In a game during which opportunities to cash in were few, a modest gamble provided a big payoff for Kelso’s Hilanders.
A touchdown on their opening drive Friday at Columbia River gave the visitors all the points they would need to open Class 3A Greater St. Helens League play with a 12-3 win.
That the big play was a fake punt seemed appropriate on a night when both defenses were dominating.
After driving across midfield with their first possession, the Hilanders threw out of punt formation on a fourth-and-10 play.
Punter Sam Young connected with receiver Cedrique Chaney near the first-down line. Chaney made one tackler miss to gain the first-down, then out-ran the pursuit to the end zone for a 42-yard score that made the score 6-0 five minutes into the contest.
Kelso coach Pat Hymes said his special teams coach lobbied to fake the punt, believing they could take advantage of Columbia River’s desire to block a punt.
“We pulled the trigger, and it worked out well for us,” Hymes said.
It was only six points, and it was early. But a combination of solid tackling by the Kelso defense and some sloppy ball-handling by the Chieftains meant those six points were enough.
River turned over the ball seven times, including a couple of costly giveaways deep in Kelso territory.
The Chieftains outgained the Hilanders 191-155 in net offense, but could not make the big play or avoid the costly mistake.
“Kelso played pretty well against us. They were real aggressive and blitzed us a lot,” River coach John O’Rourke said. “That was difficult for us. Were still not as experienced as we would like to be, and that hurt us a lot.”
Columbia River quarterback Clayton Frank, a sophomore, finished 16 for 35 for 128 yards. He was intercepted four times, including a big pick off a deflection in the end zone that foiled a third-quarter River threat.
“Kelso did play good defense, but it was also a combination of our errors on offense,” said River senior receiver Kevin Cotter, who caught eight passes for 59 yards. “We just had some bad reads on some routes, and we’ve got to fix that up in practice next week. But I think we’re getting better and better each week.”
The Chieftains’ only points came early in the second quarter from a 22-yard Ben Kraft field goal after River ran 16 plays on a drive that reached the Hilander 5-yard line.
“Our defensive (coaches) really had our kids playing at a very high level,” Kelso’s Hymes said. “We’re fairly athletic in the secondary. We can get some pressure up front and we can cover. It’s a great combo.”
The Kelso defense looked even more confident after the score moved to 12-3 on a 14-yard touchdown run from Riley Miller midway through the second quarter. That touchdown came after River lost a fumble at its own 32, then had a personal foul penalty that moved the Hilanders into the red zone.
“Their defense is tough,” Hymes said of the Chieftains. There’s different angles that are tough to (for blockers) pick up.”
O’Rourke said with such a young team, it’s an added challenge to face rivals Kelso and (next Friday) Camas this early in the season.
“Hopefully our kids don’t get discouraged and we can bounce back,” O’Rourke said. “We have a long season ahead, and we’ll do the best we can to improve each week.”
Cotter said there won’t be any quit in the Chieftains.
“I think it just came down to a couple of plays that we messed up and didn’t capitalize on,” Cotter said. “It was a tough game.”
KELSO 12, COLUMBIA RIVER 3
Kelso 6 6 0 0—12
Columbia River 0 3 0 0— 3
First quarter
Kel — Cedrique Chaney 42 pass from Sam Young (run failed)
Second quarter
CR — Ben Kraft 22 FG
Kel — Riley Miller 14 run (pass failed)
Leaders
Rushing — Kelso — Jared O’Neil 10-29, R. Miller 16-47, Slate Miller 6-26; Makaio Mobbs 11-(minus 34); Columbia River — Darius Raiford 12-48, Kevin Cotter 2-9, Jeremy Newton 1-9, Kevin Sandison 1-12, Clayton Frank 7-(minus 15).
Passing — Kelso — Mobbs 6-9-0-45, S. Young 1-1-0-42; Columbia River — Clayton Frank 16-35-4-128.
Receiving — Kelso — Chaney 5-61, S. Young 1-13, A.J. Golden 1-13; Columbia River — Cotter 8-59, J. Newton 3-45, Cameron Jay 3-21, Ian Christianson 2-6.
