And the Wolves know one thing after their convincing 24-0 victory over Aberdeen on Friday night – they hold the top spot in the standings.
And when you get on a roll – Black Hills has won three games in a row after opening losses to Montesano and Shelton – sometimes you roll the dice. Coach Jack Zilla did just that, going for it on fourth-and-goal early, and that led to the Wolves’ first touchdown.
Josh Freeto connected with Colin Bushell on an 8-yard scoring strike on fourth down to give the Wolves a 6-0 lead with 2:13 to go in the first quarter.
Freeto tossed another touchdown pass, this time a 9-yarder to Marquis Wall, late in the first half – and capped a great night with a 31-yard scoring scamper with 3:15 remaining in the game.
Black Hills has a half-game EvCo lead over defending Class 2A state champ Tumwater, which was idle Friday.
“The EvCo is the toughest 2A conference in the state,” Zilla said. “You don’t know how long first place will last.”
North Thurston 42, at Centralia 0: The Rams capped a near-perfect first half with a double-reverse touchdown pass, and easily defeated the Tigers in an EvCo League game.
The pass ended up in the arms of Ande Grantham for a 44-yard score to give North Thurston a 35-0 lead with 1:10 remaining before halftime. Grantham added a 37-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.
At Shelton 47, Stadium 31: It was a night Ralph Kinne will not soon forget as the Highclimbers’ top running back rushed for a school-record 358 of the team’s 374 yards, and the Highclimbers came from behind to defeat the Tigers in a Narrows League 4A game.
Kinne’s 1-yard touchdown scamper with 1:26 to go in the first half gave Shelton the lead for good, 20-14. He opened the second half with a 93-yard kickoff return for a score and totaled 451 all-purpose yards.
Elma 35, at Rainier 14: Two second-half turnovers led to touchdowns for the Eagles, and Elma notched a Southwest Washington 1A road victory.
Tate Shelton’s 10-yard scoring run came off a Rainier fumble to start the second half, and Todd Swinhart later returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 35-7 lead.
Capital 29, at Yelm 6: Once again, Capital started two freshmen in the backfield and got big results. Freshman Connor Kennedy ran for 103 yards on 16 carries, as the Cougars rolled to their 3A Narrows opening win. Sophomore quarterback Derrick Becker had his best output of the season throwing for 153 yards on 8-of-17 completions and touchdowns to three different receivers.
“We had been waiting for that to happen,” Capital coach J.D. Johnson said of his team’s passing attack.
Johnson also praised the team’s defense, not allowing Yelm to get much offensively.
Timberline 36, at Wilson 14: The Blazers picked up their first win of 2011 to improve to 1-0 in 3A Narrows play and 1-4 overall.
Leading 18-12, Jordan Thompson’s kickoff return for a touchdown at the end of the third quarter gave the Blazers momentum.
“That put the lid on the coffin for us a bit,” Blazers coach Nick Mullen said. “We had just scored on defense.”
