Eagles eliminate Evergreen and Prairie; will play at Bellevue Saturday
CAMAS — The Hudson’s Bay Eagles are going to the football playoffs for the first time since 2001.
For all the Eagles and their fans, might want to read that sentence again.
It’s true. Bay football is playoff-bound after surviving a three-team tiebreaker Monday night at Doc Harris Stadium to claim the third seed from the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League.
Brian Perez found Quadrese Teague on an 11-yard touchdown pass on Bay’s first possession against Prairie. The Falcons responded with a field goal on their possession.
In this format, both teams were assured of at least two possessions. The Prairie defense stopped Bay, but then the Bay defense got the job done to win the tiebreaker.
Sir Barnes got to the Prairie quarterback, hitting him hard as he released the ball, and Bay’s Seth Fox was there for the interception, setting off a celebration 16 years in the making.
“I just wanted to change history,” Barnes said. “I wanted to (play) as hard as I could until my heart couldn’t take it no more. It feels amazing that I could help the seniors and my brothers make it even farther. We want to be kings of the south.”
Bay scored on the first possession, going 40 yards on four plays.
“All we did was fake left and throw to the right. I trusted Quad with it,” Perez said. “He was wide open and scored. Great feeling.”
Perez said it’s “just really special” to get this win. The Eagles lost a heartbreaker Friday night on the last play of the game. A win there would have made this tiebreaker unnecessary. Instead, the Eagles had to rebound in just a couple days.
“We never lost hope,” Perez said. “We knew this day would come.”
Hudson’s Bay coach Ray Lions, in his first year as the head coach, credited the past three seasons of Eagles who paved the way for this one.
“It says a lot about our program, of what we did this year, continuing the success built in the past,” Lions said. “What’s inspiring to me is seeing alumni take pride in Hudson’s Bay again.”
Prairie advanced to the “finals” of the tiebreaker by beating Evergreen 7-0 in the first mini-game of the night.
Aaron Brumley had a 5-yard touchdown run on the second possession. The Prairie defense got an interception and a loss of downs against Evergreen’s offense.
Hudson’s Bay (6-3 overall) will travel to take on Bellevue in a state preliminary round playoff game. Kickoff is 7 p.m. Saturday at Bellevue High School.
Evergreen finished with a 4-5 record after going 2-3 in league play. Prairie recorded a 3-6 record with the 2-3 mark in league play.
