Bruins win finale over Fort Vancouver, 50-6

“We saw the results, but we didn’t see the results in the win-loss category and that can be hard for a team,” Coach Shawn Friese said of his team’s progression this fall. “I can’t say enough about the seniors that they just kept fighting and they just got back to work [after losses]."

The main difference between the two teams was Columbia’s domination of the line of scrimmage. The Bruin defense limited Fort to one first down and four yards of total offense in the first half. Meantime, Columbia was piling up 272 yards of offense before intermission on 11 first downs.

As has been the case most of the season, the Bruin line of seniors Wesley White, Yadier Ruiz, and Liam Cox, and juniors Seth White and Matthias Posini, along with tight end Sawyer Muehlbauer, have been a consistent part of the CHS running game.

“I think that’s what our line has been doing all year long and it really showed on Friday night,” Friese said. “I can’t say enough about our line. We’ve got some seniors on the line who we’re really gonna miss next year.

“They made my job easy, honestly, is what it did, because I felt like I could call any running play and it was going to be effective because our line was just doing so well.”

Schlegel, who also scored on runs of 34 and three yards in the opening period, took advantage of the line play. So did senior running back Landon Castilla, who had a seven-yard TD run early in the second quarter.

Petey Schlegel added a 26-yard touchdown run five minutes before halftime, due in huge part to brother Wongani’s downfield block at the 5-yard line. Quarterback Wyatt Stelma, getting time to throw, connected with junior Sawyer Muehlbauer on a 67-yard TD pass to complete the first-half scoring.

“Our defense just played lights out all night long,” Friese said. “It’s a good sign when the majority of your tackles are by defensive linemen. They just weren’t able to get through our line.”

The game, the final one for 12 CHS seniors, ended with Columbia gaining 407 yards of total offense. Wongani Schlegel finished with 117 yards on five carries.