RIDGEFIELD — With a sophomore quarterback making his first start, the Ridgefield football team didn’t miss a beat.
Of course, it’s easy to keep the beat going when the offensive line and running backs are delivering a beatdown.
That’s what happened Thursday in Ridgefield’s 42-0 win over Mark Morris.
Davis Pankow rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns. Connor Delamarter rushed for a touchdown and 69 yards.
That allowed Ridgefield to improve to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the 2A Greater St. Helens League.
Several gashing runs cut down the degree of difficulty for Logan DeBeaumont, who was making his first start after quarterback Brayden Malella suffered a broken collarbone last week against Washougal.
“It’s easy to lead a team that’s working with each other, working hard and making great plays,” DeBeaumont said. “I just get the ball to the playmakers. They make the plays.”
Pankow had touchdown runs of 1, 12 and 31 yards. Two of those came in the second half as Ridgefield broke open a 14-0 halftime lead.
“I just saw holes the size of trucks,” Pankow said. “The O-line was blocking their butts off. Shoutout to Danny McDonnell, Matthew Kinswa, Connor Bledsoe, Vinny Lenzi and Wyatt Bartroff. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
DeBeaumont was solid and efficient, completing 11 of 17 passes for 200 yards. He threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Ty Snider, but his favorite target was Isaiah Cowley. The speedy junior caught five passes for 113 yards to go along with a rushing touchdown and two interceptions while on defense.
DeBeaumont entered the season in a quarterback competition with Malella, a fellow sophomore who through five games threw for 1,109 yards and 15 touchdowns, both tops among area QBs. But DeBeaumont was ready when his turn came Thursday.
“I love Brayden so much,” DeBeaumont said. “He pushes me to be better. We’ve been playing together since the fourth or fifth grade and we’ve always been battling. The only reason we’re where we are is because of each other.”
DeBeaumont only attempted seven passes in the first half. Spudders coach Scott Rice said he didn’t purposely craft a run-heavy gameplan to take any pressure off his new QB. That’s just where the Mark Morris defense happened to be vulnerable.
“We have all the confidence in the world in (DeBeaumont),” Rice said. “It was him and Malella week-to-week. We knew he was ready to step in and produce. But when we can run the ball for six to 12 (yards) at a time.”
With senior Jaden Anderson injured, Mark Morris (3-3, 3-1) relied on Deacon Dietz. The junior rushed for 81 yards on 26 carries.
Key moments
Pick me up — Trailing 14-0, Mark Morris started the second half with a sustained drive deep into Ridgefield territory. But Cowley ended the threat with an interception at the 2-yard line.
Rev me up — Cowley wasn’t done after his interception. On third and 10 from Ridgefield’s 15, the speedy Spudder receiver took an inside screen 62 yards. That set up Pankow’s second touchdown and gave Ridgefield a 21-0 lead.
Tee me up — DeBeaumont struck quickly to put the game away after Matt Lewis intercepted a pass. On the next play, he found Ty Snider for a 14-yard TD pass and a 28-0 lead.
