Saryon has already taken official visits to Oregon and Washington. California, Oregon State and Nevada have also shown interest.
He also saw Jakai Clardy make the game-sealing interception for Evergreen. An uncommitted senior, Clardy is the No. 37 overall recruit in the state with offers from UNLV and Nevada.
Darren Schmitt opened the scoring with a first-quarter TD catch. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound junior tight end has taken official visits to Oregon State and Washington.
And with the NCAA transfer portal meaning no door is ever shut, it’s never a waste of time to see players who have already committed. Friday, that included Evergreen seniors Josiah Alanis, a three-star Boise State commit, and Ryder Keplar, a three-star Air Force commit.
Dickert spent the first game on the Tumwater sideline watching the Thunderbirds rout Union 56-10. The perennial Class 2A powerhouse has senior Malijah Tucker, a three-star lineman who has committed to Washington State.
— Micah Rice
Woodland becoming Kicker U?
Woodland coach Glen Flanagan, moments after his team’s 34-31 win at Hockinson to remain one of two 2A Greater St. Helens League unbeatens in league play, was fairly certain about this statistic from Friday.
“We’ve never had two field goals in a game,” said Flanagan, in his first season as head coach and previously the longtime defensive coordinator. “We’re not really a Kicker U.”
But the Beavers have a good one in junior Josiah Graham. The 5-foot-8, 145-pounder drilled two of three field goals, including the game-winner from 32 yards, with 1 minute to go to lift the Beavers to their third straight win.
In fact, it was a career night for Graham, the Beavers’ first-year kicker. In addition to field goals of 23 and 32 yards, he went a perfect 4 of 4 on point-after tries and caught his first varsity touchdown. He finished with four catches on a night the Beavers scored a season-high in points.
Prior to Friday, how many field goals had Graham hit any high school game?
“Zero,” Graham said. “I had a few extra points.”
After starting the season 0-2, Woodland has won three straight. In fact, the Beavers had the same overall record (3-2) after five weeks during the 2023 season when they won their first league title since 2007.
— Meg Wochnick
Wrestling translates to football
There is a simple explanation why La Center senior running back Isaac Chromey is hard to bring down.
“Isaac runs angry,” Wildcats coach John Lambert said following Friday’s 48-13 Trico League victory over Castle Rock. “He wants to win every battle.”
It’s also something he brings to the football field from the wrestling mat.
At Mat Classic last year in the Class 1A 165-pound division, Chromey was pinned in the semifinals, but came back to win two matches by decision and finish in third place.
“Because he wrestles, he’s a lot better football player,” Lambert explained. “He has balance, he works hard in the weight room to get faster and more physical.”
Just ask Castle Rock.
Chromey rushed 14 times for 228 yards and three touchdowns against the Rockets. He had eight runs of 10 yards or more by using his blockers to reach the second level of defenders and then sped his way for more.
He now has 766 yards rushing on 83 carries and 10 touchdowns in five games this season.
Halfway through the season, La Center will depend more and more on its senior leaders as big games loom on the horizon.
“One thing with veteran guys, they want to get better,” Lambert said.
— Jeff Klein
Fresh legs give Falcons wings
The Prairie Falcons likely won’t complain as much about the extra conditioning they will do this.
The Falcons’ fresh legs played a pivotal role in their 36-33 win over Mountain View.
Prairie rallied from being down 33-14 with 7:51 left in the third quarter.
“We condition four days a week,” Prairie coach Junior Miller said. “Most people take Thursdays off on working on conditioning. That’s where I think we won the game tonight. We saw them get a little gassed, and we ran a little more up-tempo.”
Senior lineman Judah Bullock agreed with that assessment.
“I think a big thing for us was the pace of this game,” Bullock said. “All week, we were running different snap counts than normal. A fast count; we were going quick. And it was just pace that ended getting Mountain View tired at the end of the game.”
From the time Mountain View took its 33-14 to the end of the game, Prairie outgained the Thunder 183-30.
— Tim Martinez
