Zoey Zuern

Amid blustery winds that curtailed a passing game, Ilwaco’s football team earned its first win of the 2022 season last week.

The Fishermen traveled five hours north to La Conner Thursday and celebrated a 23-0 victory.

“The wind was 40 miles-per-hour the whole time,” said Ilwaco head coach Ron Rood. “When the wind was with us, we could throw and punt. When we were going into the wind, it was difficult to throw. For the most part, we had to run.”

Kaemon Sawa opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 2-yard run, then Dylan Pelas took a pass from Ethan Hopkins for the two-point conversion. The 8-0 score held until halftime. Pelas was in the action again in the third, scoring from 4 yards out, and Hopkins connected with Sam Needham to complete the two-point conversion and make the score 16-0.

In the fourth, Kyle Morris sealed the win with an 11-yard run and Derrick Cutting kicked the extra point.

Rood commended defensive back Kyle Morris and defensive lineman Robert Sanders for their contributions. “We played defense pretty well,” said the coach. “They were two of the more outstanding players.”

Offensively, Sawa and Dominic Bautista contributed greatly. “These two kids did a great job blocking and led the way,” Rood added.

Rushing stats reflected the story of the ground game. Ryan Morris rushed for 100 yards on 16 carries; Kyle Morris had 91 yards on 14 carries; Sawa made 50 yards on nine possessions; and Pelas made 46 yards on just three runs.

With Ocosta winning its league but deciding to forfeit its next game, Ilwaco goes into a “crossover game” as No. 5 against the top seed of the three regional leagues. That’s Toledo, which has an 8-1 record having defeated Stevenson 34-28 last week. Its only loss was to the Raymond-South Bend squad, which beat Ilwaco 53-8 earlier in the season.

The loser-out game will be played at Kelso 7 p.m. Thursday with the winner advancing to the state playoffs. “We are going to be a pretty big underdog,” said Rood, who noted that Ilwaco has just three seniors on its roster. “The kids have been good all year long. … As a young group, we have been getting better.”

Mathison shines

Jacob Mathison will represent Ilwaco at the WIAA 2B state cross country meet in Pasco Saturday.

The IHS junior was the highest-placing Fisherman, crossing the line 17th in 18:58.5 at the District meet in Rainier Saturday. The winner, from Adna, finished in 17:22.6.

The cut for state was the first 28 runners. Sophomore Wyse Mulinix was the next fastest in Ilwaco blue, finishing 33rd, followed by classmate Carter Humphreys in 37th. Just a few places behind, Alex Valencia, Moises Mendez-Hernandez and Sammy Lloyd finished together, with Vicente Bautista not far back.

Mossyrock, which is enjoying considerable success in all fall sports, won the District boys’ team title.

IHS Coach Sarah Taylor was pleased. “Everyone ran really well,” she said. “The weather was great for racing; cool, no wind, sunny but not hot. The competition was tough! Everyone was racing hard for the few available spots.

“The boys team ran with grit today. Alex, Moises and Sammy crossed the line within two seconds of each other. Carter continued to cut big chunks off his time.”

Ilwaco’s Nora Soule had a freshman season with consistently solid finishes, winning the meet at Adna plus second-place finishes at Ocosta and Kalama. She placed ninth at District’s in a race in which the top seven girls qualified for state.

Taylor said Soule demolished her personal record. “Nora had over a 45-second PR on a more challenging course,” the coach said.

Saturday’s race was won by Mossyrock freshman Joan Wedam in 22:03.03. Soule ran 23:41.57 for ninth, and was the next fastest freshman. IHS sophomore Esther Thomas also competed.

The host Mountaineers won the girls’ team contest, with Forks second.

“All of the athletes improved hugely this season,” said Taylor. “It’s exciting that none are seniors and they have the opportunity to try for state again.”

Soccer win

Ilwaco soccer wrapped up its fall season last week with a loss and a win.

Coach Andrew Goodwin’s squad held Adna to 0-0 at halftime, but conceded one goal in the second half.

Ione Sheldon had three shots on goal; Kaitlyn Banuet had another good chance to score. Goalkeeper Zoey Zuern made 15 saves.

“Our defense and midfield did an excellent job of passing and controlling the ball,” said Goodwin.

In the season finale Wednesday, the Fishermen hosted South Bend. Again it was Sheldon in the spotlight, scoring two goals in the 4-1 victory. She opened the scoring in the 26th minute, although South Bend equalized three minutes later. Just one minute after halftime, Sheldon put the ball in the net for her second. Ten minutes later, Banuet added a goal and Paige Frank sealed the win in the 54th minute. Zuern made 13 saves.

Naselle gearing up

Naselle had no football game this past week because of a forfeit, but is gearing up for postseason action. The Comets are 8-2 and will host the Tulalip Heritage Hawks 3 p.m. Saturday. The Marysville school, from the Northwest B League, lost to Charles Wright Academy 42-6 last week.

Meanwhile, the juggernaut eight-man squad from No. 1-ranked Odessa continued its unbeaten streak with another win. The Tigers stung the Inchelium Hornets 84-12 Saturday. The other eastern Washington 1B powerhouse, Almira/Coulee-Hartline, took its record to 6-3 with a 46-7 win over Curlew.

Naselle beat Pe Ell last week, then concluded regular season 1B volleyball play at home Thursday against Three Rivers Christian. Comet seniors honored were Destiny Gifford, Kaylin Shrives, Bella Colombo, Delaney Kragerud, Lauren Katyryniuk, Brynn Tarabochia.and Amera Larson. The three-set win over the Eagles was 25-10, 25-11 and 25-12.

The Comets, looking for success in Saturday’s District tournament at Montesano, will first host a team 6 p.m. Thursday to determine their positions in the bracket. Naselle’s next opponent is contingent on the results of Monday and Tuesday loser-out games featuring Three Rivers, Lake Quinault, Firm Foundation and Columbia Adventist.

Saturday’s first game for NHS will be either 12:30 p.m. against Taholah or 6:30 p.m., depending on Thursday’s result. The four best regional teams at Montesano will advance to the WIAA 1B state championship tournament in Yakima’s Sun Dome Nov. 10-11.

IHS v-ball at district

Ilwaco’s volleyball team went into the 2B District tournament at Raymond Saturday having had a tough regular season. The Fishermen lost to Napavine 25-10, 25-6, 25-9, then bounced back to defeat Onalaska in five sets.

That win set up another district playoff against Forks, the No. 2 seed in the Pacific League. The game will be played at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Ocosta gym.

• Destiny Gifford was inadvertently omitted from the list of seniors on the Naselle volleyball squad in last week’s roundup.