Union is certainly glad it got the entirety of its 41-13 win over Steilacoom played. For a few moments Thursday, the completion of the contest was in doubt with persistent lightning in the area threatening to send the Titans home early.
With the Titans up 13-0 in the first quarter, lightning flashed in the distance and teams were sent to the lockers at 7:41 p.m.
“I’m disappointed because I feel like we got them where we want them,” Union coach Rory Rosenbach said of his thoughts as the game was halted. “I think they’re gassed; I think they’re tired. That gave them an opportunity to regroup and figure things out.”
WIAA rules prohibit playing within 30 minutes of a visible lightning strike. So every flash meant the clock was reset, the fans groaning their displeasure as the night sky lit up again and again. At 8:45 p.m., another strike forced a difficult conversation.
“If they’d have started it over there, if we would have another lightning strike, I think it would have got called,” Rosenbach said. “It was getting late. I’m glad we got it in. We really wanted to get in. We said, ‘We’ll stay as long as we can.'”
Inside the Union locker room, Rosenbach gave a “speech that touched our hearts,” senior Aidan Hoyt said. As the clock ticked past 9 p.m., the teams took the field to warm up again. Play started 96 minutes after the stoppage.
Plainsmen light up scoreboard
Evergreen’s first victory Friday night came with as much theatrics as the scoreboard showed: 112 points were scored between the visiting Plainsmen and Centralia in a 62-50 win.
“It was a lot of fun,” first-year coach Christian Swain said.
Swain admitted he might’ve began late-game substitutions too soon in the fourth quarter when Evergreen had a 42-26 lead. That’s when Centralia rallied for touchdowns on three consecutive possessions.
Still, it was a career night for many Plainsmen, including quarterback Carter Monda (14 of 21, 322 yards, five touchdowns), TyVauntae Deloney (16 rushes, 167 yards, three TDs).
Swain continues to be impressed by Monda’s growth and play-making abilities as a first-year high school quarterback. Friday was the second high school game for Monda, who hit four different receivers (Zyell Griffin, Tae Marks, Cam Smith and Jaylen Fite) for touchdowns.
“That’s a good game for anybody who’s been playing their whole life,” Swain said.
Reunion of sorts at Hockinson
If Archbishop Murphy’s signature Wing-T offense looked familiar Friday night ending Hockinson’s 28-game winning streak — an offense ran under the late legendary coach Terry Ennis, the state’s second winningest coach all-time — it’s because that’s what the head coach is familiar with winning state championships.
Then again, the head coach might be a familiar one to Hockinson fans, too.
They might remember Mark Leone, a one-time assistant for two seasons under Hockinson coach Rick Steele a decade ago. Leone, an Archbishop Murphy graduate, is the Wildcats’ interim coach, stepping into the role in May following the departure of Jerry Jensen.
Leone quarterbacked a Wing-T offense for Ennis at Archbishop Murphy from 2002-’05 when the Wildcats won a pair of Class 1A titles.
Hockinson downed Archbishop Murphy, 42-13, in last year’s meeting in Everett, but Friday, the Wildcats had two-score leads twice — at 21-7 and 27-14. Quarterback Victor Gabalis accounted for three touchdowns — two rushing and a 49-yard passing touchdowns to Joe Ennis — and also had one of two interceptions on Hockinson’s Levi Crum.
Lightning and Thunder
On defense, Mountain View can hurt opponents in different ways.
Take, for example, the defensive line, where 5-foot-7, 210-pound speed rusher VA Ili often lines up beside 6-foot-5, 290-pound run stopper Preston Collins.
That combination in the trenches was lethal in Mountain View’s 47-0 win over Juanita on Friday.
Ili had a team-high four sacks, while Collins recovered a fumble and helped hold Juanita to just 33 rushing yards.
That combination of speed and size will make Mountain View’s defensive line a difficult matchup for many teams this season.
Big receiver for Prairie
At 5-foot-8, 165 pounds, senior Jimmie Barton isn’t the biggest target that Prairie quarterback AJ Dixson could go to.
But the senior came up big twice in the Falcons’ 36-6 win over Washougal on Friday.
Taking advantage of a Washougal defense that left Barton isolated with man coverage, Dixson hit Barton for a 53-yard touchdown pass play that helped the Falcons take an early 8-0 lead.
Two offensive plays later, the duo connected again, this time with Barton make a leaping grab at the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown.
“They were playing Cover-1 where the weak side was backside deep, so we were just going to the weakness,” Dixson said. “I was just getting it out there for Jimmie, and he was catching the ball. Also, the (offensive) line was blocking pretty well, so I could get it out there.”
