By GEORGE KUNKE
Raymond rolled over South Bend like the force of a Sherman Tank while churning out 373 yards rushing during a 41-0 victory Friday night before a Senior Night homecoming crowd at Seagull stadium. Raymond halfback darted around the field for 166 yards running the ball and just 6 carries with 3 touchdowns. Raymond led 20-0 after the first quarter and 34-0 at halftime. The “Mercy Rule” was put into effect in the third quarter, which leaves the clock run to get the game over with quicker.
“We played well,” Raymond head coach Rob Clements told the Herald. “Alex Sida is really running the ball well. He has tremendous breakaway speed. He really compliments what Darol (Ratsavongsay) does with the inside running game.
“It all starts with the line…Hunter Borden at tight end, tackle Matthew Boyes, guard James Hamilton, center Alan Phansisay and Michael McFadden and Grant Camenzind,” Clements said. “That’s four guys that started last year and another as the center on JV. This is the third year that they’re in the system. They’re getting to the right spots and opening up good holes.”
Coach Clements said his linemen aren’t very big but that they are pretty strong. “They all spent the spring and summer in the weight room. They’re good strong kids.”
Sida scored on runs of 6, 65 and 53 yards in the first half to put the game away early. Elliott Murdock mashed out 58 yards on 5 carries and a 5-7 TD. Rayce Newman ran for 61 yards. Marvin So ran back a punt 59 yards for another TD.
“Raymond's team speed was an issue we couldn't deal with,” South Bend head coach Tom Sanchez told the Herald. “I thought we played real hard, probably our most compete game as far as effort is concerned. They have a good football team.
“Ryan Overstake ran the ball hard and Marcus Overstake was in on 10 tackles defensively,” Sanchez added. “We need to continue to play with great effort and keep improving.”
Ryan Overstake ran for 57 yards on 18 carries for the Indians. The Tribe had 74 yards on the ground and 9 yards passing. Raymond had 19 yards passing. Both teams lost one fumble in the game. Mason Stuck recovered a fumble for SB. Marcus Overstake recorded 10 total tackles, including 5 solo efforts.
Riley paced the Gulls on defense with 10 total tackles and Borden tallied 9 tackles.
“Defensively, we controlled them up front,” Clements said. “Hunter Borden had a good game and Neal Riley had a good game on defense.”
Raymond upped its overall record to 5-1 and the Gulls are 3-0 in the Pacific League. South Bend slipped to 0-5 and 0-2. Raymond visits Naselle and South Bend hosts North Beach (5-1).
“Naselle is well coached and they have a good athlete at quarterback,” Clements said. “They run the spread, which is a tough system. They gave us our best challenge at league last year. We have to show we can go on the road and perform.”
North Beach 46, Vikings 6
North Beach taught Willapa Valley a lesson on how to run the football while whipping the Vikings 46-6 before a happy homecoming crowd Friday night at Oyehut. The Hyaks rushed for 353 yards and their defense forced 4 turnovers.
Pedro Gonzalez galloped for 158 yards on 17 rushes and 2 touchdowns.
Seth Flemetis ran for 69 yards on 11 carries and Valley’s only score. The Vikes rushed for only 93 yards on the night.
“It probably sounds strange, but even though we got beat by more points, I was much more pleased with the game we played last Friday,” Valley head coach Greg Wonhoff told the Herald Saturday. “Last week when we played the Trojans of Pe Ell I felt we lacked the much needed intensity needed to compete with a team of their caliber. We knew that the Bridge-led Hyaks would be a team of equal or greater ability, and we would certainly going to have to come out with fire in our eyes, if we hoped to compete at all.
“I was not disappointed in the least with what our kids gave to the cause,” Wonhoff said. “There comes a time for all coaches to just plain admit that we were out-manned, and there isn't a whole lot we can do about it.
“We just came off the most physical week of practice we have gone through in the last three-to-four years,” Wonhoff said. “ We pounded on each other, started versus starter for three straight days. We have been a bit reluctant to do much hitting for fear of sustaining injuries, which is something we can't afford. We just don't have the luxury of extra bodies to fill in if someone goes down. Our thoughts changed. We figured that we needed to get more physical, and if someone gets hurt, someone gets hurt, and we will deal with that hurdle if it presents itself. We saw the payoff of our efforts.
“Our goal was to take one play at a time and try to come away with positive plays,” Wonhoff continued. “I felt like there were an awful lot of positives being displayed on the part of the Vikings. Forget the score. Trying to compare the last two games is like trying to compare apples and oranges. In my opinion, there is no comparison between our game versus Pe Ell and our game versus North Beach. Our kids left it all on the field. Yes, we made mistakes, and I'm not just speaking of the players, but there was a lot of learning taking place. We faced adversity, met it head on, and we all walked off the field better people.
“We will have two weeks to lick our wounds and get prepared to face South Bend's Heart of the Tribe and then the highly talented Seagulls of Raymond,” Wonhoff said. “You can be sure that the theme of positives will be stressed as we close out our Pacific League season.”