SPORTS: Crescent beats Quilcene to advance to 1B playoffs; other football reports

JOYCE — Crescent is going back to the playoffs after beating Quilcene 33-14 in Northwest Football League action Saturday afternoon.

It was anyone’s game at halftime as the Loggers led 13-0 at the end of the first quarter but trailed 14-13 at halftime.

Crescent (5-3, 6-3) scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to run away with the victory.

“Just a great effort with the resolve to play together as a team and get it done on the defensive end,” Crescent coach Darrell Yount said.

“Playing shutout defense in the second half was big. Quilcene presents some unique challenges defensively.”

After some defensive adjustments by assistant coach Brian Scott, the Loggers rolled in the second half.

The Rangers, meanwhile, finish the year at 3-5 in league and 4-5 overall.

“I’m proud of the kids,” Quilcene coach Nic Dahl said.

“All year they have never given up. Even in this game, they played hard the whole time.”

Quilcene loses only two seniors, both linemen, to graduation.

“All of our key players are coming back,” Dahl said. “We’re looking forward to coming back next year.”

The Loggers, meanwhile, earn a playoff date with defending state champion and No. 1-ranked Lummi on Wednesday at Bellingham’s Civic Field starting at 5 p.m., winner to state.

Crescent had three turnovers in the first half to keep the score close, including throwing a pick in the end zone.

Kai Story threw for 120 yards for the Loggers with two touchdowns, one to Derek Findley and the other to Joel Williams.

Mike Zapien ran the ball 13 times for 120 yards while Story added three more touchdowns on the ground and had 85 yards rushing on nine carries.

“Big Mike Zapien was a load,” Yount said. “Just a tremendous athlete running the ball and such a force defensively.”

Josh Steele led the Rangers with 150 rushing yards on 19 carries while teammate Josh King added 104 yards on 18 carries.

See photo on Page B3.

Crescent 33, Quilcene 14

Quilcene 0 14 0 0— 14

Crescent 13 0 14 6— 33

First Quarter

C—Kai Story 5 run (Beau Bamer kick)

C—Story 20 run (kick failed)

Second Quarter

Q—Jake Pleines 4 run (Josh King run)

Q—Colton Pol 3 run (run failed)

Third Quarter

C—Joel Williams 6 pass from Story (run failed)

C—Derek Findley 20 pass from Story (Story run)

Fourth Quarter

C—Story 5 run (kick failed)

Individual Stats

Rushing— Q: Josh Steele 19-150, King 18-104. C: Mike Zapien 13-120, Story 9-85, Bamer 7-23, Williams 2-18.

Passing—Q: Pleines 4-7-2, 56. C: Story 10-16-1, 120.

Receiving—Q: Steele 1-40, Lucas Murphy 1-10, King 1-5. C: Findley 6-93, Williams 3-24, Eric Larson 1-3.

Neah Bay 56, Clallam Bay 13

CLALLAM BAY — The Red Devils eliminated the Bruins from playoff contention while locking up the Northwest Football League’s third seed with a convincing victory.

Quarterback Josiah Greene threw for three touchdowns and ran for two others as Neah Bay raced out to a 20-0 lead in the first six minutes and never looked back Friday night.

Clallam Bay was limited to 239 yards of offense in a loss that ended the team’s season one win shy of its first postseason trip in four seasons.

“The kids got tired, but they played a heck of a game. I’m real proud of them,” Bruins coach Cal Ritter said.

“Neah Bay has a lot of kids. They are a good group that have played quite a while together. [Neah Bay head coach] Tony [McCaulley] has done a good job with them.”

Neah Bay (7-1 in league, 7-2 overall) will next take on league No. 2 Lopez (8-0 in league and overall) in Marysville on Tuesday in a Class 1B pigtail playoff.

The winner moves on to play the Southwest Washington District’s No. 2 team in a winner-to-state contest next weekend.

Clallam Bay finished the season 4-4 in league and 4-5 overall with the loss.

“This has been a remarkable year for us,” coach Ritter said. “To get to .500 in league when we had won only one game in the last two years has been a big jump for us.”

Greene made things difficult on the younger Bruins Friday, piling up 278 yards offensively.

That included 200 through the air on 8-of-16 passing with no turnovers.

Titus Pascua added three touchdowns for the Red Devils, scoring on a 56-yard pass, 41-yard interception return and 33-yard punt return that ended the game with 7:28 left in the third quarter.

Matt Mohr led the Bruins with 120 yards rushing on 17 carries. He scored a touchdown running and receiving and had 195 yards of total offense.

Ryan Willis threw for 86 yards on 8-of-18 passing with one interception.

In the end, however, it wasn’t enough to keep up with a Neah Bay team that has now beaten its archrivals six straight times, four by mercy-rule margins.

Clallam Bay loses just one senior in running back Bryce Hatt.

“This has been a successful year for us, and I’m looking forward to next year,” coach Ritter said.

Neah Bay 56, Clallam Bay 13

Neah Bay 28 14 14 x— 56

Clallam Bay 6 7 0 x— 13

First Quarter

NB—Z. Greene 52 yard run (pass failed)

NB—Pascua 56 pass from J. Greene (pass failed)

NB—Pascua 41 interception return (Dulik pass from J. Greene)

CB—Mohr 36 pass from Willis (pass failed)

NB—McCaulley 39 pass from J. Greene (McCaulley pass from J. Greene)

Second Quarter

NB—Martinez 12 pass from J. Greene (pass failed)

CB—Mohr 82 run (A. Ritter kick)

NB—J. Greene 59 run (J. Greene run)

Third Quarter

NB—J. Greene 5 run (J. Greene run)

NB—Pascua 33 punt return

Individual Stats

Rushing— NB: Z. Greene 1-52; J. Greene 7-78, Martinez 2-16, Dulik 1-(minus 19), McGee 1-1, Pascua 1-25, McCaulley 1-33. CB: Mohr 17-120, A. Ritter 11-6, Foulkes 1-6, C. Ritter 1-8, Maneval 1-0.

Passing—NB: J. Greene 8-16-0, 200. CB: Willis 8-18-1, 86; A. Ritter 1-4-0, 13.

Receiving—NB: Pascua 1-56, McGee 2-51, McCaulley 2-42, Martinez 2-48, Monette 1-3. CB: Mohr 4-75, C. Ritter 2-10, A. Ritter 1-7, Messinger 2-7.

Lynden Chr. 30, Chimacum 28

LYNDEN — The Cowboys ended their season with a narrow loss to the Lynx in a 1A tri-district crossover game Friday night.

Chimacum (2-8) held a 28-24 lead as late as midway through the fourth quarter following Mel Thornton’s third touchdown of the game.

But as was the case throughout the second half, Lynden Christian (2-9) had an answer in running back Caleb Park.

The senior scored the last of his two second-half touchdowns on a 1-yard run with 1:31 to play, helping the Northwest Conference representatives escape with a win at home.

“I’m going to remember this game for the rest of my life,” Park (118 yards, 18 carries) told the Bellingham Herald. “To win by two points is great. I will never forget about this game.”

The Lynx had one more two-point conversion than the Cowboys, and that proved to be the difference.

Thornton finished with 211 all-purpose yards and scored TDs in the second, third and fourth quarters.

That included a 78-yard reception from quarterback Derek Ajax, 65-yard punt return and 12-yard run in the fourth. The junior added two two-point conversions.

In only four games this season, Thornton scored seven touchdowns.

“He gives our offense and special teams big-play ability,” Cowboys coach Shawn Meacham said. “He is going to be a special player coming into his senior year next season.”

Ajax ran for 33 yards on five carries but only completed 1 of 10 passes for 78 yards and was intercepted twice.

On the defensive side of the ball, Gregg Shold had his best game of the season for Chimacum with seven tackles, two assists, one sack and one forced fumble.

Both Joe Modispacher and Daryl Settlemire played tough defensively as well, each totaling six tackles apiece.

Chimacum graduates eight seniors from this year’s team, including Kyle Madayag, who scored a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown in his final game.

“We are looking forward to next year already,” Meacham said.

“If we get some more athletes out to play and practice against, we have some strong returning players that can help us both offensively and defensively.”

Lynden Chr. 30, Chimacum 28

Chimacum 8 8 6 6— 28

Lynden Christian 8 8 8 6— 30

First Quarter

LC—Vander Yacht 40 pass from Reimer (Van Dalen pass from Reimer)

C—Madayag 90 kick return (Thornton run)

Second Quarter

LC—Vander Yacht 8 pass from Reimer (Van Dalen pass from Reimer)

C—Thornton 65 punt return (Ajax run)

Third Quarter

C—Thornton 78 pass from Ajax (kick failed)

LC—Park 63 run (Vander Yacht pass from Reimer)