Ilwaco 48, Columbia High 27

And quickly it did as the Fishermen scored on their first five possessions last Friday en route to a 48-27 Trico Division victory over the Bruins that snapped a 10-game losing streak dating back to last season.

All told, Ilwaco (1-2, 1-5) put together scoring drives of 46, 47, 27, 84 and 55 yards to build leads of 18-6 after one quarter and 34-12 at halftime, and of 57 and 29 yards in the third quarter.

The closest Columbia (1-3, 2-4) got was 12-6 with 2:59 remaining in the first quarter, on a 1-yard plunge by fullback Devin Dean that capped an 11-play, 64-yard drive.

Columbia finished the game with 273 yards of offense, including 253 on the ground, 86 by Dean, who also scored on a 12-yard run in the second quarter.

"We were pretty happy with the way the offense played," Whitmire said. "But the fact of the matter is that defensively, we're having a hard time stopping anybody. We're just not tackling very well right now."

Ilwaco, led by running backs Edwin Knick and Alex Martin, ran through Columbia's defense for 313 yards and six touchdowns. Knick accounted for 187 yards and three touchdowns, Martin for an even 100 and two scores.

The Fishermen also found holes in the Bruins' pass coverage, scoring one touchdown and three 2-point conversions through the air.

It didn't help Columbia's cause that it played the game without eight starters who were declared academically ineligible at the start of the week.

"Losing eight starters affected us on both sides of the ball," Whitmire said. "That, combined with Ilwaco getting back some key kids of their own, resulted in a convincing loss."

Favorable field position on its first two possessions helped Ilwaco get the upperhand early.

The Fishermen's first series started in favorable field position at CHS's 46-yard line, as the result of an 11-yard punt.

On the third play of the drive, Alex Martin scored from 24 yards out to put Ilwaco on top, 6-0, with 9:46 remaining in the first quarter.

Ilwaco soon increased its lead to 12-0 after recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff return at the CHS 47. The five-play drive that followed ended in a 9-yard scoring run by Edwin Knick at the 7:57 mark.

Columbia countered, however, with a scoring drive that began at its 36-yard line and lasted 4 minutes, 58 seconds.

But any momentum Columbia hoped to gain from that impressive series was stolen by Martin's 67-yard return of CHS's kickoff to the Bruins' 27-yard line.

This time the Fishermen needed just three plays to find the Bruins' end zone. When Knick bounced in from a yard out with 1:50 to play in the first quarter, Ilwaco led, 18-6.

Next up:

The Bruins travel to La Center this Friday for a Trico Division encounter with the Wildcats (3-0, 4-1).

La Center entered the week with half a share of first place in the division standings. The other half belonged to Kalama.

"La Center has one of the finer football programs in southwest Washington," Whitmire said. "We know what we're up against, but we're going to show up and we're going to compete to the best of our ability."

Columbia's keys for the game, Whitmire said, "will be to contain their double wing-T attack and see if we can finish drives."