A few players were on one knee on the outside of Evergreen’s postgame huddle, heads buried in their hands.
Luke Allen went to each one, offering words of encouragement. The junior receiver reminded his teammates their season is far from over.
Evergreen missed a chance to clinch a postseason berth Friday, losing to Kelso 14-7 at McKenzie Stadium.
With one game left in the regular season, the Plainsmen (4-4, 2-2) are still alive for one of the 3A Greater St. Helens League’s three berths to the postseason.
But Evergreen still felt it let one get away against Kelso (6-2, 3-1).
“I don’t think they were any tougher than we were,” Evergreen coach Terry Hyde said. “We weren’t intimidated. We came out and played hard. We lost this game because of our mistakes, not anything they did.”
Kelso moved to the brink of a playoff berth. It plays Hudson’s Bay next week in a game that would decide the No. 2 seed unless Evergreen beats league-leading Mountain View next week.
Evergreen can clinch at least the No. 3 seed by beating Mountain View. With a loss, the Plainsmen could find themselves in a three-way playoff with Hudson’s Bay and Prairie for the final seed.
“First off, we’re going to flush this game,” Allen said. “We’re only going to learn from our mistakes here. We’re going to stay focused, pay attention and work all week long as hard as we can.”
Kelso outgained Evergreen 317-130, running 57 plays to Evergreen’s 38. But the Plainsmen defense made enough key plays to keep the Hilanders in check. None were bigger than David Crawford’s 45-yard interception return for a touchdown early in the second quarter to give Evergreen a 7-0 lead.
“They bend, but they don’t break,” Hyde said. “The defense has been the major piece of this team the whole year.”
Kelso’s offense relied mostly on Max McDaniel, who gained 166 yards on 23 carries. His 39-yard touchdown run tied the game midway through the third quarter, capping a 92-yard drive.
Kelso took a 14-7 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard run by John Roberts, two plays after Riley Noah’s 32-yard catch brought the Hilanders to the 2 yard line.
Evergreen had two late drives falter after entering Kelso territory. One ended with a turnover on downs at Kelso’s 39, the other with an interception in the end zone with 1:23 to play after the Plainsmen reached Kelso’s 17.
“We had a good week of practice and worked hard through the entire game,” Allen said. “Everyone gave their 100-percent best. Kelso got a little lucky on a couple plays. … I’m hoping our team bounces back because our season isn’t over.”
KELSO 14, EVERGREEN 7
Kelso 0 0 7 7 — 14
Evergreen 0 7 0 0 — 7
Second quarter
E – David Crawford 45 interception return (Ely Del Angel kick)
Third quarter
K – Max McDaniel 39 run (Josh Webb kick)
Fourth quarter
K – John Roberts 2 run (Webb kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Kelso: Max McDaniel 24-166, A.J. Hoggatt 14-33, John Roberts 1-2. Evergreen: Zyell Griffin 9-13, Trent Hemann 10-28, Serge Rusnak 1-0, Triston Fich 3-18.
Passing
Kelso: A.J. Hoggatt 9-17-2-116. Evergreen: Triston Fich 7-15-1-71.
Receiving
Kelso: Emmitt Kinch 4-37, Riley Noah 2-48, Peyton Noah 3-31. Evergreen: Luke Allen 4-28, Tristan Hemann 1-3, Zyell Griffin 1-36, Jacob Tillman 1-4.
