Author photo

By Garth Meyer
Gazette Reporter 

Lyle/Wishram takes out Garfield/Palouse

 

November 8, 2018

Ely Hawkins

Garfield/Palouse's Ely Hawkins looks for the corner in a play-in game on the road to the state playoffs. The Vikings lost to finish the year 9-2.

The 2018 Garfield/Palouse football season ended on the Vikings' field Tuesday night in a first round playoff game against Lyle/Wishram, two towns across the river from the Dalles, Ore.

The Cougars, with a bullet train of a running back, handled Gar/Pal 38-16, advancing to play next at home against Entiat – with 16 1B teams remaining in action around the state.

The Viking stayed close in the first half, trailing 20-16 to start the third quarter before Lyle/Wishram began to take control.

Garfield/Palouse finished the year at 9-2, their other loss to league foe Sunnyside Christian.

"We've had a pretty good season, so losing in a (first-round playoff) game makes it hard for everyone," said coach Garrett Parrish, in his first year as Vikings head coach.

Lyle/Wishram's no. 20, running back/linebacker Brandon Montoya, rushed for 253 yards on 15 carries and caught three passes for 148 yards.

Lyle/Wishram is a 2B school that petitioned to play an independent schedule in 8-man football this fall.

The Game

On fourth and nine on the Lyle 10-yard-line with 18 seconds left in the first quarter Caden Sanderson scored to make it 14-14. With a two-point conversion from Ely Hawkins it was 16-14 Gar/Pal.

Then a 79-year catch and run up the sidelines by Montoya, the 5-'8" 180-pound junior, made it 20-16 Cougars with 6:32 left in the half.

Early in the third quarter, Montoya took a handoff, ran into a wall of Gar/Pall tacklers up the middle, pushed and pumped and stepped over fallen Vikings, got loose and ran away down the center of the field for a 66-yard touchdown.

"He's not human!" called out a Cougars teammate on the sideline.

Lyle/Wishram led 26-16 with 4:20 left in the third quarter.

Garfield/Palouse took possession again and No. 7, freshman quarterback Cameron Merrill, threw to lineman/tight end Tanner Anderson over the middle for a 24-yard gain.

The drive continued, the next plays mustering a few yards. On third down and four, Montoya, at linebacker, slapped down Gar/Pal's Sanderson after a two-yard gain. On fourth-and-two, the Vikings bumbled the snap.

Lyle-Wishram took over possession and snapped the ball to Montoya, who took off for a 15-yard gain.

Then on a screen pass to Montoya, he sidestepped Gar/Pal's No. 39, sophomore Daniel Kramer, and sped 61 yards to the Vikings' 14-yard-line.

Then it was Montoya again on a sweep, but a flag came out for holding. After Gar/Pal stopped the Cougars on the next three plays, Montoya took the ball on a sweep to the other side of the field for a 15-yard touchdown.

It was 32-16 Lyle/Wishram with six seconds left in the third quarter.

"There's still time. It's still anybody's game," Montoya said to his teammates.

After a face mask on the kickoff return, Gar/Pal took over on the Lyle/Wishram 47-yard line.

Anderson went out for another pass. Montoya windmilled down receiver Ethan Hawkins for a loss of a yard right at the Garfield/Palouse sideline.

The Cougars' No. 22, Samuel McCullough, then got loose, toward the end zone, cutting through Sanderson and Tanner Anderson in the last five yards to make it 38-16.

Rain began to fall. 7:25 remained in the fourth quarter.

Sanderson got hit hard and fumbled on the Lyle 35.

Montoya gunned up the Gar/Pal sideline to the Vikings' 35.

His team lined up again, wideouts at each side of the line of scrimmage, the clock dwindling.

Before the snap, Lyle-Wishram sophomore receiver Robbie Dorr flexed for a photographer's camera.

Then the Cougars went into victory formation and took a knee for a last snap.

"I gotta give love to you," McCullough said to Hawkins after the clock ran out. "You a senior?"

He is, along with Sanderson, Jacob Reed, Anderson, Riley Pedersen, Clayton Clarkson and Tyson White.

"It's always tough when you lose a good group like this," said Parrish. "We'll have a lot to replace next year."

Sanderson ran for 153 yards in his last game on 36 carries with two touchdowns. Hawkins had 82 yards on 15 carries.

Garfield/Palouse 52, Colton 44

In drizzling rain and wind Nov. 1, the encroachment of the Colton baseball infield turned to mud near one end zone and Garfield/Palouse and the Wildcats went to the wire in the two teams' last regular season game.

Back and forth all game, after a Colton 22-14 lead at halftime, late in the fourth quarter, Gar/Pal drove to tie the score at 44-44, before stopping the Wildcats to get the ball back for a last scoring drive.

With six seconds left on the clock, Gar/Pal's Ely Hawkins ran in a five-yard touchdown run to take the game.

The Vikings trailed 44-38 late in the quarter when Colton senior quarterback Parker Druffel ran in his sixth touchdown. The Vikings then tied the score with a 15-yard run by quarterback Caden Sanderson after a three-play, 65-yard drive.

Colton got the ball back and the Garfield/Palouse stopped on them on downs on the Vikings' 30-yard line, which set up the Gar/Pal's l0-play drive in the last two minutes.

For their last two drives, Coach Garrett Parrish sent in freshman Cameron Merrill at quarterback and moved Sanderson moved to running back.

"Colton was shutting Caden down running from the quarterback position," Parrish said.

It was the first varsity snaps Merrill had taken at quarterback.

Other moves in the game included some key rushes by Tyson White, no. 58, usually a guard on the offensive line. He has been playing fullback, after Ely Hawkins moved to running back, when Sanderson took over at quarterback four games ago for injured sophomore Austin Jones.

Sanderson's led the Vikings in the game with 327 yards rushing and five touchdowns while Hawkins had 202 yards.

Druffel ran for 219 yards for Colton. In the air, Reece Chadwick had four catches for 76 yards and Chris Wolf three for 64 yards.

Colton's season ended at 6-4, in the last game for seniors Druffel, Chadwick and Luke Vining.

Parker Druffel

Colton quarterback Parker Druffel escapes for one of his six touchdowns Nov. 1.

The Wildcats, if they had won, still had no chance to make the playoffs since Gar/Pal had beaten Sunnyside Christian -- which remained tied for first with Gar/Pal at the conclusion of the regular season.

Author Bio

Garth Meyer, Former reporter

Author photo

Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.

 

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