MENLO – The Naselle Comets gave the Willapa Valley Vikings, the state’s 2B fourth ranked team, a stiff test for the first quarter and a half of their Pacific League football game played as part of the Vikings homecoming celebration Friday, Sept. 29. However, two long special-team touchdown runs in the second quarter turned the tide in the Vikings direction and the Vikings used 27 second-quarter points to run to a 46-20 win over the Comets. Naselle’s record dropped to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in league games. Valley is now 6-0 overall and 2-0 in league.

Naselle Coach Robin Andrea said, “Jeff (Eaton, defensive coach) and I felt real good about the play of our team in spite of losing by a large score. Our kids played very well on defense and offense. We got beaten by special team mistakes when they returned those two kicks for long touchdowns. They are a very good team and Bannish is an exceptional player. But our kids played well and several of them did an outstanding job. We also only had one turnover and that was a big improvement over last week.”

The early game activity reflected Andrea’s comments when the Comets matched the Vikings point for point and were tied at two touchdowns apiece early in the second period. However, the Vikings’ Rick Bannish returned the Naselle kick-off, after Kyle Burkhalter’s first touchdown, 81 yards for a score and that was the forerunner of what was to follow.

After the long run for the Vikings’ second score, the Comets put together another long drive with Kyle Burkhalter scoring again, this time from two yards out. Andrea said, “We were moving the ball well, including a 28-yard run by Kyle on the first drive and Nick Hines had a 19-yard and a 13-yard pass receptions from Kyle”

However, the Vikings began to slow the Comets offense and rev up their own. When the Vikings managed to score three more times in the second quarter, the second on yet another long Bannish run of 79-yards on a punt return, the Vikings built a commanding lead of 33-12 at the half.

The Comets didn’t fold up their tent and stayed much closer to the Vikings in the second half. The Vikings scored twice in the third quarter with yet another of the scores coming from the lightning quick Bannish. However the Comets matched one of those scores with a fourth quarter 10-yard run by freshman Austin Burkhalter. Austin Burkhalter also passed to Colton Gilbert for the two-point conversion and Naselle went home with the 46-20 loss.

Andrea praised the exceptional play of Kyle Burkhalter. He added words of praise for Mike Shirley who “played extremely well in the line” and also for the play of Alan Erickson and Colton Gilbert.

The Comets meet the Northwest Christian Navigators in the Naselle homecoming game on Rueben Penttila Field this Friday night, Oct. 6, beginning at 7 p.m. Andrea said, “They are a brand new football team and we are not quite sure what to expect from them even though we have seen some films of their games.”