Winner of four straight after a 39-27 victory last Friday, Mountain View knows it is a vastly different team than it was from its season-opening defeat to 1A Nooksack Valley.
“We were mentally down on ourselves after the first game,” senior linebacker Ayden Denbo said after Friday’s win over Evergreen, the 3A Greater St. Helens League opener for both teams. “We didn’t respond to adversity well.”
It was Denbo and the Thunder defense that set the first-half tone against the Plainsmen, jumping out to a 32-15 halftime lead behind three first-half sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble that led to a scoop and score by Akili Kamau.
Late in the third quarter with Evergreen inside the 5 looking for a momentum-seeking drive, Mountain View’s defense came up with a fourth-and-5 stop. The Thunder turned that stop into a 95-yard scoring drive to take a 39-15 lead early in the fourth quarter.
“It’s my favorite part of this team,” Denbo said of the defense. “I think we can use what we did (Friday) and be confident moving forward.”
No trap for Bay
A trap game? No way for Hudson’s Bay.
One week ago, the Eagles put the 2A Greater St. Helens League on notice with a 28-24 win over Ridgefield, which has reached the postseason three straight years not including the spring 2021 COVID season.
This week is a pivotal clash against reigning league champion Washougal.
So would the Eagles squander a 4-0 start Friday against a young Mark Morris team not considered among the 2A GSHL favorites?
Not a chance.
Hudson’s Bay blitzed to a 14-0 lead before five minutes had been played. The Eagles then controlled the game with a stout defense and ball-control running attack en route to a 28-14 win.
Head coach Mark Oliverio and his staff warned players not to look past Mark Morris, which entered Friday’s game 2-2.
“We talked about it all week,” Oliverio said. “Definitely last week got some attention. But we had to just not let that be a distraction and stay focused on what we’ve been doing. That was the mindset and everyone bought into it all week.”
Hudson’s Bay senior center Timote Vaea said the high intensity that the Eagles practice with carried over into Friday’s game.
“That energy tonight was crazy,” Vaea said. “We have this thing called perfect Thursday where we all go light. But we always go to our 100 percent potential in practice. It doesn’t matter if we’re not fully padded. We always put out 100 percent before our game day.”
Lameh’s biggest run
Pierson Lameh rushed for 333 yards on 28 carries in Prairie’s 36-33 win over Kelso in the 3A Greater St. Helens League opener on Friday.
But perhaps his biggest run of the night was not counted toward his yardage total.
With 1:03 left in the game, Isaac Watson completed a 31-yard touchdown pass to Alex Juhl, bringing Prairie within 33-31.
On the ensuing two-point conversion play, Lameh took the handoff and ran to his left. Finding no hole, first bounced further left before completely reversing field to run his way into the end zone.
Runs or passes on conversion plays are not included in yardage totals, but Lameh ran about 40 yards to gain the three yards needed for those critical two points.
If Prairie had been stopped on the conversion, all Kelso would have needed to do is recover the ensuing onside kick and then run out the clock, as Prairie only had one timeout left.
Instead, with the score tied 33-33, the Hilanders tried to move into field-goal position in the final minute and fumbled the ball at midfield, which Prairie recovered.
Schiefer returns for River
With back-to-back wins, Columbia River finds itself right in the playoff hunt in the 2A Greater St. Helens League race.
And the Rapids also have their starting quarterback back.
Ethan Long came up big, passing for 288 yards, in a 26-20 win over Woodland in Week 4.
But after a slow start Friday at R.A. Long, senior Brayden Schiefer returned to quarterback for the Rapids, helping lead the way for a 45-13 victory over the Lumberjacks.
Schiefer, who has been out since suffering a shoulder injury two weeks ago, returned to the field in the second quarter Friday. On his third play from scrimmage, he hit Ha’aheo Delarose for a 62-yard touchdown pass, tying the game 7-7.
Schiefer finished with 9-of-14 passing for 144 yards and two touchdowns as the Rapids scored 28 straight points.
