Prep football recap: Grit, determination lifts Seton Catholic

In its previous eight wins, the Seton Catholic Cougars averaged nearly 50 points per game while allowing only two opponents to find the endzone more than once.

Friday, in their 29-21 win over La Center in a battle of top-ranked teams in Class 1A, the Cougars’ early two-score deficit was a first for 2024.

Four minutes and 50 seconds into Friday’s road victory, the Cougars trailed 14-0 before the offense took the field. Houston Coyle’s 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the game, followed by an eight-play Wildcats scoring drive after recovering an onside kick gave the home team early momentum.

But grit and determination set the tone for the Cougars.

“A lot of grit,” said senior linebacker Garrett Nebels, who recorded 12 tackles and a third-quarter interception. “We’re here to win, it doesn’t matter what the circumstances are — whether we’re down 14, we’re here to win no matter what. Everybody knows that.”

The win gave Seton its first league title. The football program launched in 2012 under current head coach Dan Chase, who is in his third stint in leading the Cougar program.

— Meg Wochnick

Lifetime memories for Woodland seniors

Every year, each Woodland senior ends his final home game by taking part in a unique tradition.

Win or lose, every senior gets carried off the Beaver Stadium turf by his teammates as if he’s just made the game-winning field goal.

Friday, each those smiles were extra wide for 12 seniors after Woodland beat Ridgefield 14-7 to win back-to-back Class 2A Greater St. Helens League titles.

No player has meant more to those back-to-back league titles than quarterback Elijah Andersen. The reigning 2A GSHL MVP rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns Friday and has played a role in 30 of Woodland’s 32 touchdowns this season.

So getting carried off the field Friday was extra triumphant for Andersen.

“It’s something I’ve been looking forward to since I was a freshman,” he said. “We’ve done this for years and years. To finally have it happen is a great feeling.”

Those rituals are important for Glen Flanagan, who took over as head coach this year after 28 seasons as Woodland’s defensive coordinator.

“We tell them you’re probably going to forget the scores of the games but you’ll remember all the other things,” Flanagan said. “To carry them off, especially with a win on their last league home game against the Spuds. For those guys, you can never take that away.”

Jack Mac with a big catch for Camas

There were heroes to go around for the Camas Papermakers in their 24-14 win over Skyview on Friday.

Among the biggest was a fourth-down catch late by Jack Macdonald.

Camas had a fourth-and-11 from the Skyview 24 with 5:15 left. A delay-of-game penalty moved the ball back to the 29 for a fourth-and-16.

Jake Davidson threw a perfect ball that Macdonald caught between two Skyview defenders for a first down at the 3. Two play later, Beau Harlan scored the clinching 2-yard touchdown run with 4:11 left.

Harlan said the play embodied the contributions the Papermakers got from throughout the lineup to earn the big win, particularly after Macdonald took a big hit earlier in the quarter.

“You take Jack Mac for example,” Harlan said. “That dude had the dirtiest hit on him … And then he makes, on a fourth-down conversion, he catches a go-ball, saves the game. It’s like everybody is doing their part. Jack Mac. Just like Nikko (Speer), just like our (offensive) line, Jake. They did everything they could. They did amazing.”

State preliminary matchups set

The football postseason for teams in Southwest Washington gets started on Tuesday night, when Columbia River (4-5) travels to play Aberdeen (4-5) in a Week 10 play-in game. The game kicks off at 6 p.m. at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.

The winner of that game will face Franklin Pierce (9-0) of Tacoma, likely on Saturday, in the Class 2A state preliminary round.

This weekend, in every classification from 4A to 1A, there will be 16 state preliminary games that will determine the 16-team state tournament fields.

The committees that created these statewide Week 10 playoff matchups will meet again on Sunday to seed the state tournament brackets.

Here are the game times for playoff teams from Southwest Washington.

4A: Stadium (6-3) at Camas (9-0), 7 p.m. Friday at Doc Harris Stadium

4A: Juanita (6-3) at Skyview (6-3), 2 p.m. Saturday at Kiggins Bowl

3A: Stanwood (5-4) at Evergreen (8-1), 7 p.m. Friday at McKenzie Stadium

3A: Mercer Island (9-0) at Kelso (7-2), 2 p.m. Saturday

2A: Aberdeen (4-5) or Columbia River (4-5) at Franklin Pierce (9-0), TBA

2A: Cedarcrest (5-3) at Woodland (7-2), 7 p.m. Friday

2A: Fife (6-3) at Ridgefield (8-1), 3 p.m. Saturday

2A: Washougal (6-3) at Olympic (8-1), 6:30 p.m. Friday

2A: Mark Morris (4-5) at West Valley-Spokane (9-0), 3 p.m. Saturday

1A: College Place (4-4) or Chelan (3-6) at Seton Catholic (9-0), TBA

1A: Elma (4-5) at La Center (8-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Kalama HS

1A: Kalama (6-3) at King’s (6-3), 2 p.m. Saturday

1A: King’s Way Christian (6-3) at Lynden Christian (5-3), 2 p.m. Saturday at Blaine HS

1A: Castle Rock (6-3) at Cascade Christian (6-3), TBA