Paul Valencia shares his observations from Fridayโs Class 3A Greater St. Helens League football game.
Here is a salute to a couple of players who displayed great sportsmanship when it was needed the most Friday night at District Stadium.
It was early in the third quarter. The game, at that point, well, it was a runaway. Kelso was up 26-0.
To be fair, Prairie was driving. Still, anyone who watched the first half would tell you that it would have been a herculean effort to score four touchdowns in a half against Kelsoโs defense.
Was this game over at that point? No.
Was it winnable for Prairie at this point? Being honest. No. Not tonight. This was Kelsoโs game.
In all football games, there are times when there might be some extra pushing and shoving after a play. Certainly some trash talk. Sometimes, things can get out of hand.
This was that time.
A play ended. Flags all over the field. One was just a regular penalty. Another was for unsportsmanlike conduct. Players were yelling at one another. Coaches came out to separate a few.
It took a moment or two to sort out everything.
The ball was placed at the Kelso 24-yard line, and the game was ready to resume.
Prairie offensive lineman Jake Hylton lined up across Kelsoโs Dominic Kemp, preparing to battle like they had all night. But before the snap, Kemp extended his hand. Hylton accepted. The handshake at the line of scrimmage told everyone on the field that whatever just occurred is now over. Time to play football.
โI donโt want to play the game like that. I donโt want it. I donโt want it to be like that the last two quarters, fighting and stuff,โ Hylton said. โI just want to play hard.โ
Kemp recalled that the two battled hard against each other last season, as well. And he said it was a good matchup on this night, too. (In fact, it was a bloody battle, looking at the picture below.)
Showing respect to each other, even in the middle of the game, is how it should be, Kemp said.
โSportsmanship, the best thing to have in this game. You have sportsmanship, everybody loves you,โ Kemp said. โNo fights. Just a good game. You know, friendly. It matters.โ
There were no more issues after the handshake.
๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐ผโ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐ณ
Kelsoโs defense dominated from the start, holding Prairie to 44 yards of offense in the first half.
Kelsoโs offense was perfect in the half, as well. Four possessions, four touchdowns.
Quarterback Hunter Letteer had a rushing touchdown and three touchdown passes in the half. Kelso also executed the 2-minute offense, going 74 yards in 2:03 to score a touchdown with 5 seconds left in the half.
๐ก๐ผ ๐๐ต๐๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด
Prairie avoided the shutout with an 85-yard drive that saw 100 yards of receiving from Thor Stepina.
What?
Quarterback Braeden Slamp found Stepina for a 30-yard gain from the Prairie 15-yard line to the 45-yard line. The Falcons were penalized 15 yards back to the 30 on the next play. No problem. Slamp found Stepina for a 70-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.
Two Kelso defenders were closing in with the hopes of intercepting the pass. Instead, Slamp thread the needle between the two, Stepina caught it, and he was gone.
Prairie had a big crowd in its first home game of the season. It was Homecoming, too. The fans would have preferred a different outcome, but they were thrilled with the late touchdown.
๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
Prairie coach Mike Peck credited the opponent.
โKelso is always Kelso,โ he said, a nod to the teamโs discipline on defense and offense.
Still, Peck said he should have done a better job this week.
โItโs 100-percent on me as the head coach,โ Peck said of the performance. โIโve got to do a better job of getting them prepared to be in the position to be successful. I apologized to them.โ
