Staff report
Columbia Gorge News
WHITE SALMON — Columbia High School fell to 0-2 on the season after a 21-10 home football loss Sept. 11 to visiting Ilwaco.
There was a noticeable difference for the Bruins from their season-opening shutout loss at Forks to the Ilwaco contest — a game that the hosts competed well enough to have a realistic chance to win.
A few mistakes — mainly some costly penalties — and, arguably, the halftime break, stymied Columbia’s momentum. The Bruins outplayed Ilwaco in the second period, pulling within 14-10 at halftime, but couldn’t carry that momentum into the second half.
Coach John Hallead said the Ilwaco game was a win for the Bruins, in many ways. “It was a big win for us,” he said, acknowledging that his young team must continue to improve in what is a “rebuilding season.”
“It was a big win for us physically. We had a number of tackles for loss and sacks. We had a great second quarter; we had this huge momentum,” he said. “We talked to our kids about death by inches; those little things.”
Among them were a couple of untimely penalties and coverage breakdowns. But the Bruins continued to press on. They were in position in the second half because of their aggressive defense — at times, too aggressive, which resulted in some late hit penalties.
The Bruin score came in the momentum-changing second period. Brody Landgren’s short TD run was set up by a 40-yard pass from Levi Connell to Cassidy Ebbert, who was brought down just shy of the goal line. The other points for the Bruins came on a 28-yard field goal from Anderson Hernandez-Pena.
“I love my kids being aggressive … but there’s a line of when to be aggressive and when to control the aggressiveness,” Hallead said. “We were physical; they [Ilwaco players] were slow to get up a few times.”
One of those times came in the second half, when Columbia looked to be putting together another scoring drive. Ilwaco had (as it later turned out) clinched the win with a 15-yard touchdown run around left end by Brexten Weinder late in the third period.
Columbia responded by putting together a good drive at the end of the third quarter and early in the fourth. A Connell-to-Landgren pass play netted 12 yards and was followed by a seven-yard first-down run from Connell. Then, Landgren’s second and third effort — and downfield, bruising blocking by Samuel Knott — led to a 16-yard gain to the Ilwaco 39.
Knott, a first-year football player, was the poster child for the Bruins’ aggressive play, especially on defense. But his downfield block on the Landgren run was visibly felt by an Ilwaco player, who happened to be in his way and who lingered on the turf on all fours for longer than normal after the whistle had blown.
An eight-yard pass and an eight-yard run moved the ball to the Ilwaco 22, but that’s as far as the Bruins would get, and a 42-yard field goal try by Hernandez-Pena fell short.
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