Hockinson falls to W.F. West

BATTLE GROUND — The strides Hockinson made from last season to this one were great, but the strides W.F. West quarterback Mitch Gueller made Friday night were just too fast for the Hawks to keep up with.

Struggling to contain the senior from the opening play from scrimmage, Hockinson fell to the Bearcats 34-7 in a 2A district playoff. And after the game, players’ eyes were just as wet as the rain-soaked field.

“You couldn’t have picked a better group to be around this year,” said Hockinson receiver Beau Sparks, whose team was 2-8 in 2010 but won the 2A Greater St. Helen’s League title this season. “I don’t know what we could have done differently tonight. I just know I didn’t want it to turn out this way.”

On West’s first snap, Gueller kept the ball and ran it 55 yards for a touchdown. In the second quarter, he tossed a 72-yard pass to Bowe McKay to put the Bearcats (8-2) up 14-0.

Hockinson (7-3) found itself with a couple of early scoring opportunities after forcing a fumble and a bad West punt, but the Hawks could not capitalize on the chances.

The Bearcats did not have that problem.

Gueller tossed an 11-yard pass to Bryce Hanson to put his team up by 21, then sprinted 80 yards for a scoring rush that made it 27-0 at halftime. He added an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown, and finished with 169 yards rushing and 156 yards passing.

“He’s a great football player,” said Hawks coach Rick Steele, who told his team after the game that “sometimes you just lose to better football teams.” “With a team like that, we have to make them drive down the field. They had too many big plays.”

The lone bright spot for Hockinson came when senior receiver Abe Weiss caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Jess Krahn with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Weiss didn’t play football until this year, and hadn’t scored a TD until this game.

Steele introduced him as “Touchdown Abe Weiss,” as the Hocks bid farewell to the seniors. Teammates were equally happy for him.

“That’s my guy right there,” said Sparks. “He’s been my protege this year and I love the guy.”

W.F. West 7 20 7 0–34

Hockinson 0 0 0 7– 7

First quarter

W — Mitch Gueller 55 run (Kyler Huang kick)

Second quarter

W — Bowe McKay 85 pass from Gueller (Huang kick)

W — Bryce Hanson 11 pass from Gueller (Huang kick)

W — Gueller 80 run (kick failed)

Third quarter

W — Gueller 85 punt return (Huang kick)

Fourth quarter

H — Abe Weiss 9 pass from Jess Krahn (Everett Klodt kick)

Leaders

Rushing — West — Mitch Gueller 9-169, Colton Watson 5-5. Hockinson –Josiah Niemela 11-56, Zack McElveny 1-16.

Passing — West — Gueller 5-8-0-156. Hockinson — Jess Krahn 12-38-2-136.

Receiving — West — Bryce Hanson 3-73, Bowe McKay 1-72, Joseph Rothlin 1-11. Hockinson — Beau Sparks 6-83, Nick Guinett 2-23, Doug Macdonald 2-16, Zack Melveny 1-9,Cole Kirkpatrick 1-8.