Wyatt Bartroff’s long return is play of the night in Ridgefield’s 53-27 win over Hudson’s Bay

Ridgefield scored eight touchdowns, piled up 426 yards of offense, recovered three fumbles and intercepted two passes.

But a big return by a down lineman was the play of the night in Ridgefield’s 53-27 win over Hudson’s Bay on Thursday night at Kiggins Bowl.

Bay was attempting a 34-yard field goal right before halftime, when the kick was blocked. Senior Wyatt Bartroff, an offensive lineman/linebacker, picked up the ball and rumbled 86 yards for a touchdown.

“The ball hit off one of the (Bay) guy’s back,” Bartroff said. “It’s a field goal, so the ball is still alive. I just tried to scoop it and run as far as I could down the field. Luckily, the (Bay) guys didn’t catch me. I was starting to slow down, but I was pretty lucky on that one. It was pretty exciting.”

Still, 86 yards is a long way to run for a player who is used to being near the line of scrimmage.

“I was getting nervous a little when I started slowing down,” Bartroff said. “It’s still a great play for me. First high school touchdown, so I can’t complain. You always see all the receivers make plays. It’s fun to see a O-lineman/linebacker make a play like that.”

The receivers had their touchdowns, too. Quarterback Logan DeBeaumont threw for 291 yards and five touchdowns, and the Spudders piled on 27 fourth-quarter points to pull away.

The win pushed Ridgefield (2-2) to 2-0 in 2A Greater St. Helens League play with Washougal up next on the schedule.

“We’re still hungry,” said Bartroff, who also forced and recovered a fumble. “We still want to win. We still want to compete. Who cares about last week? Yes, we’re going to live off that for 24 hours, but next week it’s Washougal, and we’ve got to prepare for that and be ready for that game.”

Key moments

• After Bartroff’s long return for a touchdown, an odd series of events followed. Ridgefield was flagged for two dead-ball penalties after Bartroff’s touchdown, forcing the Spudders to kick off from their 12-yard line. The ensuing squib kick went directly to a Hudson’s Bay up-man, who fell on it at the Ridgefield 22. With one play left before halftime, Dean Castillo hit Aqeel Bauman for a 22-yard touchdown, cutting Ridgefield’s lead to 20-13 at halftime.
• Castillo’s 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter got Bay within 26-20. But Ridgefield answered quickly and went up 32-20 on Ben Concannon’s 22-yard touchdown reception. Brody Masterson’s interception helped the Spudders stretch their lead to 39-20.

Key players

• Ridgefield’s Carter Ferber caught seven passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
• Bay’s Mateo Varona was the Eagles’ standout. The senior rushed for 123 yards and one touchdown and caught five pases for 135 yards and another score.
• Ridgefield’s Rocco Wright rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

RIDGEFIELD 53, HUDSON’S BAY 27

Ridge 0 20 6 27—53

Bay 0 13 7 7—27

Second quarter

HB — Mateo Varona 38 run (kick blocked)

R — Carter Ferber 47 pass from Logan DeBeaumont (Brandon Rogers kick)

R — Isaiah Cowley 40 pass from DeBeaumont (Rogers kick)

R — Wyatt Bartroff 86 blocked field goal return (kick failed)

HB — Aqeel Bauman 22 pass from Dean Castillo (Joey Roeper kick)

Third quarter

R — Rocco Wright 3 run (kick failed)

Fourth quarter

HB — Castillo 3 run (Roeper kick)

R — Ben Concannon 22 pass from DeBeaumont (pass failed)

R — Ferber 11 pass from DeBeaumont (Rogers kick)

HB — Varona 25 pass from Castillo (Roeper kick)

R — Wright 3 run (Rogers kick)

R — Cash Hill 1 pass from DeBeaumont (Rogers kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Ridgefield: Rocco Wright 17-127, Cly Stephens 3-7, Sam Clark 1-1. Hudson’s Bay: Mateo Varona 21-123, Dean Castillo 3-29, Rafael Bauman 8-4, William Clark 1-(-9).

PASSING — Ridgefield: Logan DeBeaumont 19-25-0-291. Hudson’s Bay: Dean Castillo 9-15-2-192; Mateo Varona 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING — Isaiah Cowley 6-103, Carter Ferber 7-126, Noah Stromberg 1-19, Cash Hill 3-18, Rocco Wright 1-3, Ben Concannon 1-22. Hudson’s Bay: Mateo Varona 5-135, Mykell Gipson 1-18, Talan Leon Guerrero 1-17, Rafael Bauman 1-17, Michael Brinson 1-5.