Shortly after 9 p.m. last Friday, Columbia High's football team knew where it stood in relation to the competition for SW Washington 1A League playoff spots.
After losing their Trico Division and home opener, 47-0, to Kalama, the Bruins (0-1, 1-2) realized they have their work cut out for them if they want to be playing beyond the first Friday of November.
"What you saw Friday night was a complete butt-kicking," Bruins Coach Matt Whitmire said. "What was Kalama better at than us? Everything."
The Chinooks (1-0, 2-1) played like a playoff caliber team in mid-season form, racking up six offensive touchdowns and 395 total yards in 53 plays against a Bruins defense that couldn't match the speed of Kalama's deep running back corps.
"We knew going in that they had good team speed," Whitmire said, "but they had even more team speed than what we saw on film."
Kalama had three offensive scoring plays of 20 yards or more. The Chinooks also got a big play from their defense: a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jeff Vossen with 10:15 remaining in the third quarter that gave Kalama a commanding 35-0 lead.
That pick was one of four turnovers forced by a swarming Kalama defense that held Columbia to 39 rushing yards (on 37 attempts), four first downs and 56 total yards.
Whitmire attributed the Bruins' inability to move the football and control the line of scrimmage "to our lack of execution and breakdowns on both the offensive and defensive lines, and Kalama, to their credit, took advantage of that."
The Chinooks opened the game with a five-minute, 10-play, 59-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 1-yard run by Charlie Ashlock at the 6:54 mark.
They were back in the Bruins' Red Zone two minutes later, finishing off their second possession with a 20-yard touchdown run by Trevor McCain.
Chris Pierce added the run for the 2-point conversion to make it 14-0 and the rout was on as Kalama scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter on the way to mounting a 29-0 halftime advantage.
Kalama made the outcome academic early in the second half when Vossen took an errant Kyle Earls pass down the sideline for a touchdown.
Four minutes later, Pierce went 75 yards on first down for his second TD of the night. He finished with 98 yards on just three carries.
Teammate Robby Sanders scored Kalama's final touchdown with 1:44 remaining and led all rushers with 123 yards.
Next up:
While Kalama goes to Castle Rock (3-0) this Friday for a game that is seen as THE battle for the Trico Division championship, Columbia entertains Stevenson (0-1, 0-3).
Whitmire said CHS's upcoming game presents the Bruins with an opportunity to demonstrate they can play better football than they did against Kalama.
"The kids and coaches know we are a better team than we showed last Friday," he said. "We just need to play like it this Friday."
Columbia will face a Stevenson team that has lost 11 consecutive games dating back to last season. The Bulldogs most recent loss came at home last Friday to La Center, by a score of 39-6.
Whitmire, however, discounts Stevenson's losing streak and says his players should too.
"When these two teams get together, you can throw out the records," he said. "It's a rivalry game just like the Apple Cup [between Washington State and Washington]. It'll be an emotional battle; both teams will be fired up."
The Bruins won last year's meeting--CHS's homecoming game--43-28 to avenge a 20-13 loss at Stevenson in 2004, a defeat that snapped a six-game CHS winning streak in the series.
To beat Stevenson this weekend, Whitmire said the Bruins will have to win the battle at the line of scrimmage.
"We need to control the football and get back to blocking and tackling better than the other team--the same things we did in Week 2 [against Medical Lake]," CHS's coach said.
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