Columbia River football preview: Don’t sell him short

All he has done, in three sports, is prove that he can compete with any and all opponents, that he can get the best of most of his opponents.

A year ago, he was the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League’s defensive player of the year at defensive back. He also was a first-team wide receiver. Hawthorne scored 12 touchdowns, finding the end zone in all but one game in 2013.

Then in basketball, he turned the fourth quarter into his own personal clutch zone, helping the Chieftains to league and district titles. He was then named the 3A GSHL’s player of the year.

He also excelled in track for the Chieftains.

At 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, Hawthorne plays like a giant.

He does this by taking care of the things that count. In athletics. In life.

At Columbia River, it’s called ACE. Attitude. Commitment. Effort.

“Those are the three things you can always control,” Hawthorne explained.

A bad bounce. A bad call. Even a mistake made by a player. Those things happen. But if the Chieftains follow the ACE plan, they will be fine, they say.

“You have to have perfect effort on every play,” Hawthorne said. “If you do that, there’s no limits to what you and your teammates can do.

“This year, we’re taking effort a little further and we’re having perfect effort every time.”

His ability and that mentality should find him a college real soon. Hawthorne, who expects to see some time at running back this season, said he does not care what position he plays in college. He just knows he wants to be a college football player.

“Football is a team game. You have to be able to play wherever they ask of you,” Hawthorne said.

The key, he said, is not finding a place to play this position or that position, but to find a place where coaches believe in him, no matter where they put him on the depth chart.

He knows he will find the right fit. He also has plenty of support. Not just his teammates, but a player on a rival school, too. Hawthorne and Skyview quarterback Zac Shomler are friends. Shomler, too, is considered “too short” for the prototypical quarterback.

Not surprisingly, Hawthorne and Shomler share the same philosophy.

“When it comes down to it, if you can play, you can play,” Hawthorne said. “When you play with heart and you play with passion and you have guys behind you doing the same things, you can achieve a lot.”

That’s the plan at Columbia River.

The 3A GSHL is now a four-team league that the Chieftains have every intention of winning. This also means six non-league games to fine-tune everything to prepare for what they hope will be a long season.

“Not looking too far ahead is going to be really important,” Hawthorne said.

Still, the Chieftains can’t help but look a little into the future. They have more on their to-do list than simply get out of league and into the postseason.

“We can go deep in the playoffs. We believe we have the talent, and more importantly, we have the seniors who have bought into the system,” Hawthorne said. “We think we have a chance to do something special this year, something Columbia River hasn’t done in a while.”

Nathan Hawthorne and Columbia River have big, big plans.