Prairie loses game, quarterback, not determination

KELSO — In the moments after Prairie’s a lopsided, emotionally-taxing loss, head coach Kevin Baker did as he does after each game.

Once he finished addressing his team in the end zone, those with a message were invited to stand up and speak. Typically they don’t, he said, but this time was different.

A few players stood and talked. Senior Anthony Estrada was among them.

“I want to see you playing with all your heart (next week),” he said.

Then stood quarterback Jayson Maddux, who recently returned from the hospital to inform his team he’d be out for the season with a broken collarbone.

“I’m out for the rest of the year,” he said. “But keep your heads up. I don’t make this team.”

Prairie (2-5, 1-2 3A Greater St. Helens League) lost Maddux on the first drive, and unfolded in a 49-6 loss at Kelso on Friday night.

Hilander running back Max McDaniel bullied his way to 149 yards on the ground on 20 carries. Kelso quarterback A.J. Hoggatt returned from an injury that had kept him out since week three, threw two touchdowns and ran for one more.

And after it all, Prairie pledged to regroup and not let a tough loss sink them.

“We’re a team, and one person does not make a team — at all,” Maddux relayed. “Even without me, I think we’ll be able to bounce back and have a chance against in the next couple of games.”

After a pair of fortuitous runs on the first drive, Maddux was sacked for a loss of 25 yards from a bad snap. He picked up the ball with his back to the looming linebackers, and felt his collarbone crack when he went down. After a few minutes left, he left the game on his own power for the hospital.

“I think they were rattled,” Baker said.

Then backup Logan Reed was intercepted on the next play, which set up a touchdown run by Kelso quarterback A.J. Hoggatt moments later.

“I think that rattled them even more,” Baker added. “It was sort of hard for them to overcome that. You see your quarterback, the guy who takes all the snaps in practice, go down, it’s tough.”

In came Reed, a senior, who was playing his first meaningful minutes in a couple years. After the interception, Reed strung together passed of 16, 11 and 24 yards. He spent much of the game eluding Kelso’s unrelenting pressure.

“I wish I did better, but can’t do anything about it now,” Reed said. “I like (the pressure). It’s fun. But I wish I would have done better.”

A confident Maddux gave him a resounding endorsement to Reed, who is set to be the Falcons’ starter for the rest of the season.

“Logan can do the job,” he said. “For sure.”

Reed finished with 12 completions for 103 yards passing, opposite three interceptions.

“I thought he did well,” Baker said. “He never shied. Got hit pretty hard a couple times, came back the next series and kept coming after it … we just need to protect our quarterbacks better. It’s not his job to protect himself.”

Kelso forced a fumbled to regain possession up 21-0 in the second quarter. But on its first play of the drive, Anthony Estrada picked off Hoggatt and returned it for touchdown to put Prairie on the board. But those would be the Falcons’ only points of the game.

The Falcons have lost six straight to Kelso, and is winless in 12 games against Kelso on the road.

Playing without four starters going forward, Baker took the result as a call to action for the remainder of the season:

“For all kids who would like to stand on the sideline wondering why they aren’t starters, a night like tonight they get in and prove what they can do,” he said. “…We’ll see who the new leaders are toward the end of the season. We’re going to need some sophomores and juniors to step up and show us what you can do now.”

KELSO 49, PRAIRIE 6

Prairie 0 6 0 0—6

Kelso 14 14 14 7—49

First quarter

K — A.J. Hoggatt 1 run (Josh Webb kick)

K — Emmitt Kinch 41 pass from Hoggatt (Webb kick)

Second quarter

K — Bryce Miller 2 run (Webb kick)

P — Anthony Estrada interception return (kick failed)

K — Miller 61 run (Webb kick)

Third quarter

K — Max McDaniels 9 run (Webb kick)

K — John Roberts interception return (kick failed)

Fourth quarter

K — Webb 10 pass from Hoggatt (Webb kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Prairie: Payton Millet 3-(-1), Jayson Maddux 2(-7), Logan Reed 5-(-9), Aaron Brumley 9-54, Zack Brown 1-0, Isaiah Braker 1-9; Kelso: Max McDaniel 20-149, A.J. Hoggatt 6-(-7), John Roberts 1-9, Josh Webb 2-2, Bryce Miller 2-63, Mike Murray 3-0, Gage Bloomfeldt 1-9, Sam Chhim 1-4.

PASSING — Prairie: Logan Reed 12-26-3-103, Jayson Maddux 2-10-0-10, Zack Brown 1-2-1-6; Kelso: A.J. Hoggatt 6-9-1-79.

RECEIVING — Prairie: Nolan Mickenham 3-17, Jake Bobst 3-49, Zeke Dixson 1-11, Izaiah Ward 1-12, Payton Millet 1-3, A.J. Dixson 3-19; Kelso: Austin Bromley 1-4, Emmitt Kinch 2-45, Max McDaniel 1-11, Riley Noah 1-9, Peyton Noah 1-6, Josh Webb 1-10.