Trevor Hutson brings down the Fort Vancouver quarterback after a high snap.

ILWACO — A week after a near-upset of Ocosta, Ilwaco was in danger of being upset itself by winless Fort Vancouver. But Dylan Simonson rushed for the winning 38-yard touchdown with 2:25 left, boosting Ilwaco to a 12-6 victory over Fort Vancouver Friday, Oct. 18.

On a counter play that worked as designed, Ilwaco (4-3 overall, 2-1 in league play) had the defense going to its right and Simonson headed the opposite direction. Simonson got past the defensive line, built a head of steam, exploded past a tackler at the next level and was off to the races.

“I didn’t see anything opening up at first,” Simonson said. But he hit the hole just as it was opening up and took off.

Ilwaco’s aggressive blitzing shut down the Trappers’ final drive. Inside linebacker Bubba Douglas came unblocked and batted down a pass on first down, then followed with a sack on the next play. After a gain by Fort Vancouver on a reverse play, Parker Kaech came unblocked from his outside linebacker spot for the sack, giving the Fishermen the ball back with 52 seconds left and allowing them to go into victory formation.

“I was trying to time the snap count the whole game, and at the end I got it,” Douglas said. “I knew if Coach sent me, I would (get the quarterback.)”

Kaech returned a punt for a touchdown 2:16 into the game. Fort Vancouver, an independent team looking for its first win, had severe difficulty with high snaps in the early going. But the game settled into a stalemate in wet conditions. At one point in the first quarter, the Fishermen recovered a Trapper fumble, only to fumble it back on the next play. Ilwaco put Jackson Wilkin back at quarterback for the second half after two and a half games with Kaech at the position, but the trench warfare continued.

Ilwaco had forced Ocosta into a similar grind-it-out game the previous week, a 12-7 loss.

This time, it was the Fishermen who were in danger of being upset.

“I think we underestimated them, with them not having won a game in two years,” Simonson said. “We had a reality check tonight.”

Fort Vancouver managed a methodical touchdown drive in the second half. It began with them fumbling the ball forward for nine yards and did not get much prettier. But the Trappers grinded out conversions on third and fourth downs, finally scoring on fourth-and-goal at the two to tie it with 7:06 left.

Simonson scored his game-winner on the ensuing Ilwaco possession. Trailing by a touchdown with only 2:25 left, the Trappers were forced to rely on the pass for their final drive, just as the wind and rain picked up in a big way.

Ilwaco’s blitzes crushed their chances.

Ilwaco visits Raymond Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.