Kelso 28, Fort Vancouver 20
Instead of folding after trailing 28-0 at halftime, the Trappers took over in the second half and took the Hilanders to the wire.
“Kelso played well in the first half, and Fort played well in the second half,” Fort Vancouver coach Cal Szueber said. “We started out-hitting them. Kids started making plays, and we came together as a team. Kelso’s a tough place to play, and our kids had a lot of heart. For the first time ever, I think we wore them down in the second half. In previous years, Fort might have folded, but this is a special group of kids.”
Richard Vansiclen spread around 13 completions to six different receivers for 247 yards and a touchdown — just missing on a fourth-down play with 30 seconds left when a two-point conversion would have potentially sent the game into overtime.
Jordan Vela and Marcus Bush had scoring runs for Fort Vancouver. Bush’s TD with about three minutes left made it 28-20.
Fort’s onside kick was unsuccessful, but Kelso went backward on its possession and punted. The Trappers were near Kelso’s 30-yard line with about 30 seconds left when Vansiclen’s fourth-and-10 pass bounced off Danny Hernandez’s hands in the end zone as Kelso prevailed.
“We had every opportunity to come back in this game,” Szueber said. “We’re really proud of the kids.”
Next up: Fort Vancouver (2-3) vs. Mountain View; Kelso (4-1) vs. Evergreen
Fort Vancouver 0 0 13 7—20
Kelso 7 21 0 0—28
First quarter
K — No report
Second quarter
K — No report
K — No report
K — No report
Third quarter
FV — Jordan Vela 8 pass from Richard Vansiclen (Giovanni Santambrogio kick)
FV — Jose Johnson 30 run (kick failed)
Fourth quarter
FV — Marcus Bush 5 run (Santambrogio kick)
Leaders
Rushing — Fort Vancouver — Abdul Conteh 7-50, Jose Johnson 6-43, Marcus Bush 6-36, Totals 43-173.
Passing — Fort Vancouver — Richard Vansiclen 13-30-0-247.
Receiving — Fort Vancouver — Jordan Vela 4-59, Danny Hernandez 2-44, Brendan Burrell 1-40, Robby Cayse 1-35, Jose Johnson 3-34, Robert Bain 2-35.
