The Columbia River Chieftains scored on the first play of the game.
The Columbia River Chieftains kept Kelso from scoring for much of the night.
And the Columbia River Chieftains scored another league title.
Alex McGarry’s 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to start the game set the tone for Columbia River, and the Chieftains defense ruled in a rainstorm at Chieftain Stadium. Garrett McKee threw for a touchdown, ran for another, and kicked a field goal in a 24-14 victory over Kelso to win the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League championship.
It is River’s second consecutive league title and the third in the past four seasons. Columbia River (5-4, 3-0 3A GSHL) will host a state qualifying round playoff game in Week 10.
“It’s great to be part of the family and uphold the tradition,” Columbia River senior lineman Jacob Reitmeier said, adding that it’s all about the “River mystique.”
“Senior year, we get to call ourselves league champions,” said Blake Duhamel, who caught a touchdown pass and was strong all night on defense, too. “I could tell this was coming. Our practices this week have been the best we’ve ever had. Everyone was all-in, 100 percent all the time.”
McKee echoed those thoughts after throwing for 135 yards and rushed for 80 more in a constant rain. Hunter Pearson rushed for 147 yards on just 11 carries.
“We’re just passing down the tradition. This is what we preach at Columbia River,” McKee said. “It’s what we do. We play tough.”
McGarry scored just 13 seconds into the game. He credited his teammates for all the blocking.
“I came through at full speed. They did their job, giving me a chance to make a play,” he said.
It was not just the seven quick points that mattered to River. It was the energy the play brought to the team.
“Starting fast is something we talked about. We haven’t done that as much this year,” McGarry explained.
That was not a problem on this night.
Kelso failed to do much against the River defense on two first-quarter drives, then the Chieftains went up by 10 on McKee’s 18-yard field goal late in the quarter.
McKee would find Blake Duhamel on a 70-yard bomb to make it 17-0 River late in the second quarter.
With the way River’s defense was playing, that was a big cushion. Columbia River held Kelso to 92 yards in the first half.
Kelso (6-3, 2-1) will go on the road for its playoff matchup next week after finishing second in the league.
The Hilanders still had hope for a comeback, though, when they got on the scoreboard midway through the third quarter. Sonny Chhim caught a 45-yard pass from A.J. Hoggatt to make it 17-6.
River’s offense struggled on its next possession, then River lost a turnover on special teams. Still, the River defense would not relent to the Hilanders. Kelso ran 19 running plays for no gain or a loss. McGarry, an outside linebacker, had four tackles-for-loss and also knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage.
McKee put the Chieftains back up by three scores when he fooled Kelso on a fourth-and-short keeper. He broke one tackle and made it home on a 38-yard TD run.
Kelso would get it to 10 points on a fourth-quarter TD pass from Hoggatt to Brandon Williams with less than five minutes to play in the game. Kelso even recovered the onside kick. But again, River’s defense came through in the clutch.
“This is something we talked about all year. This has always been the end goal,” McGarry said of the league title. “We had a lot of ups and downs. Now that we’re here, it feels like a weight is off our shoulders. It feels like we can move on to the next thing now, and that’s the playoffs.”
COLUMBIA RIVER 24, KELSO 14
Kelso 0 0 6 8—14
C. River 10 7 0 7—24
First quarter
CR — Alex McGarry 84 kickoff return (Garrett McKee kick)
CR — McKee 18 FG
Second quarter
CR — Blake Duhamel 70 pass from McKee (McKee kick)
Third quarter
Kel — Sonny Chhim 45 pass from A.J. Hoggatt (pass failed)
Fourth quarter
CR — McKee 38 run (McKee kick)
Kel — Brandon Williams 28 pass from Hoggatt (John Roberts run)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Kelso, Max McDaneil 5-13, Sonny Chhim 9-8, River Liepa 1-1, Bryce Miller 6-34, John Roberts 15-37, A.J. Hoggatt 4-(minus 7), Maze Holmes 1-(minus 1), Williams 3-10. Columbia River, Travon Santiago 21-92, Hunter Pearson 11-147, McKee 6-80, Team 1-(minus 4).
PASSING — Kelso, Hoggatt 11-26-1-196. Columbia River, McKee 8-23-0-135.
RECEIVING — Kelso, Cody DeRosier 1-1, Williams 5-88, Jared Bowlby 2-24, Emmitt Kinch 1-11, Chhim 2-72. Columbia River, Duhamel 3-100, Koben Jamison 1-2, McGarry 3-23, Santiago 1-10.
