KALAMA — The showdown is set.
All season, many have eyed the Week 9 showdown between No. 3 La Center and second-ranked Seton Catholic — two teams ranked all season in the Class 1A statewide football rankings — as one of the state’s highly-anticipated games across all classifications.
After La Center’s 41-6 win over Kalama on Friday coupled with Seton Catholic’s 55-14 victory over Stevenson, both 8-0 teams ranked in the top 3 in the latest Class 1A state rankings square off for the Trico League title at 7 p.m. next Friday in La Center to conclude the regular season.
How early should spectators arrive at La Center Community Stadium for next week’s league-title tilt? The Wildcats provided some insight.
“Early as you want,” said senior Parker McKinney, who had a 49-yard touchdown reception Friday. “It’s going to be a good game. Get there fast.”
One more thing, added linebacker and offensive lineman Mason Klein.
“We don’t have much parking,” he said, “so get there early.”
Head coach John Lambert said prior to this, the biggest game he recalled at La Center came in 2013 when the Wildcats hosted Woodland.
On Friday, in a swift, 1-hour, 55-minute game at Chinook Stadium, La Center (8-0, 6-0) shook off a rusty first half to score 28 answered points after halftime and shut out the Chinook offense the final two quarters.
La Center led 13-6 at halftime after Kalama’s defense had two consecutive red zone stops that held the Wildcats to a pair of Nate Rembisz field goals. Then, Kalama’s offense capitalized in a big way, converting a fourth-and-20 into a 25-yard touchdown by Jonny Martinez from back-up quarterback Devon Accord.
Kalama was without quarterback Aiden Brown, who continues to rehab a hamstring injury sustained two weeks ago against Seton Catholic. He said Friday he hopes to be healthy for next week’s game against Castle Rock.
Once the second half began, La Center needed just five plays and 1:40 off the clock to jumpstart the offense. Isaac Chromey’s first of consecutive touchdowns completed a 75-yard quick-strike scoring drive. He finished with a game-high 163 yards on 16 carries, and quarterback Wyatt Eiesland had a pair of touchdowns (one rushing, one passing).
“Scoring those points in the third and fourth quarters really set the tone,” senior lineman Max Cooke said.
Defensively, La Center forced Kalama into two punts, and had two takeaways (interception, fumble recovery) by Gaven Emerson.
New this season, the Trico League receives. Additionally, for Class 1A football, the top-4 teams seeded after the Week 10 state preliminary round receive a first-round bye straight to the state quarterfinals. The Wildcats know a win over Seton Catholic will go a long way in making that happen, but also know there’s little margin for error.
“We have to perfect in practice next week and go out and execute,” McKinney said.
Klein knows a game like next Friday will bring out the best in both teams. La Center edged Seton Catholic 14-13 in their Week 7 contest. La Center went onto win its fifth straight league title.
“They’ve got some dudes and they’re going to push us to our max and make us better,” he said. “We’ll show our true talent and what we can do against a highly-ranked state team.”
Rembisz, with two first-quarter field goals and 5 of 5 on point-after tries, also had an 11-yard touchdown run.
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LA CENTER 41, KALAMA 6
La Center 3 10 14 14 – 41
Kalama 0 6 0 0 – 6
First quarter
LC – Nate Rembisz 29 FG
Second quarter
LC – Rembisz 28 FG
K – Jonny Martinez 25 pass from Devon Accord (kick blocked)
LC – Wyatt Eiesland 1 run (Rembisz kick)
Third quarter
LC – Parker McKinney 49 pass from Eiesland (Rembisz kick)
LC – Isaac Chromey 16 run (Rembisz kick)
Fourth quarter
LC – Chromey 17 run (Rembisz kick)
LC – Rembisz 11 run (Rembisz kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — La Center: Isaac Chromey 16-163, Wyatt Eiesland 8-42, Gaven Emerson 2-24, Nate Rembisz 1-11, Jack Tyler 2-4, Kaden Emerson 1-23; Kalama: Drew Schlangen 20-65, Devon Accord 6-16, Erik Schulson 1-(minus-2), Talan Thomas 1-0.
Passing — La Center: Eiesland 6-11-0-75, Rembisz 1-1-0-(minus-6); Kalama: 3-9-1-38; Schlangen 1-1-0-8.
Receiving — La Center: Parker McKinney 4-52, Johnny Linstroth 2-17; Kalama: Jonny Martinez 2-53, Quin Hahn 2-13.
