Bruins provide Fort no shelter in 49-6 football win (senior night slideshow)

Against Fort Vancouver, Columbia scored on its first four offensive possessions, including two which were set up by the Bruins recovering onside kicks. The opening drive set the tone for the game. Columbia ran six running plays — four behind what basically was a flying wedge (sans the locked arms) — led by its physical offensive line. Kai Brasuell ran three times for 36 yards, then Wongani Schlegel ran twice for 21, before Brasuell scored on a three-yard run.

Fort (0-8 overall, 0-6 Trico) went three-and-out on offense, and it took Columbia four plays to take a 13-0 lead. The touchdown came on a Schlegel 48-yard run. The junior running back would finish with 212 yards rushing on 17 carries. He also added a 79-yard interception return for a TD in the second half.

Columbia senior Jaden Wang recovered an onside kick, and then, despite limping back to the offensive huddle, got behind the Fort secondary from his receiver position on the next play from scrimmage. Senior quarterback Wyatt Stelma lofted the ball down the left sideline and Wang caught the pass over his shoulder inside the 10 and scored past a surprised Fort defender on the 42-yard play.

Wang recovered another squib kick on the ensuing kickoff, and the Bruins capitalized a short time later. Junior backup quarterback Hunter Wang found Bryce Wang open on a slant pattern and the senior receiver made a diving catch in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown.

Things got sloppy the rest of the way, with penalties, turnovers and eventually a running clock messing with the flow of the game. Columbia’s second half scores came from senior Zeke Orozco on a 1-yard run, Schlegel’s interception return, and Hunter Wang’s 48-yard pick-six.

Columbia had 404 yards of offensive from scrimmage and 20 first downs — all while building a 35-point lead.

Such points will be a premium at this week’s Gorge Bowl — Columbia at Stevenson — if recent contests between the neighboring rivals are any indication. Stevenson has won the past three meetings between the two teams by scores of 13-7, 13-0 and 6-0.

The 2021 contest was decided when Stevenson blocked a fourth-quarter field goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown for the game’s only points.