WOODLAND – On Sept. 13, the Woodland Beavers were 0-2 after being shut out in a nonleague loss to La Center.
To any cynic, winning a second consecutive Class 2A Greater St. Helens League title seemed like a longshot.
Seven weeks later, it’s the Beavers’ believers with the last laugh. Woodland is back-to-back 2A GSHL champs for the first time since 2007.
Friday’s 14-7 win over previously unbeaten Ridgefield was a showcase not just for Woodland’s stout defense, but also the championship heart that saw the Beavers go unbeaten in league play.
“I think after that 0-2 start people were starting to doubt us,” said Seth Popp, a senior linebacker. “But within the team we still had that unwavering faith that we’ve still got this. We believed in our brothers and carried each other to the end.”
For a second straight year, Woodland and Ridgefield clashed on the final week of the regular season with the league title at stake. But unlike last year’s 28-21 Beavers victory, points were hard to come by on a rainy Friday.
That was thanks in part to a Woodland defense that allowed just 219 yards. Much of that came on a 63-yard touchdown catch by Wyatt Hemmelman that pulled the Spudders within 14-7 with 2:56 to play.
Even after Ridgefield recovered the ensuing onside kick, Woodland wasn’t fazed. The Beavers got the ball back when Niel Valerio intercepted a long pass inside the 10 yard line.
It was the second turnover Woodland forced. Ridgefield was denied a prime scoring chance when Jeremiah Lord recovered a fumble at the 3 yard line on the final play of the third quarter.
“I don’t think we win this game without our defense,” said senior captain Elijah Andersen. “Our offense started off hot, but then they started figuring it out. That was the best defensive game we’ve ever played.”
Andersen rushed for 120 yards on 29 carries and two first-half touchdowns. The quarterback attempted only four passes as Woodland used its running game to control the time of possession and shorten a game that took less than two hours to complete.
“If we don’t run any clock, this is a different game,” Woodland coach Glen Flanagan said. “That’s what we lean on. I’m a (defensive coordinator) so I don’t like three-play, 20 second drives. I’d rather go 16 plays in six minutes. Even if you don’t score, you give them less opportunities.”
Woodland immediately seized momentum by recovering an onside kick of the opening kickoff. Ten plays later, the Beavers were up 7-0 after Andersen’s 3-yard touchdown run.
Andersen scored on a 1-yard keeper as Woodland doubled its lead with 3:03 left in the first half. That was enough of a cushion for the defense, where the reigning 2A GSHL player of the year plays safety.
“Pretty much the entire team is two-way starters,” Andersen said. “So the ability to keep going and not get tired is the most important thing to Woodland football.”
After the final whistle, Flanagan was doused with ice water from two coolers.
“This is the perfect way to do it,” Flanagan said. “The defense played lights out. To do it in front of the home crowd for these boys is special.”
Woodland capped its title by inviting its student section onto the field for a photo. As the team posed, students behind held up letters that spelled out LEAGUE CHAMPS.
For Andersen and 11 other seniors, that moment was as sweet as any in their high school career, including last year’s title-clinching win.
“This one definitely feels a lot sweeter,” Andersen said. “We’re seniors. We knew we were the target team. Everybody was coming after us. We kind of used that for fuel.”
WOODLAND 14, RIDGEFIELD 7
Ridgefield 0 0 0 7—7
Woodland 7 7 0 0—14
First quarter
W — Elijah Andersen 3 run (Josiah Graham kick)
Second quarter
W — Andersen 1 run (Graham kick)
Fourth quarter
R — Wyatt Hemmelman 63 pass from Landon DeBeaumont (Carson Young kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Ridgefield: Cly Stephens 15-63, Jake Olsen 2-4, Landon DeBeaumont 7-18, Noah Stromberg 2-13, Talon Sosky 1-1. Woodland: Elijah Andersen 28-120, Karsen Northcut 4-18, Will Clemens 2-8, Rory Hamilton 4-3, Michael Belvin 1-12.
PASSING — Ridgefield: Landon DeBeaumont 10-19-1-120. Woodland: Elijah Andersen 3-4-0-8.
RECEIVING — Ridgefield: Wyatt Hemmelman 1-63, EJ Rovira 4-29, Talon Sosky 3-23, Cly Stephens 1-4, Gavin Perry 1-1. Woodland: Rory Hamilton 1-7, Karsen Northcut 1-5, Will Clemens 1-(minus-4).
