SPORTS
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015
7A
Saints shine bright on stormy night
Bright future for
Comets with 18
coming back
SCOREBOARD
FOOTBALL
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
NASELLE, Wash. — Af-
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half of the season, the Naselle
Comets could only watch as
Seattle Lutheran erupted for
30 points in the third quarter
Friday night, on its way to a
44-22 win over Naselle in a
Class 1B state playoff game at
Rueben Pentilla Field.
Saints’ running back J.J.
Young — who had 94 yards
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ished with 303 yards on 17
carries (nearly 18 yards per
run), and also completed two
key passes in the victory.
He ran for four touch-
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help Seattle Lutheran advance
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Naselle coach Jeff Eaton
said Young was one of the
best athletes his team has
faced all season.
“Him and the kid from Tu-
lalip Heritage (Robert Miles,
Jr.) — they’re both really
good,” Eaton said. “They’re
faster than anyone we have.”
Still, the Comets’ defense
controlled the game in the
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on four fourth down plays.
Naselle held an 8-6 lead at the
break, courtesy of a 19-yard
touchdown run by Comet
quarterback Hayden Gud-
mundsen with 3:05 left in the
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The teams battled through
a scoreless second period, and
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Naselle’s Donnie Edwards tackles Seattle Lutheran’s
Brandon Lulow in the third quarter of the football game at
Naselle High School Friday.
Naselle took its 8-6 lead —
which didn’t last long — into
the third quarter,
Young,
a
6-foot-2,
175-pound junior, highlighted
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three carries of the third quar-
ter.
After a partially blocked
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half went for 34 yards, and
gave the Saints a 14-8 lead.
The Saints forced another
Naselle punt, and Young ran
62 yards out of the Wildcat
formation for a touchdown.
His second straight two-point
conversion run made it 22-8.
And after the next Comet
drive ended at the Saints’ 36-
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carry covered 64 yards for his
fourth touchdown of the night
(he had a 56-yard TD run in
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Three one-play drives to
start the second half, three
straight carries by Young for a
combined 160 yards, and the
Saints had a lead they would
not relinquish, 28-8.
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half of football that we’ve
played all year,” Eaton said
after the game. “Especially
defensively.”
He continued, “We had
seen the Wildcat formation
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but it was usually just used
on the goal line for two-point
plays.
“With how wet it was, our
kids didn’t wrap up real well.
They hit him, they just didn’t
wrap up and take him to the
ground.”
Still, the Comets didn’t ex-
actly cave in.
After Young’s 64-yard
scoring jaunt, Naselle an-
swered quickly with a 65-
yard touchdown return on the
ensuing kickoff, as Donnie
Edwards took a pitch on the
return and went the distance,
helping the Comets close to
within 28-14.
But the Saints just kicked
it into another gear, respond-
ing with a six-play, 84-yard
drive that was capped by
run) 3:24
Seattle Lutheran 44, Naselle 22
Seattle L.
6 0 30 8—44
Naselle
8 0 6 8—22
First Quarter
SL: J.J. Young 56 run (run failed)
4:52
NAS: Hayden Gudmundsen 19
run (Jacob Scrabeck run) 3:05
Third Quarter
SL: Young 34 run (Young run) 9:32
SL: Young 62 run (Young run) 7:40
SL: Young 64 run (pass failed) 3:31
NAS: Donnie Edwards 65 kick re-
turn (run failed) 3:18
SL: Isaiah Dowding-Albrecht 11
pass from Young (Young run) :30
Fourth Quarter
NAS: Scrabeck 3 run (Scrabeck
run) 8:15
SL: Brandon Lulow 15 run (Young
Young’s 11-yard TD toss to
Seattle Lutheran quarterback
Isaiah Dowding-Albrecht.
Naselle’s Jacob Scrabeck
capped the scoring for the
Comets with a three-yard run
with 8:15 left in the fourth
quarter. Scrabeck ran in the
two-point conversion, bring-
ing Naselle to within 36-22.
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yards rushing on 28 carries,
The Saints put it away,
however, on their next pos-
session, keyed once again by
Young.
Facing a fourth-and-12
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snap and found Brandon Lu-
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down to the Naselle 29.
Five plays later, Lulow ran
in from 15 yards out, push-
ing the lead to 22 points. The
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seconds off the clock.
A driving rain marked
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game, with an interception
Naselle netters fall in state play
Coach says
Comets should
focus on stellar
season, not
weekend results
By PATRICK WEBB
For EO Media Group
YAKIMA, Wash. — There
was no fairytale ending for
Naselle volleyball’s stellar
season.
The Comets came up
against a buzz saw Friday,
losing to Oakesdale in the
opening round of the WIAA
state tournament in three sets.
Scores were 25-11, 26-24, 25-
10.
The team then moved into
the consolation bracket the
same evening and fell to Neah
Bay, 26-24, 25-23, 25-22.
Despite a season in which
the Naselle won its league and
was District IV champions, the
team could not replicate the
same level of successful play
at the Sundome Stadium.
With six matches from
three high school tournaments
happening
simultaneously
in the early stages, Naselle
played both its games in the
center of the arena amid a
booming roar of shouts and
applause echoing around the
dome.
As in prior years, the 1B
tournament highlighted strong
teams from Eastern Washing-
ton. Oakesdale breezed to the
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roy, the defending champions
22-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-22.
Since the 1B division was
created 10 years ago, the two
teams have been champions
six times.
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No. 2-ranked Oakesdale es-
tablished early momentum in
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Comets just couldn’t catch up
the lost points.
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hawks had 8 points on the
board before Naselle senior
Kendra Leeland scored with a
kill. Junior Kyryn Jacot made
a diving dig during one rally,
but Naselle still lost the point.
Junior Ellie Chapman made
a diving dig and a spectacu-
lar point when the ball rolled
over the net and hit the court
to make it 18-9 to Oakesdale.
But the Nighthawks stretched
their lead, thanks to some res-
olute blocking. A good return
from senior Haley Footh and
a kill by Leeland couldn’t win
the set.
In the second set, Amelia
Tutu’u tipped the ball over
the net to add an early point.
Fellow junior Tayler Ford,
back from injury, made an-
other clever tip-over to bring
the scores closer early on then
made a diving dig. Senior Tay-
lor Eaton blocked well at the
net and Chapman served two
aces which tied the score at
17-17,
Then Eaton set up Tutu’u
for a kill. Leeland tied the
scores at 22-22 with a block
as her grandmother, Kaye
Weimer, at courtside, yelled,
“One more! One more!”
The set ended 26-24 after
long rallies that Naselle lost.
The third saw Oakes-
dale score nine points before
Naselle responded. Tutu’u and
Eaton combined well to get a
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then Chapman leaped for a de-
cisive kill and punched the air
with joy.
The Nighthawks gathered
momentum, though, and add-
ed to their points. Leeland re-
plied with a kill and a cleverly
placed soft shot that hit the
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bring the Comets up to 10, but
it was their last point earned in
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Head Coach Kim Eaton
was disappointed. “They were
not able to show how they are
capable of playing,” she said.
“We spent a lot of time on
I Am Thankful
This is the time of year when we
reflect on our lives and our blessings
There are many that list something they are thankful
for each day in November on social media.
our heels playing defense and
we didn’t play a lot of our of-
fense.”
The consolation bracket
game followed Neah Bay’s
loss to Sunnyside Christian in
three close sets.
The Red Devils took an
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Naselle came back with solid
work at the net by Tutu’u and
an ace by Ford. Footh had a
kill and an ace to add points
and junior Ashley Muessig
blasted a ball over the net
which Neah Bay could not
return. Two kills by Chapman
and one full-length diving dig
brought the score to 20-18.
Naselle added points with Ea-
ton serving an ace. The Com-
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tied at 24-24 until they lost
a long rally then hit a kill at-
tempt into the net.
The Comets led in the early
stages of the second set, went
behind and caught up, thanks
in part to an ace by Jacot. A
good combination play be-
tween Eaton and Chapman
put them ahead 15-16, and the
score went back and forth. The
Comets’ best play of the tour-
nament was next with Leeland
rescuing the ball from the back
court to Eaton who set for
Tutu’u to hit the ball over to
make the score 22-19 in their
favor. However, the Red Dev-
Team Statistics
SL Naselle
First Downs
16
12
Total Offense
430 179
Rushing yards 331 157
Passing yards
99
22
Comp-Att-Int
10-18-0 3-11-1
Fumbles-lost
4-0
5-1
Turnovers
0
2
Penalties-yards 6-45 3-15
Seattle Lutheran Statistics
Rushing: Young 17-303, Lulow 13-
45, Dowding-Albrecht 6-(-17). Pass-
ing: Dowding-Albrecht 8-15-67-0,
Young 2-3-32-0. Receiving: Young
7-68, Lulow 2-20, Dowding-Albrecht
1-11.
Naselle Statistics
Rushing: Scrabeck 28-143, Gud-
by Hawkins Ehret ending
Naselle’s next drive.
The weather did not play a
“huge part,” Eaton said, “but
we made more mistakes com-
ing out in the third quarter. We
had a hard time making snaps,
and fumbled a few and that
slowed things down.
“But I’m not sure a dry
night would have helped 23
(Young) get going a little
more.”
A forecast of heavy rains
and strong winds brought
with it a “high turnover advi-
sory” for Friday’s game.
Yet the Saints did not have
a turnover, and Naselle had
two — one on a fourth down
play which would not have re-
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late interception.
Both teams were held well
below their scoring average.
The 22 points was a sea-
son-low for the Comets, who
had not been held under 40
points since Sept. 11; while
mundsen 9-23, D.Wirkkala 1-3, Ed-
wards 1-1, Lund 3-(-13). Passing:
Gudmundsen 3-11-22-1. Receiving:
Smith 2-24, Lund 1-(-2).
OSAA State Playoff Scores
Class 4A
Cascade 35, Philomath 34
Banks 28, Mazama 21
Scappoose 48, Marshfield 46
North Bend 37, North Marion 7
Class 3A
Scio 70, Salem Academy 36
Vale 48, Cascade Christian 38
Blanchet Catholic 36, Coquille 14
Santiam Chr. 19, Harrisburg 13
Class 2A
Stanfield 27, Central Linn 26
Kennedy 42, Burns 28
Regis 44, Imbler 14
Heppner 52, Reedsport 14
the 44 points was Seattle Lu-
theran’s third lowest output of
the season.
The Comets came in un-
beaten at home, and having
beaten Seattle Lutheran in
state playoff games in both
2007 (42-7) and 2008 (34-
7), when both schools played
11-man football. Naselle also
pounded the Saints in the
2009 regular season, 57-6.
The dark and stormy night
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for the Comets.
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18 coming back,” Eaton said.
“All the skill position guys
besides Hayden are coming
back, so I’m looking for big
things next season.
“And we have a class of 11
to 13 eighth graders coming
in. We’re going to have a huge
team coming in next year. We
just need a few more linemen,
and we’ll get ready to go in
the weight room. We should
be good.”
NASELLE SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS
(awarded by the officials):
vs. Oakesdale: Taylor Gudmundsen, freshman
vs. Neah Bay: Ashley Muessig, junior.
2015 CHAMPIONSHIPS
1. Oakesdale
2. Pomeroy
3. Christian Faith, Federal Way
4. Mount Vernon Christian
ils regrouped with some good
blocking and a missed Comet
serve gave them the set.
The third began promising-
ly with an ace served by senior
Emma Fauver. The teams trad-
ed points and the lead all the
way up to 18-18 when a cou-
ple of Comet players’ returns
bounced out. Leeland made
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23-21 and Eaton’s next serve
earned a point when Neah Bay
could not return it. A lost op-
portunity gave the ball back to
the Red Devils for match point
and a diving effort by Leeland
could not return the ball.
As the winners celebrated,
the Naselle bench gathered
into a tearful group hug before
forming the traditional hand-
shake line.
Afterward, Naselle Coach
Eaton told her players to focus
on the successful season, rath-
er than the two state losses.
“Their state play was not
what we have seen them do —
they have played better,” she
said. “But they prepared well.
. . . They went through league
5. Almira Coulee Hartine
6. Sunnyside Christian
7. Quilcene
8. Odessa-Harrington
undefeated, and were district
champions.
“I am proud of the girls for
what they have done as a team
for all the season.”
The second loss ended the
high school playing careers of
four Naselle seniors, Fauver,
Footh, and captains Leeland
and Taylor Eaton. They have
played volleyball together
since seventh grade.
“We all worked hard and
achieved our goals together,”
said Fauver. “We played as a
team and as a family.”
Footh agreed. “I am proud
of us because we gave our all,”
she said. “We are so much
more of a team this year than
we have ever been before. We
really trust our teammates to
have our backs as we have
their backs.”
Amid the tears and hugs
outside the locker room, ju-
nior Raja Estes focused on the
positive. “We made it to state,
we won league and we were
district champions,” she said.
“We are winners, in my opin-
ion.”
w a t c h f o r i t
2 0 1 5
2014
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VO TIN G O PEN S N OVEM BER 18, 2015 CO ASTW E E K E ND .CO M