WOODLAND — On the face of Tristan Thomas, you couldn’t tell where the sweat ended and the tears began.
Shortly after their 28-26 win over La Center on Friday, Woodland’s players walked around their home field. Some were giddy. Others, like Thomas, were in a daze.
The reason for that outpouring of emotion was that field itself. Months of anticipation and nerves had preceded the first football game at the brand new Beaver Stadium at Woodland High School.
The game did not disappoint.
Woodland, which led 14-0 early, allowed 20 consecutive points before regaining the lead in the third quarter. The Beavers stopped a La Center two-point conversion that would have tied the game with 7:25 left.
Jared Cloud’s interception on fourth-and-12 denied La Center’s final drive just shy of midfield.
But Friday was about more than a game for Woodland. As players hugged parents, friends and neighbors, the significance of Friday’s win was made clear.
This night did not just belong to the players.
It was a night of pride for the community and the sparkling new facility voters approved in 2012.
“Opening day, the whole town is here,” Thomas said. “You could look in town and nobody was there. They were all here. To grind like that and get a win, the whole spirit is going to go up.”
Cloud had trouble concentrating in school this week. He said his mind wandered in class. But those daydreams might not have done justice to the reality of making the play that clinched Woodland first win at Beaver Stadium.
“I just thank God for letting me make that play,” Cloud said. “It was crazy. We wanted this win more than a lot of them. There were definitely more butterflies.”
But the first game ball at the new stadium should probably go to Thomas. The junior running back had 24 carries for 112 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown on Woodland’s first drive.
Battling through cramps in the second half, Thomas’ physical running style exemplified the grind-it-out nature of Woodland’s win.
After the game, he was simply spent.
“We get up every single morning at 5 a.m., show up and lift for these moments right here,” he said. “We put in the work every day all summer. Rise and grind.”
La Center was hoping to get a little revenge. Woodland beat the Wildcats last year on the first game at La Center’s new on-campus stadium.
Instead, La Center (0-2) was left with the growing pains of a nonleague schedule that includes three games against teams from the larger 2A classification.
“They fought hard,” coach John Lambert said. “We had seven sophomores play a lot out there. This was a great experience for them.”
Lambert said his team showed progress from an opening-week shutout loss to Hockinson. Dalton Morgan rushed for 177 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns.
“We signed up for this difficult schedule,” Lambert said. “We’ll be fine. They see the vision of it. We don’t want to just play easy teams and win that way. You learn from losing. You learn to compete.”
La Center tied the game at 14 shortly in the final minute of the first half, when Jeffrey Mayolo returned a blocked punt 22 yards for a touchdown.
On the first drive of the second half, La Center took a 20-14 lead by covering 85 yards on four plays. Morgan scored on a 6-yard run after opening the drive with a 60-yard scamper.
But Woodland responded with a nine-play, 61 yard drive capped by quarterback Wyatt Harsh’s two-yard touchdown run. After the extra point, the Beavers led 21-20.
After forcing a turnover on downs, Woodland needed five plays before finding the end zone again on a Harsh QB sneak. Woodland’s lead extended to 28-20.
La Center, though, bounced back with its own eight-play, 52-yard touchdown drive that ended with quarterback Jeremy Scott’s one-yard run. But a fumbled snap on the two-point conversion denied the Wildcats a chance to tie the game.
La Center would get one more chance from near midfield, but Scott was sacked on second down to put the Wildcats in a tough spot.
Cloud’s interception on fourth down sealed the win and capped a night Woodland won’t soon forget.
WOODLAND 28, LA CENTER 26
La Center 0 14 6 6—26
Woodland 14 0 14 0—28
First quarter
W — Tristan Thomas 2 run (Tylor Bishop kick)
W — Tyler Flanagan 32 pass from Wyatt Harsh (Bishop kick)
Second quarter
LC — Dalton Morgan 5 run (kick failed)
LC — Jeffrey Mayolo 22 blocked punt return (Morgan pass from Jeremy Scott)
Third quarter
LC — Morgan 6 run (pass failed)
W — Harsh 2 run (Bishop kick)
W — Harsh 1 run (Bishop kick)
Fourth quarter
LC — Scott 1 run (run failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — La Center: Dalton Morgan 15-177, Jacob O’Donnel 4-18, Jeremy Scott 12-24, Jeffrey Mayolo 4-8. Woodland: Tristan Thomas 24-112, Wyatt Harsh 13-46; Logan Knight 1-1.
PASSING — La Center: Scott 3-5-29. Woodland: Harsh 7-12-94.
RECEIVING — La Center: Morgan 1-9; Jake Wise 2-20. Woodland: Tyler Flanagan 3-45; Jared Cloud 3-39; Hunter Raney 1-10.
