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After all, both teams desperately needed their first 2A Evergreen Conference high school football victory to keep in the running for a potential playoff spot, and to put an end to a slide that dated back three games.
Led by a career night by sophomore Elijah Camacho, River Ridge snapped its three-game losing skid and earned its first EvCo victory in a 21-14 win over an injury-riddled Aberdeen squad Friday night at South Sound Stadium.
“Any win in our league on a Friday night is a great win,” Schultz said.
Camacho and junior Brad Wallace combined for 277 rushing yards and all three of the team’s touchdowns.
Camacho finished with 141 yards on 18 carries and scored the Hawks’ first two touchdowns on runs of 49 and 2 yards, but also came up with big blocks for Wallace, quarterback Colby Schultz and his older brother, Jeremy, in the running game.
“He’s so unselfish,” Schultz said of Elijah Camacho.
Wallace, still bothered with a high ankle sprain he suffered two weeks ago against Black Hills, had 136 yards on 15 carries and a 17-yard touchdown run with 7 minutes, 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Just minutes earlier, Wallace took a fake punt from his own end zone and ran for an apparent 105-yard touchdown, but it was called back because of a clipping penalty.
With far more players lined up in the box when Wallace was in the backfield during the first half, it opened up the running game for Elijah Camacho, who had five runs of 10 or more yards.
During a 59-yard scoring drive that put the Hawks up 14-7, Camacho had all of the Hawks’ yards, capped off by a 2-yard touchdown.
After starting the season 2-0, the Hawks (3-3 overall, 1-2 EvCo) hit a three-game slide with losses to Mark Morris (48-21), Black Hills (28-13), and Chehalis (48-29) that were marred by injuries to a number of starters.
But River Ridge is healthier now, as it looks ahead to matchups against Tumwater and North Thurston – both ranked in the Top 10 in the 2A state rankings.
The Hawks were missing three starters, but the injury tale is far worse for the youthful Bobcats (1-5, 0-4), who join Centralia as the two remaining EvCo teams still searching for their first win in conference play.
Aberdeen has endured a slew of injuries to many starters, and lost two more Friday – juniors Ashton Williamson (left knee) and Reilly Fairchild (right foot) during the first half.
Fairchild and Williamson were both transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital via ambulance during halftime after being evaluated by paramedics.
The team already was without quarterback Caleb Harris, who is still recovering from a cracked pelvis he sustained against North Thurston on Sept. 16, and senior running back Spencer Brooks, who had a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago.
River Ridge held a 7-0 halftime lead before Aberdeen scored on its first possession of the third quarter, but the point-after touchdown was blocked.
It was the Aberdeen’s first points in 31/2 games, stretching back to a 24-20 victory over Elma in Week 2.
The Hawks led 21-6 after Wallace’s 17-yard run in the fourth, but the Bobcats marched right back for a 3-yard touchdown run by Bryceson Talley and a successful two-point conversion that pulled the visitors within a touchdown with 1:46 remaining.
Talley finished with 117 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown.
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473
mwochnick@theolympian.com
