Ridgefield 28, Columbia High 6

But the Spudders certainly proved last Friday that they're among the best in S.W. Washington, wearing down Columbia High's Bruins in the second half for a 28-6 Trico Division victory at CHS Stadium.

Ridgefield led just 7-0 at halftime but scored the first 21 points of the second half to win going away and eliminate Columbia (2-3 in Trico, 4-4 overall) from the district playoff race.

"They eventually wore us down between the tackles on both sides of the ball," Bruins Coach Matthew Whitmire said of the Spudders.

Ridgefield (4-1 in Trico, 7-1 overall) was especially good on the defensive side of scrimmage.

The Spudders held the Bruins to four first downs and a season-low 139 yards of total offense.

Most of those yards came on CHS's only scoring play of the game: a 90-yard run by senior Andrew Culp with 2:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.

"When it came right down to it, we could not block them," Whitmire said.

Still, the Bruins--because of a strong defensive effort led by defensive ends Scott Lampe and Erik Viramontes--kept the game close through the first half and until late in the third quarter.

Whitmire credited that to defensive coordinator Jeff Lindstrom's play-calling and the players' execution of their assignments.

"Jeff put us in a position to make plays all night," Whitmire said, adding, "For the most part, the kids gave a strong effort for four quarters."

And even though they struggled to move the ball, the Bruins had a chance to tie the game after a bad snap in punt formation turned the ball over to CHS at Ridgefield's 8-yard line with 1:22 to go in the half.

But after losing seven yards in three plays, CHS had to settle for a 32-yard field goal attempt by Eduardo Araujo--a kick that went wide right.

"When we didn't convert from inside their 10-yard line, that was probably the backbreaker," Whitmire said.

Next up:

On the final weekend of Trico Division play, Columbia visits Woodland.

The Beavers (3-2, 5-3) got back into the district playoff chase with a 55-7 rout of Castle Rock last Friday.