Every so often, Lumberjacks do struggle. Especially, when they walk into a petrified forest.
Now, for those who don’t know. A petrified forest isn’t good for Lumberjacks, the wood is hard and there’s a very good chance it breaks the axe.
That’s what happened to RAL on Friday Night. Or at least that’s what it seemed like against a team that R.A. Long hasn’t been able to beat in at least two decades. Maybe even longer.
The Jacks walked onto the turf at Columbia River holding a 3-game win streak, looking to make it four. On a night that the Rapids honored both their Seniors and named their Homecoming Queen, the Rapids had a different plan.
Early on, the RAL offense was rolling. They got the ball to start the game and moved it downfield with ease, which resulted in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Jaxson Rivenes to Taijon Reagins at the 8:17 mark in the 1st quarter.
For the next 10 or so minutes in the contest, the Lumberjacks struggled against the Rapids’ Wing T offense. They would score twice using their run game before the Jacks scored again.
With over 9 minutes left to go til halftime, Rivenes connected with TraMayne Jenkins for 60 yards. That play was followed by a one-yard plunge by Rivenes to tie it up.
The run would again prove to be a problem, as Columbia River’s Ianello ran it in from 11 yards out. With the two-point conversion unsuccessful, the Rapids took a 6-point lead into halftime. From there, it would get worse for the Jacks defensively. The Rapids scored unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter.
As we went into the fourth quarter, the RAL defense finally got the stops they needed. To open up the quarter, the Jacks forced a punt and scored on the drive when Rivenes connected with Jenkins inside the red zone. They faked the PAT and converted on the two-point conversion, putting them down by 10. As we progressed through the fourth quarter, the Jacks defense got the stop again and again.
Rivenes and Co. got the ball back with 4:34 left to go, scoring on the drive with the connection to Devon Harris. That would then make it just a three-point game. It was a repeat for the RAL defense as they got yet another stop. The problem was there were 57 seconds left on the clock and the Lumberjacks exhausted all of their timeouts.
The attempt to put a winning drive together came up about a minute short.
“We needed to play better early on,” RAL Coach Jon Barker emphasized. “They didn’t do anything that we didn’t expect, we just couldn’t execute defensively. We missed some big tackles at their point of attack.”
When you score 28 points, you can win a lot of ball games. That is if you get some stops, which Barker acknowledged.
“Offensively, we still put up 28, that’s the goal every week, defensively we just gave up too many.”
That brings me back to the top. Lumberjacks are human and every so often they hit a petrified forest. As far as the Pirate Energy, it seems to still be alive as the Jacks move forward.
“We’ve bumped into a reef, we need to resettle and batten down the hatches. It’s rough seas from here on out, but the ship still sails.”
Rivenes finished the game 24-for-31 with 279 yards and 3 TDs through the air, as well as one touchdown on the ground. Jenkins had 13 receptions for 162 yards and one touchdown.
Next week, the Lumberjacks (3-2, 2-1) will head to Woodland (3-2, 3-0) to play at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 11th at Beaver Stadium. You can catch all the action on AM 1270 or 99.9 FM KEDO or online at kedoam.com.
BOX SCORE
At COLUMBIA RIVER
LUMBERJACKS 28, RAPIDS 31
R.A. Long 7 6 0 15— 28
Columbia River 7 12 12 0 — 31
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