River Ridge can't hold on against Centralia, falls to 0-4

HIGH SCHOOLS: Looking for their first win, Hawks watch a late lead slip away in 28-20 loss

MEG WOCHNICK; The Olympian | • Published September 25, 2009

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LACEY - For the first time all season, the River Ridge Hawks were playing with a lead at halftime and for the majority of the second half.

But just when the Hawks’ offense went silent, Centralia’s took off.

The Tigers scored two quick touchdowns late in the fourth quarter on the way to a 28-20 Class 2A Evergreen Conference win over the Hawks on Thursday night at South Sound Stadium.

River Ridge had one last shot, but on third-and-long with the horn sounding, Centralia’s Easton Mastellar picked off Adam Walker’s pass to end the game.

The Hawks (0-4 overall, 0-2 EvCo) were less than four minutes away from their first win of the season.

Centralia quarterback Ryan LeDuc found Dominick Courcy in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with 3 minutes, 27 seconds left.

Centralia (2-2, 1-1) then recovered an onside kick and used four plays before fullback Zack Baldwin bulldozed his way into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown that increased the Tigers’ lead to 28-20.

The fourth quarter has proven to be the nemesis for River Ridge in its past three games. The Hawks have given up a combined 54 points in the fourth quarter against North Thurston, Tumwater, and now Centralia.

Just when it looked like Centralia was going to produce the go-ahead score with less than eight minutes left in the game, the Hawks’ defense came up with big stops.

Centralia had three incomplete passes by LeDuc inside the red zone, and his pass intended for Steven Hamilton on fourth-and-9 from the 12 was fumbled in the end zone and recovered by River Ridge’s Ken McDougall for a touchback. But the Hawks couldn’t muster anything offensively after that play, eventually punting the ball away.

The Hawks also were shut out offensively in the second half after a stellar first two quarters.

Centralia had more than double the time of possession, and River Ridge punted the ball four times in the second half.

River Ridge had strong momentum coming out of the locker room with the lead.

With 5.2 ticks left before halftime River Ridge quarterback Adam Walker found one of his favorite targets – Brad Wallace -- for a 25-yard touchdown, which gave River Ridge a 20-14 lead at the break.

One play before the touchdown, Walker went to Wallace, but he couldn’t hang on in the back of the end zone.

The very next play, however, Walker went right back to his freshman star receiver, who this time hauled in the pass for the go-ahead TD.

The Hawks had a whopping 303 yards of offense in the first half, including 236 on the ground. Marques Ford had 146 of those rushing yards, including a 75-yard touchdown run to give the Hawks a 6-0 lead with 10:56 left in the second quarter.

The second quarter was all about offense for both teams, as they scored a combined five touchdowns.

River Ridge took advantage of a Centralia miscue for its first score.

The Hawks recovered a fumble by Baldwin on the first play of the second quarter, and two plays later, Ford sprinted down the field for his 75-yard score.

Centralia got its two scores within four clock minutes. LeDuc scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 5:03 left in the second quarter to pull Centralia within 14-7.

On its next possession, running back Courcy, who rushed for 166 yards for the night, had three consecutive rushes of 9, 18, and 20 yards.

LeDuc capped the six-play drive with an 8-yard TD pass to James Green to tie the score at 14-14.

Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473

mwochnick@theolympian.com