Columbia topples Fort Vancouver, 33-16

Columbia (2-6 overall, 1-3 Trico League) continued its improvement this season, when the Bruins have had to overcome inexperience, illness, and injuries. On Friday, the Bruins also overcame an 8-6 halftime deficit with 27 second-half points to earn their first Trico win this fall.

“It’s been a really long time since Columbia has gotten a win on homecoming,” Coach Dan Smith said. “It was a nice end to being back in a somewhat normal high school situation,” referring to the disruption the COVID pandemic has caused.

“That was probably the most consistent game Wesley White has had this season,” Smith said. “The best thing about that game was that we went into halftime down on the scoreboard and we came out and on our first drive were able to march down the field and take the lead we never relinquished.”

The game marked the return of senior quarterback/defensive back Jace Greenwood, who missed the Bruins’ Oct. 15 loss at La Center. Greenwood completed 5 of 9 passes for 52 yards and added 63 yards on 11 carries. His five-yard TD run in the third quarter gave Columbia the lead for good.

The score was set up by a long White run on an off-tackle play, which moved the ball into the red zone for the Bruins. “We blocked it really well,” Smith said of White’s run. The coach also acknowledged Greenwood’s contribution on the play, which first required a read of the Fort defense and then his ability to hold onto the ball before pitching at the most opportune time.

Smith said before the game that the Bruins needed to trust the triple option better than they had in previous games. The prior week, La Center had held Columbia to 79 yards of total offense, but the Bruins had much more success against Fort (0-6 overall, 0-3 Trico).

“On the triple option, a lot of the runs are set up by Jace. A lot of times you’re going to get just a couple of yards on a dive to your fullback,” he explained. “The quarterback is tasked with reading an unblocked defensive lineman. They need to trust that the read guy is going to make a mistake and then we’re going to take advantage of that mistake.”

Smith also said before the game that the Bruins needed to tackle better and maintain assignments defensively. Sophomore Petey Schlegel led the Bruin defense with nine tackles. Teammates Kai Brasuell and senior lineman Kevin Medina added six tackles apiece.

Columbia had played Fort in a nonleague game on Sept. 25 when the Trappers exposed the Bruin defense to the tune of 42 points. Since that game (a 50-42 Bruin win), Medina has been moved from linebacker to defensive line and Brasuell, a freshman, has had more time to develop into playing the secondary after being a down lineman during middle school.

“Kai has been playing out of position but doing a good job for us. Kevin (Medina) and Kraig Billette have given us a little more explosiveness on the defensive line,” Smith said. “Defensively we did such a better job this second go-around (against Fort) of everyone getting to the correct spots. For the most part, we were much more sound.”

Columbia concludes its season with a 1 p.m. home game on Saturday against high-scoring, smash-mouth, run-first Tenino (7-1, 3-1 Evergreen Conference). The Beavers have scored more than 50 points four times this season, including in a 78-26 win over Seton Catholic on Sept. 17.