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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2019)
THE ASTORIAN • NOVEMBER 2, 2019 • C1 CONTACT US Gary Henley • Sports Reporter • ghenley@dailyastorian.com SATURDAY FOLLOW US facebook.com/DailyAstorianSports SPORTS EXTRA WARRENTON FINISHES OFF NESTUCCA IN 35-0 SHUTOUT FRIDAY NIGHT SCORES WARRENTON 35, NESTUCCA 0 KNAPPA 62, PORTLAND CHRISTIAN 19 Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian Warrenton’s Hordie Bodden Bodden catches a long pass with his fi ngertips in the second quarter of the game. By GARY HENLEY The Astorian W ARRENTON — It was another typical, fan-pleas- ing WWE event (Warren- ton Warriors Entertainment, Inc.) Friday night at John Mattila Field. There was Jake Morrow throwing and running for touchdowns, Hordie Bodden Bodden and Devin Jackson picking up yards on the ground, and Kenzie Ramsey adding more points, just for kicks. It all looks a little scripted … but it’s actually live and un rehearsed. The War- riors are just getting good at this WWE stuff. Warrenton fi nished off the Northwest League season in grand fashion with a 35-0 win over visiting Nestucca, and now the Warriors can set their sights on mak- ing a deep run in the Class 2A state play- offs, which begin next weekend . The No. 10-ranked Warriors are more than prepared. After losing their league opener to the Knappa Loggers way back on Sept. 27, Warrenton has won four straight, all blowout victories. During that time, the Warriors have turned into one of the highest-scoring 2A teams, averaging 49.5 points per contest. If they continue at that pace, the Warriors will be tough to stop in the post season. The Warrenton offense was not put- ting up its usual numbers until the second half, but who needs offense when your defense is controlling the game? The Warrior ‘D’ turned in a perfect performance in the Senior Night game . In addition to tossing a shutout, the Warrenton defense allowed just three fi rst downs, held the Bobcats to 34 yards in total offense and forced six turnovers. Last week, Warrenton held Gaston to Warrenton’s Duane Falls, left, and Jordan Martinez celebrate after Martinez intercepted a pass by Nestucca quarterback Ben Hurliman. Warrenton’s Devin Jackson carries the ball down the fi eld in the fourth quarter of the fi nal regular season game. only 14 yards in total offense. The week before, in a 41-6 win over Neah-Kah- Nie, the Pirates had just two yards total offense. Vernonia had a whopping 65 yards in offense in a 66-13 loss to War- renton Oct. 11. Add it all up, and the Warriors have allowed just 25 points and 115 yards in total offense in their last four games. Defense — as they say — wins cham- pionships. And Warrenton has a defense that should have the Warriors contending for a title. For Nestucca, it just wasn’t Ben Hurli- man’s night. The Bobcats’ senior quarterback lost two fumbles (both resulting in War- renton touchdowns), and tossed two interceptions. The Warriors, in fact, scored on the very fi rst play from scrimmage, when Hurliman had the ball stripped, and War- renton’s Joshua Earls completed the scoop and score, returning the fumble 30 yards for a touchdown 13 seconds into the game. But Warrenton could manage only one more score the remainder of the fi rst half, with Morrow scoring on a 2-yard run with 5:46 left in the second quarter for a 14-0 halftime lead. On his fi rst offensive snap of the sec- ond half, from the Nestucca 1-yard line, Hurliman dropped the snap from cen- ter and the Warriors recovered in the end zone for a 21-0 lead. Morrow capped an 11-play, 85-yard drive on Warrenton’s second possession of the second half, then tossed a 20-yard TD to Austin Little in the fourth quarter for the fi nal score. Joshua Martinez had two interceptions for the Warriors and Little added a third. Morrow fi nished 9-of-17 for 215 yards passing, with Bodden Bodden catching Warrenton’s Jacob Morrow leaps into the end zone, scoring a touchdown in the second quarter. four passes for 100 yards. Ramsey was again perfect on the point-after kicks, 5-for-5. Warrenton fi nishes the regular season 5-1 in league, 6-2 overall, while Nestucca drops to 3-3, 3-6. It was (hopefully) the end of a short era, with the Warriors as a member of the 2A Northwest League. It was also — unfor- tunately — the end of a long era, with Ed Chase as the public address announcer for Warrenton home games after 27 years. The Warriors will await the time and opponent for next week’s playoff game. ATHLETES OF THE WEEK BAYLEE McSWAIN Astoria ROBERT PIÑA-MORTON Knappa S ince 2014, Valley Catholic girls soccer had scored 68 goals in 11 meetings with Astoria — until the Lady Fishermen played the Cowapa League champi- on Valiants to a 0-0 tie Oct. 24 at CMH Field. McSwain, Astoria’s se- nior goalkeeper, played a huge role, stopping corner kicks and making saves. No. 00 on the roster made her biggest save with 1:40 left, stop- ping a breakaway by Valley’s Riley McGee. L Gary Henley/The Astorian Gary Henley/The Astorian eading the Knappa boys cross-coun- try team to their fi rst league title since 2005, Piña-Morton won his third consecutive individual league title by placing fi rst in the Northwest League meet, Oct. 24 in Vernonia. The senior won the 5,000-meter race in 17 minutes, .6 seconds, well ahead of Columbia Chris- tian’s Jared Doyle (18:15). Piña-Morton hopes to contend for a state meet title Nov. 9 in Eugene.