Belt stays on tight as La Center tops King’s Way Christian 56-14

Evan Honore gets to wear his championship belt for at least another week.

The La Center senior defended his title as Turnover Champ with a pair of interceptions Friday night as the Wildcats opened defense of their Trico League title with a 56-14 victory over King’s Way Christian in Vancouver.

Honore picked off a pair of second-quarter passes that set up touchdowns, and he also had his first career game with two TD catches as La Center (3-2, 1-0) built a 49-6 halftime lead.

The belt he proudly wore afterward goes to the defensive player who gets the most turnovers each game. After earning the honor in a Week 4 victory over Hoquiam, Honore walked the school halls every day with the gaudy belt around his waist, drawing a few stares and answering even more questions about the significance of his new accessory.

You can say he’s ready for another round of queries and puzzled looks.

“You get to show it off the whole week,” he said, a big smile on his face. “No one can really tell you what to do, because you just walk around with the belt. You’re the man.”

Wyatt Dodson ran for a season-high 134 yards and two touchdowns, and Hayden Williamson ran for two scores and threw for a third as the Wildcats left no doubt they had put early-season hiccups against 2A Hockinson and Woodland squarely behind them.

“We’d been missing a lot of guys, and that threw off our mojo early in the season,” said La Center coach John Lambert. “But now, we have everybody back, and we’re where we want to be for the rest of the season.”

Last year, these teams played a back-and-forth game at La Center, with the Wildcats escaping with a win when a last-second field goal try fell just short.

This year, though, the Wildcats scored on seven of their eight first-half possessions to put the game away early. Their only miscue was a tipped pass late in the first quarter that Knights junior Kefentse Cason snatched out of midair and raced 16 yards to the end zone to briefly give the hosts hope.

La Center quickly snuffed any upset thoughts out, needing only four plays to answer as Honore turned a short play-action pass into a 64-yard TD reception.

Honore then stepped in front of a Kemper Shrock pass near midfield on the first play of the second quarter, and Dodson burst through a huge hole up the middle for a 47-yard TD run on the next play to push the lead to 28-6.

“We had to come out tonight and show the league that we’re the top dog and we’re ready to prove it,” Honore said.

Shrock finished 9-for-22 passing for 171 yards and a touchdown for the Knights (1-4, 0-1), while Colton Lange made a game-high eight tackles, including two for loss.

LA CENTER 56, KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN 14

La Center 21 28 7 0–56

King’s Way 6 0 8 0–14

First Quarter

LC–Wyatt Dodson 14 run (Sean Fox kick)

LC–Hayden Williamson 5 run (Fox kick)

KWC–Kefentse Cason 16 interception return (kick blocked)

LC–Evan Honore 64 pass from Williamson (Fox kick)

Second Quarter

LC–Dodson 47 run (Fox kick)

LC–Honore 52 pass from Thomas Dreyer (Fox kick)

LC–Williamson 17 run (Fox kick)

LC–Dylan Seaman 15 run (Fox kick)

Third Quarter

KWC–Michael Garrison 14 pass from Kemper Shrock (Brannan Meriwether pass from Shrock)

LC–Tanner Dreyer 55 pass from Tom Lambert (Fox kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — La Center: Dodson 9-134, Williamson 6-34, Nicholas Budke 5-12, Bryce Campbell 4-16, Collin Namanny 3-34, Seaman 1-15, Ta.Dreyer 1-35, Colton Dolezal 1-4, Th.Dreyer 1-(minus 2), Lambert 1-0, Max Muffett 1-4, Tucker Harrington 1-4. King’s Way: Ke.Cason 14-58, Shrock 6-7, Gage Koenders 4-15, Kobi Cason 1-1, Meriwether 1-0.

PASSING — La Center: Williamson 2-4-1-61, Lambert 4-4-0-75, Th.Dreyer 1-1-0-52. King’s Way: Shrock 9-22-2-171.

RECEIVING — La Center: Honore 2-116, Jayden Schmitz 2-23, Ta.Dreyer 1-55, Jackson Leslie 1-(minus 3), Budke 1-(minus 3). King’s Way: Garrison 5-108, Bryce Dodge 2-44, Ke.Cason 1-14, Meriwether 1-5.