the East in the fourth quarter, leading the squad to a 17-0 win over the West in a game dominated by defense.

Domenique Hill of Mountain View scored the game’s only offensive touchdown, a 10-yard run with 6:27 to play in the game for a 10-0 lead. Fellow Mountain View player Cailen Thomason set up the score with a 42-yard reception.

Harshman was named the defensive player of the game for his score, while Thomason, who had 62 yards receiving, was picked for the offensive MVP. Heritage’s Donavon Cunningham was the all-around MVP, rushing for a game-high 40 yards on offense, and playing strong defense from his linebacker spot. He stripped a West ballcarrier while making a tackle, coming up with the loose football.

“I’ve always wanted to play in the East-West game and see which team could come out on top,” Cunningham said. “It was fun to play with guys who I used to play against.”

Thomason was the most unlikely of award winners, especially playing wide receiver.

“It was definitely a transition, coming from Mountain View, passing the ball maybe three times a year, and then becoming a receiver here,” said Thomason, a running back with the Thunder. “In practice, we had Donavon Cunningham and Domenique Hill, two awesome running backs. The coaches tried to find a spot for me to fit in. I said, ‘Throw me out there. I’ll do it.’”

The West was led by quarterback Brody Kadow of Fort Vancouver and Battle Ground receiver Justin Reynolds. Kadow completed 15 of 31 passes for 105 yards. Reynolds caught six passes for 76 yards.

The West, though, failed to find the end zone.

East defensive back Jorgen Miller of Evergreen tackled Reynolds on the 3-yard line on the final play of the first half, preserving a 3-0 lead. The West would not get inside the 10-yard line again.

Ridgefield quarterback Sean Jung sparked the West a bit in the fourth quarter with quarterback options, rushing for 25 yards on three carries.

Two Spudders also had strong defensive plays — Jung and Alex Ferreira each had interceptions.

Houston Aho of Prairie had an interception for the East.

Shane Kesler of Evergreen had a sack, one of nine tackles for loss or no gain for the East.

Hockinson’s Travis Boman booted a 23-yard field goal with 3:24 to play in the first half.

The Saints beat the Coyotes and the Jaguars and Eagles tied in the two Clark County Youth Football games earlier in the day as part of Freedom Bowl Classic festivities.

They gave way to the high school graduates in the evening.

“It was a blast,” Harshman said. “I’m glad I got the opportunity to come out and play.”

East 0 3 0 14 — 17
West 0 0 0 0 — 0
Second quarter
E — Travis Boman 23 FG
Fourth quarter
E — Domenique Hill 10 run (Boman kick)
E — Gage Harshman 50 interception return (Boman kick)
Individual leaders
RUSHING: East — Donavon Cunningham 10-40, Hill 9-31; West — Sean Jung 3-25, Qunicy Guy 6-21.
PASSING: East — Bobby Cowan 6-8-1-71, Bryan Glascoe 1-4-1-42, Jeff Doman 4-5-0-21. West — Brody Kadow 15-31-1-105, Jung 1-4-1-11, Guy 1-1-0-13.
RECEIVING: East — Cailen Thomason 3-62, Shawn Smith 3-49, Matt Haly 2-9, Donavon Cunningham 1-10, Hakeim Pearson-Smith 1-3, Hill 1-1; West — Justin Reynolds 6-76, Sean Daly 5-41, Tony Marino 2-3, Guy 2-1, Benjamin Allen 1-5, Tim Horne 1-3