Wildcats close out the regular season with Trico League game at Castle Rock
La Center (6-2, 3-0 Trico)
Week 1: Hockinson 42, La Center 6
Week 2: Woodland 35, La Center 28
Week 3: La Center 35, Ridgefield 7
Week 4: La Center 30, Hoquiam 19
Week 5: La Center 56, King’s Way Christian 14
Week 6: La Center 64, Stevenson 32
Week 7: La Center 48, Burlington-Edison 20
Week 8: La Center 42, White Salmon 0
Next: at Castle Rock, 7 p.m. Friday
The La Center Wildcats are peaking at the right time, winners of six in a row now and confident going into Week 9 game against Castle Rock, with the winner earning the top seed to the playoffs from the Trico League.
Couple highlights:
La Center earned the victory over White Salmon in a hurry. Dominating offense, and a more dominating defense led to a 21-0 halftime advantage. On video, it never looked like La Center was in any danger of losing this one.
La Center scored on its opening possession on a 25-yard run by Collin Namanny. The running back was not touched on the play, following the blocks of Jaryd Parmentier, Jack Hiller, Dayton Erickson, and Clint Smith.
Then on defense, Wiatt Siebert made his presence known early. He had tackles-for-loss on the first two plays. In the second series, Siebert had a sack.
By the end of the night, La Center’s defense forced five turnovers.
League title:
Officially, La Center has already clinched at least a share of the Trico League title. However, La Center must win Friday in order to take the top seed to the playoffs. If Castle Rock can shock the Wildcats, they would both be 3-1 in league play but Castle Rock would take the top seed because of the head-to-head-result. Of course, very few expect Castle Rock to win this game, but the Wildcats have to be aware that they have not yet earned the top seed.
Coach Speak:
What did John Lambert think about his team’s performance in Week 8? “I thought our defense was really good. We’ve been getting better on defense, with tackling and fundamentals, all year long. We have guys in the right spots.”
MVP on offense: Collin Namanny. Got most of the carries after Wyatt Dodson got injured, then stepped up and scored three touchdowns, the most in one game in his career.
MVP on defense: Jackson Leslie. “He just does everything right,” the coach said. “He is so fundamentally sound and smart and understands where ne needs to be. He is one of the most reliable played I’ve coached.”
Thoughts on Week 9 Castle Rock: “Last time we were there we had to score two touchdowns in last minutes to win the game,’’ Lambert said. “Castle Rock is always a tough place to play. We’re not going to take anything for granted. CR always a tough place to play. We’re not going to take anything for granted.”
