Photo by Larry Bale - Titan Trevor Cook scores one of his four touchdowns versus Morton-White Pass Friday night at Tiger Stadium in Centralia. Cook is a senior at Willapa Valley HS. Pe Ell-Willapa Valley heads to the State semifinals Saturday, 4 pm, at th
CENTRALIA - Led by a well-balanced offense and a rock-hard defense, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley advanced to the semifinals of the Class B State Football Playoffs with another end-the-game-with-the-clock-running victory - this time Morton-White Pass was the victim with the Titans romping 47-7 Friday night at Centralia High School's Tiger Stadium.
In Friday's quarterfinal game, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley rolled up 275 yards on the ground and scored 5 touchdowns. Seth Flemetis (1 TD) rushed for 93 yards. Trevor Cook netted 90 yards and scored 3 times, and Kaelin Jurek banged out 83 yards.
The Titans worked on their passing game in preparation for the Timberwolves and it proved positive with Jason Fluke completing 7 of 9 passes for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Titans averaged 23.4 yards per catch.
The Titans (11-0) next encounter is Central League rival Napavine (10-2) Saturday, 4 pm, at the Tacoma Dome. The Tigers were 34-7 winners over Liberty (Spangle) last Saturday, also at Centralia. In Friday's two other quarterfinal games, Okanogan upset Lind-Ritzville-Sprague (11-1) 35-28 at Moses Lake, and Northwest Christian (Colbert) was a 33-22 victor over Asotin (8-3) held at Spokane. Okanogan (11-1) plays Northwest Christian (10-2) Saturday, 1 pm, at Lions Field in Moses Lake.
"We're excited to play a quality team like Pe Ell-Willapa Valley," Napavine High School Head Football Coach Josh Fay told the Herald. "There is no more talented team in the state offensively and defensively. It will take a pretty monumental task on our part to get it done.
"Definitely, their three-headed attack all can do some damage back there," Fay said, referring to Cook (21 rushing TDs, 2 receiving Tds, 1 interception-TD), Jurek and Flemetis.
On the season, Jurek has rushed for 1,072 yards. Cook has ran for 1,031 yards, and Flemetis has netted 744 yards through 11 games.
"We've got three big concerns with their offense," Fay continued. "Concern number one is those three running backs. Concern number two is their big, athletic offensive line. And, concern number three is that their quarterback (Fluke) can throw the ball well."
One of Napavine's two losses was against the Titans (28-27) way back on Sept. 18 at NHS. The Titans, were held to a season-low 288 yards of total offense in that game, but scored the games' final 14 points in the last 7:48 to get the victory. The Tigers' other loss was at Toledo (27-13) Oct. 9.
"It was pretty evenly matched game, but they finished better than us and they were better conditioned than we were," Fay said of the loss to P-WV. "Conditioning has not been problematic. We finished well in three playoff games."
Fay has been at the helm of Tiger football for nine years and has a record of 88-21. Napavine won the State championship in 2008 and have been to the semifinals four times in the past eight years. Heading into the season, Coach Fay said that he and his staff had to develop an offensive line.
"We came into the season with a lot of guys filling in for the first time," Fay said. "We had only two starters back with other guys thrown into the fire. But they've done a great job and have gotten better each week. They're hard workers."
Those hard workers sport some good size and are strong.
Wyatt Wheeler is a horse at 6-6, 280. Coach Fay calls the senior "pretty experienced." Jake Johnstone is another senior tackle, of whom Fay said, "makes us go." Joe Cole is a 230-pound senior center. Jayce Knoll (220) and Brad Francis (230) also start.
Anchoring the Tigers along the defensive line is Jesse Ashley, a 290-pound noseguard.
The Tigers' talent doesn't stop there. Quarterback Wyatt Stanley, a 6-3, 225-pounder, is a stud of an athlete, who can pass well, and whose best asset might be his decision-making prowess insofar as finding his receivers. Despite missing more than 3 ½ games this season, Stanley has passed for 1,702 yards and 19 touchdowns and with only 3 interceptions.
"We're real fortunate to have a kid (Stanley) like that," Fay said. "Wyatt does a good job of going through progressions. He stays in the pocket and makes every third and fourth down situation manageable. He has a solid arm and does a great job of spreading out his throws to a lot of different receivers."
Running back Cole Van Wyck has ran the ball for 1,081 yards. "He's a little slasher with good bursts and finds the seams and can accelerate," Fay said. "He's not going to bull you over."
Max Fagerness is Stanley's favorite receiver. The "playmaker" has 44 catches and 840 yards with 10 TDs this season.
As a team, the Tigers could hardly be more balanced, while rushing for 2,165 yards and passing for 2,114.
Defense Big for Titans
Defensively, the Titans held Morton White Pass running back Braiden Elledge to under 30 yards - well below his season average of 198 ypg. Jurek was good for 8 total tackles, including 7 solo efforts. Flemetis had 6 tackles, and Dustin Lusk and John Woods had 5 apiece. Woods and Dalton Toepelt grabbed interceptions.
The Titans got their machine moving through the airwaves when Aidan Arrington scored from 28 yards after a short pass from Fluke at the 8:25 mark. Cook raced in for a TD from 28 yards away and P-WV led 13-0 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, Flemetis dashed in up the gut fro 8 yards out and it was 19-zip before the T-Wolves responded with a 2-yard blast by Elledge. The Titans took control with two scores in less than two minutes - a 4-yard run by Cook, and a 13-yard pass from Fluke to Cook.
Below is the complete scoring summary.
First Quarter
P-WV-8:25: Jason Fluke, 28-yd pass to Aidan Arrington; Robert Espina PAT.
P-WV-2:07: Trevor Cook, 28-yd run.
Second Quarter
P-WV-10:35: Seth Flemetis, 8-yd run.
M-WP-4:36: Braiden Ellledge, 2-yd run; kick good.
P-WV-1:52: Cook 4-yd run; Robert Espina PAT.
PWV-0:01: Fluke, 13-yard pass to Cook; Espina PAT.
Third Quarter
P-WV-8:30: Fluke, 1-yd run; Espina PAT.
Fourth Quarter
P-WV-11:21: Cook, 7-yd run; Espina PAT.