Aberdeen, Hoquiam fall on Friday night, Montesano stays perfect.
Aberdeen’s struggles against WF West continued, Centralia ended a two-year losing streak at Hoquiam, Montesano stayed perfect on the season. and the two Pacific County combo schools fell in Week 8 of the 2023 prep football season.
WF West 41, Aberdeen 14
The Aberdeen Bobcats entered their game against WF West hoping to control the running of Bearcat quarterback Gage Brumfield. Turns out the junior’s arm was the real threat. Brumfield passed for 308 yards and four touchdowns as the Bearcats defeated Aberdeen for the 12th consecutive time, 41-14 at Stewart Field.
The Bearcats wasted no time in grabbing a two score lead as Brumfield capped the opening drive of the game with a one-yard scoring run and hit Grady Westlund for a 15-yard score on WF West’s second possession, to grab a 14-0 advantage after the first quarter.
Aberdeen finally got their offense going on their third possession, as Aiden Watkins runs of 23 and 17 yards moved the ball the WF West one yard line. From there, quarterback Grady Springer snuck in the last yard for the touchdown, halving the Bearcats lead at 14-7.
Then Brumfield took over.
Following a lengthy injury timeout, during which WF West running back Declan McDonald was removed from the field on a stretcher, Brumfield drove the Bearcats to the Bobcat 16-yard line. After two penalties negated a WF West score, the junior helped his team overcome a first down and 38 yards to go by completing two passes, the last of which covered 21 yards to Tucker Land, giving the Bearcats a 21-7 lead late in the second quarter. After forcing a Bobcat punt, the Bearcats needed just one play to reach the endzone, with Brumfield hitting Westlund for a 49-yard strike, sending the teams into the locker room with a 28-7 WF West lead.
The Bearcats put the game out of reach with two third quarter touchdowns; a 29-yard catch and run by Carson White and a two-yard run by Miles Martin to stake the visitors to a 41-7 lead.
While unable to mount much of a passing game, Aberdeen was able to move the ball on the ground with Watkins leading all runners with 119 yards on 17 carries, and Marcus Hale gaining 57 yards on 13 touches, the last of which was a one-yard score on which the junior tight end picked up a Springer fumble a fought his way into the endzone to make it a 41-14 Bearcat lead.
The game was marred by 25 penalties, 17 of which were called against WF West. However, the Bearcats were able to overcome those errors by stopping Aberdeen on fourth down in WF West territory three times.
With the win, WF West claims the inside track to a number two-seed in the upcoming crossover playoffs against the Great Saint Helens League. Despite the loss, Aberdeen can still clinch a three seed with a win over Shelton next Friday.
Centralia 13, Hoquiam 6
The good news: the Centralia Tigers 18 game losing streak came to an end on Friday night. The bad news: it ended at Olympic Stadium with a 13-6 triumph over Hoquiam.
In a game in which neither team provided much offense, the Tigers took a 7-6 halftime lead, added one more score in the second half, and intercepted a Grizzly pass at the goal-line in the closing minutes, to win their first game since October 15, 2021. Ironically, that victory also came against Hoquiam, a final score of 29-14.
The loss drops Hoquiam to 1-7 on the year. They will conclude the season next week against Eatonville.
Montesano 42, Tenino 0
Felix Romero and Bode Poler each scored two touchdowns and Montesano earned its fourth straight shutout victory, blanking Tenino 42-0 and clinching the Evergreen 1A championship.
The Bulldogs took a 14-0 halftime lead on scoring runs by Romer0 and Gabe Pyhalla, but turnovers and penalties allowed the Beavers to stay within striking distance. That changed in the second half, when Poler found the endzone twice, first on a long run and second on a six-yard reception from Tyson Perry. Romero would punch in his second scoring run of the day on a five-yard scamper and Gabe Bodwell would cap the scoring with a 20-yard run.
The win moves Montesano to 8-0 on the season and snaps a two-game losing streak to Tenino. The Bulldogs will conclude the regular season next week in the East County Civil War at Elma.
Eatonville 44, Elma 0
Four turnovers and a struggling offense were more than the Elma Eagles could overcome on Thursday, as the Eatonville Cruisers clinched a playoff berth with a 44-0 victory.
Hit hard by injuries to their receiving corps, Elma managed just 166 yards of offense. In spite of the loss, other results mean that the Eagles clinch a number=four seed in the upcoming district playoffs versus the Trico League.
Elma will host Montesano in the regular season finale on Friday.
Other Scores
Forks 21, Pe Ell/Willapa Valley 18
Napavine 56, Raymond-South Bend 12
Ilwaco 55, North Beach 0