Chieftains to meet Black Hills at Kiggins Bowl
Columbia River Chieftains (4-5, 4-2 2A GSHL)
Week 1: Evergreen 26, Columbia River 13
Week 2: Tumwater 55, Columbia River 6
Week 3: Washougal 17, Columbia River 0
Week 4: Columbia River 25, R.A. Long 13
Week 5: Skyview 42, Columbia River 6
Week 6: Columbia River 19, Woodland 13
Week 7: Hockinson 42, Columbia River 14
Week 8: Columbia River 53, Mark Morris 32
Week 9: Columbia River 52, Ridgefield 21
Next: Black Hills vs. Columbia River, 3 p.m. Saturday at Kiggins Bowl in district playoff, winner-to-state game.
The Chieftains turned it around midseason to save their season, then ended up with the No. 2 seed from the 2A Greater St. Helens League to get a “home” playoff game. No one saw that coming back in September.
Biggest win:
Looking at that schedule, have to say the biggest win was the overtime victory over Woodland. That allowed the Chieftains to tie for second.
A couple weeks later, they started clicking on offense.
Just look at those scores. The Chieftains combined to score 19 points in their first three games. Then the final two weeks, they put up 105. (Yes, the competition was not as good, but a 50-burger is a 50-burger. That’s a lot of points.)
While far from perfect – River finished the regular season with a 4-5 overall record – it is clear the team is playing its best football now.
And while the mini-games are not full games, the Chieftains did go 2-0 against Woodland and Washougal in the tiebreaker Monday night.
Columbia River emerges from Class 2A GSHL tiebreaker as No. 2 seed
Next:
The district playoff games cannot be played on grass, so Columbia River’s home game is now at Kiggins Bowl.
Black Hills and Columbia River have two common opponents. Black Hills lost to Evergreen and Tumwater. So did Columbia River.
Looking back:
It has been a few years, but Columbia River does have success in Week 10 with a losing record. In 2009, the team went 4-5 in the regular season, won the Week 10 playoff, and advanced to state.
The Chieftains did the same thing way back in 2001, too.
Not sure about those years, but this team, this year, is playing its best football right now.
