Panthers take down first-place Hudson’s Bay 55-14
Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com
This was the Washougal that everybody thought they would be watching all season.
This was the defending champions playing like champions again.
This was Washougal saving its season.
And on the other sideline, even after a loss — after being on the wrong side of a game that got so out of hand that it was played under running clock rules — there sit the Hudson’s Bay Eagles, still in first place in the Class 2A Greater St. Helens League.
What …
Is …
Happening?
Well, for starters, yes, Washougal is back to being Washougal. The Panthers were disappointed in themselves when they started 2A GSHL play with a 1-2 record. So they set out to show that they could still play quality football.
From the very first play of the game, the Panthers, indeed, had the better team Friday night at Kiggins Bowl.
Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. Again and again and again, en route to a 55-14 victory over the Eagles.
“We went out and proved what we could do,” Washougal quarterback Holden Bea said after throwing for three TD passes and rushing for two. “Those two losses didn’t define us.”
What does it all mean? In this league, no one can confidently answer that question. And probably won’t be able to for another three weeks.
With Washougal’s win, and Hockinson’s win over Columbia River, and victories from Ridgefield and Woodland on Friday, there are three teams at 3-1 in league play. Washougal, River, and Hockinson each have two losses.
Seriously, the Panthers are still holding out hope of multiple teams tying for first place with two losses. And the way they played Friday? Well, they looked like championship material.
Oh, and the team that came into Friday undefeated? The Eagles? Even after losing by 41 points, if they win out the next three weeks, they will be the No. 1 seed from the 2A GSHL. When was the last time a league champion from Clark County lost a league game by 40-plus points? Don’t know. But it could happen this year.
If this ride is too bumpy for you, well, it’s too late. It’s not slowing down any time soon.
Had Hudson’s Bay won on Friday, this ride would have been a bit smoother.
The Washougal Panthers are now all about chaos. It’s the only way for them after suffering those two league losses earlier in the season. They need stability within their own program — which means wins — and chaos everywhere else.
“We haven’t been really bringing it the whole year, but today we woke up,” said defensive lineman Sam McKee, who was part of a defense that held the Eagles to 18 points below their season average.
The Washougal defense had struggled against the run in its two losses, as well.
“We’re the defending league champs, and we finally brought it,” McKee said. “That felt great. We had a lot to prove.”
The Panthers walked away last week in frustration after falling to Ridgefield.
“We were upset,” said Deondrae Goodell. “We just had to practice as hard as we could all week long, and then we showed it today.”
Goodell, in fact, set the stage for all that was to follow when he returned the opening kickoff 44 yards.
It was not just 44 yards of important real estate. It was how he gained those 44 yards.
He spun out of a would-be tackle about 20 yards into his return. He headed toward the sideline, but he stayed in bounds, then cut back inside, finding a tiny hole to pick up another 20 or so yards.
He refused to be tackled on first contact. He was mad. His teammates were mad. And they were about to let their frustrations out all over the Eagles.
“I didn’t get all the way, but I set the tone for the team, and we did good for the rest of the game,” Goodell said.
After that return, the Washougal coaching staff sent another message. The Panthers are not just a passing team. It was run, run, run, capped by Will Cooper’s 2-yard touchdown run.
The Washougal defense got the ball right back to its offense. Washougal stuck to the ground game, with Cooper getting a 10-yard run on a fourth-down play. He followed that up with a 37-yard run, setting up a 16-yard touchdown run from Mercy Johnston.
“Most games we don’t run that much. It felt good,” Cooper said.
Don’t worry. The Panthers still have Holden Bea. They can still pass it with the best of them.
After the Washougal defense forced a 3-and-out, Bea found Presscott Lenhart on a 47-yard touchdown pass for a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.
After a Bay score, Bea scored.
This time, a 24-yard QB scramble to make it 28-7 at the half.
Bea then launched a bomb early in the third quarter, finding Sam Evers on a 47-yard touchdown. Four minutes later, another Bea-to-Evers TD pass.
Johnston added a second touchdown run, and Bea broke free for a 55-yard TD run to account for Washougal’s scoring.
“We came out here, we were confident, we trusted each other, we put our faith in God, then we ran the ball, passed the ball, scored some points, and got some stops on defense,” said Bea, who also had an interception late in the first half while playing defense.
“It’s just crazy what we were able to do on offense,” Bea said. “The linemen did a great job. Once you can run the ball like that, (the defense) comes crashing hard on the run, and the passing game opens up. It was working all game. Shout out to the linemen.”
“It was nice to be a two-headed dragon,” Cooper said of the running and passing skills displayed by the Panthers.
Is it too late for Washougal to win a share of the league title after those two earlier losses? No one knows the answer to that just yet.
But the Panthers do know they would have had no chance had they not played like champions on Friday night.
Now, there is hope.
And a whole lot of chaos.
That’s the 2023 Class 2A Greater St. Helens League.
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