Four area 1A schools drop football openers

“It was a tough and emotional week for our guys, because a former South Wasco student athlete and Redsides’ football player [Colby Brace], died in a motorcycle accident [Aug. 28],” said Coach Mike Waine. “The boys responded well though and we focused on playing football for three hours, but we just couldn’t pull out a win.”

Waine gave credit to the Cruisers. “They have a team with big and physical players who hit us pretty hard, and we really got beat up,” said Waine. “We haven’t had a loss like this in a long time. Both teams played a good, clean game. Even though we were down by a large margin (30-6) at halftime, our guys never quit. We made lots of mistakes offensively and defensively and whenever we had a turnover, they would capitalize on it and score. If they didn’t score four touchdowns off of our four turnovers, then it would’ve been a much closer game.”

Dufur drops opener

Dufur and Crosspoint played a back-and-forth contest until the visitors pulled away in the final period. The Warriors took an 8-0 lead 77 seconds into the contest and they led by that same margin after the first quarter.

Dufur, guided by longtime (39-years) Coach Jack Henderson, knotted it 8-8 in the second quarter when sophomore quarterback Gavin Anderson (2-for-5, 92 yards passing; six carries, 38 yards rushing) threw a touchdown pass to senior receiver Nolan Cates (two catches, 72 yards receiving; seven carries, 44 yards rushing) with 10:56 on the clock. The seesaw battle continued throughout the entire game, and it remained knotted at 30-30 in the fourth quarter.

“We had a chance to win, and we played them so much better than we did a year ago [a 52-34 loss, Aug. 31, 2023],” said Henderson.

The Warriors scored on back-to-back possessions to get the win by double digits. Chase Peterson (one catch, 23 yards receiving) and Jacob Kent (eight carries, 40 yards rushing; 3-for-4, 37 yards passing) also contributed to the Ranger offense.

Sherman/Condon no match for Cove

The Huskies, guided by fifth-year Coach Kyle Blagg, couldn’t match the big plays of Cove.

“It was a good first game between two evenly matched teams,” said Blagg. “It was a closer game than what was indicated by the final score. The difference in the game was that they [Leopards] executed on their third-down plays better than we did. … Whenever they needed a big play they got it. When we needed one, then it seemed like we struggled.

“Blake Carnine and Raul Anaya [touchdown] both played really well. Blake was particularly impressive with the leadership and effort that he displayed, which was a good example for his teammates.”

Carnine and six other Huskies’ players are Condon High students, so it was a very big event for them to have an opportunity to play in their only home game of the season.

“If everyone can get competing on that same level that Blake was doing, then we’ll be a much improved team,” said Blagg. “Even though we didn’t get the result we wanted, I think we put on a pretty good performance.”

Lyle/Klickitat/Wishram outscored by Powder Valley

Powder Valley outscored Lyle 12-6 in the second quarter and did not trail thereafter. Junior receiver Jack Thiemann scored Lyle’s first touchdown, and junior running back Carson Ramsay scored on a second quarter 75-yard kickoff return for the Cougars.

Third-year Coach Dave Devoe said his team was unable to get into an offensive rhythm in the second half. “They [Badgers] are a very good team and losing to them by 20 points is not really too bad,” said Devoe. “We have a few defensive problems that we need to fix with our team, but I thought our offense clicked really well and receivers Jack (nine catches, 174 yards receiving) and Carson both made some great catches. Our quarterback Mason Ramsay (15-for-32 passing, 197 yards) threw the ball really well, too.”