Ilwaco senior running back Boston Caron (5) scored three first-half touchdowns to power the Fishermen to a 34-0 halftime lead over the hapless North Beach Hyaks Saturday night in Ocean Shores, ending in a 47-0 rout. The 47-point outburst was the highest Ilwaco point total since 2018, when they beat North Beach 49-14.

Fishermen pummel Hyaks 47-0

Ilwaco senior running back Boston Caron scored three first-half touchdowns to power the Fishermen to a 34-0 halftime lead over the hapless North Beach Hyaks Saturday night in Ocean Shores, ending in a 47-0 rout.

The Fishermen defense was equally dominant in the shutout, led by the Johnson brothers. Sophomore linebacker Corbin Johnson made several memorable stops, including a nine-yard sack in the first quarter to thwart the Hyaks’ best scoring chance. Corbin finished with a team-high nine tackles. Senior Canon Johnson contributed a sack and three tackles for loss in pitching the shutout.

Ilwaco junior tight end Robert Sanders was also impactful, including hauling in a 20-yard pass from senior quarterback Ethan Hopkins, opening up a 22-0 first-quarter lead. Hopkins finished 5 of 7 through the air, with one touchdown and one interception in his starting debut.

The Fishermen did most of their damage on the ground, however, where they rolled up 232 total rushing yards. Their ground game was led by Caron, who racked up 74 yards and scored three touchdowns.

The 47-point outburst was the highest Ilwaco point total since 2018, when they beat North Beach 49-14.

Up next: Ilwaco (1-0) will host Toutle Lake (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8 in Ilwaco.

Comets outrun Rangers 66-40

Naselle junior running back Jack Strange and junior quarterback Jacob Lindstrom ran wild over the Quilcene Rangers, culminating in a 66-40 shootout win last Saturday among two top-10 1B teams in the state.

Strange finished with a game-high 242 yards and four touchdowns on just 19 carries, averaging nearly 13 yards a rush as the Comets chewed up the Ranger defense for 436 total rushing yards.

“I was pleased with our kids’ grit and toughness. It was a nice warm day where we physically didn’t match up with our opponents but they had trouble with our quickness,” said Naselle head coach Kevin McNulty.

Naselle dual-threat quarterback Jacob Lindstrom accounted for five touchdowns and 169 yards rushing while going 8 of 12 for 153 passing yards, finishing with a nearly perfect QB rating of 137.5.

Naselle outscored Quilcene in each quarter, building a 28-14 halftime lead.

One area where McNulty would like to see improvement is on defense, particularly the Comets’ pass defense.

“Half of our starting lineup was starting their first game of high school football, so they had to learn and adjust on the fly,” McNulty said.

“The area we need to improve the most is defensively. Our defense would play well for three or four downs, then give up a big play. We will shore this up during practice this week. We were led defensively Jacob Pakenen, Caiden Burke, Jacob Lindstrom and Jack Strange,” McNulty said.

“Our pass defense must improve and it will.”

The opening-weekend win over a top-10 team will bode well for the Comets, ranked No. 5 in the preseason WIAA 1B Top 10.

“This was a great way to begin the season playing No. 9-ranked Quilcene up there and experiencing our longest trip during the regular season. [We overcame] adversity as we had a couple starters that were unable to go due to injuries. This allowed a couple young guys to step up and gain valuable experience,” McNulty said.

Up next: Naselle (1-0) will host Ocosta (0-0) 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8 in Naselle.