Columbia River Rapids are 4-1 this season, and the senior leaders are making good on a promise they made to lead the program to bigger and better days
Paul Valencia
Clark County Today
Three words.
Columbia River football.
Back in the day, people knew those three words meant something special.
Back to this day, there are a lot of people associated with the program who are determined to make Columbia River football special again.
The Rapids are on the rise.
Friday night, they improved to 4-1 with a 26-6 victory over Hockinson, improving to 3-1 in the Class 2A Greater St. Helens League. They have already matched last year’s win total, and they are not at all satisfied.
They want more.
More importantly, they expect more.
“We knew we had one last year. We wanted to make a statement,” senior Savion McCoy said. “All offseason, we were talking about: What’s our legacy going to be? Our legacy is we wanted to get it back.”
Back to winning ways at Columbia River.
If the Rapids get one more win in the final three games of the regular season, they will have their first winning full regular season since 2018.
The program had 14 winning seasons in 15 campaigns from 2002 through 2016.
Winning was automatic, it seemed.
Not lately, though.
DeWayne Patterson took over the head coaching duties in 2023 and the Rapids won two games. They improved to four wins last year.
Senior Trenton Fletch said there was talent last year, and a few fluke plays went against the Rapids. But they knew they were improving. They also knew that if they worked hard enough, they could do something special this season.
“We had a lot of doubt coming from people. We used that doubt,” Fletch said, with naysayers fueling the offseason workouts.
When the calendar hit September, Columbia River wanted to prove the doubters wrong.
“We were just ready to go,” Fletch said.
The Rapids made an immediate impact with a victory over Seton Catholic. The Cougars not only played in the Class 1A state championship game last season, they also beat Columbia River in the 2024 opener 56-7.
Ready to go? River was ready to roll.
“I gave them a challenge when our season ended last year,” Patterson said, noting that he could rely on this senior group. “They put the work in the weight room all offseason. This summer, spring ball, they put in the work. I told them it’s on this year. That’s our motto: It’s On. It’s everybody trying to get back to where we used to be.”
The Rapids did have a hiccup on the scoreboard this season. After starting 2-0 in the first three weeks — their Week 2 opponent called off that game — two-time defending league champion Woodland escaped Columbia River with a 17-14 victory in a physical battle.
The Rapids got too comfortable with that quick start to the season, McCoy and Fletch acknowledged.
“We had two wins early. We got a little complacent,” McCoy said. “It was definitely a wake-up call.”
“That Woodland loss really woke us up. It was a loss we shouldn’t have had,” Fletch said. “But after that loss, we bounced back, and we were on to the next week.”
Patterson was impressed by the response. He said the Woodland game was, indeed, a learning experience for the Rapids.
The way Woodland played also was a compliment to the Columbia River program, the coach noted.
“We’re big dawgs again. We’re going to get the best from everyone,” Patterson said.
The schedule gets tougher in the next two weeks. Columbia River will take on Ridgefield in Week 7. Both teams are 3-1 in 2A GSHL play. In Week 8, Columbia River will face first-place Washougal.
Columbia River is about to play some meaningful games down the stretch in October, with an opportunity to not only make the playoffs, but also have a shot at a league championship.
Guess Patterson was right about this team, from the day he challenged his players at the end of last season.
It’s on.
It is definitely on for the Columbia River Rapids.
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