Neil Daly threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more, all in the first quarter, as Columbia River routed Nathan Hale of Seattle 41-18 in a Class 3A state preliminary football game Saturday at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium.
Daly ran for touchdowns of 43 yards and 1 yard in the opening period. He also connected with Theisen Chang for a 48-yard touchdown pass play, and completed a 10-yard TD pass to Alec Polen as River took a 28-0 lead in the first quarter.
Kingsley Nkwonta had a 5-yard touchdown run in the second half and Steven Hughes connected on a pair of field goals for the Chieftains (5-5).
Columbia River will play Meadowdale in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs next weekend.
South Kitsap 38, Heritage 21 — South Kitsap football coach D.J. Sigurdson knew his team might need put up some serious points Saturday night against Heritage and stud quarterback Garrett Grayson.
Gordy Anderson threw for 361 yards and four touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter to Leon La Deaux, as the Wolves knocked off the Timberwolves.
South Kitsap took a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter after Chris Nenninger, Robert Issa and Isaiah Davis scored touchdowns on the Wolves’ first three offensive possessions.
Heritage (4-6) closed the lead to 24-7 at halftime, and grabbed some much needed momentum when La Deaux fumbled away a pass on South Kitsap’s first play from scrimmage in the second half.
Running back Carnell Vernom got the Timberwolves within 24-14 with a 5-yard touchdown reception from Grayson.
But South Kitsap never allowed Heritage to get closer than 10 points in the second half. La Deaux made up for his turnover by hauling in two scores, including a highlight-reel 45-yard catch and run.
After grabbing a pass in the left flat, he ran down the left sideline, then cut across the field to elude three Heritage defenders. He barely had enough gas left in the tank to get in the end zone, putting South Kitsap ahead 31-14.
“Gordy put it where it needed to be and Isaiah made a good block,” La Deaux said of the play. “Then it was just up to me to make a couple of moves. It was a long run, but it was worth it.”
Heritage again cut South Kitsap’s lead to 10 points when Ben Lyons caught a 9-yard scoring pass from Grayson midway through the fourth quarter.
But La Deaux put the finishing touches on win with a 13-yard touchdown reception with just over two minutes remaining.
La Deaux and Davis combined for 264 yards on a dozen catches.
