King’s Way Christian Knights thrilled for coach’s first win
ClarkCountyToday.com reporter Paul Valencia takes a look back at Week 2’s football action and a glance ahead at the Week 3 schedule in his weekly reports of Clark County’s high school teams.
Today, the Class 1A Trico League teams are featured. The Class 4A, 3A and 2A Greater St. Helens League team notes have were published previously.
King’s Way Knights • La Center Wildcats • Seton Catholic Cougars
King’s Way Christian Knights (1-1)
Week 2: King’s Way Christian 35, Tenino 12
Next: Bellevue Christian at King’s Way Christian, 6 p.m. Friday
It was more than just any win for the King’s Way Christian football team.
It was a first for their new coach.
“It feels really good, to be honest,” Brian Rodriguez said. “Being a new head coach and being at King’s Way and the situation we’ve been in, it’s a great testament to the staff that I have next to me. It was great to see how we got better from Week 1, as a staff, and then to the kids.”
Rodriguez is the fourth head coach in the past four seasons at King’s Way. He has said he wants to be there long-term. His players believe in him, as well
“They were ecstatic. The kids were super excited,” Rodriguez said. “We wanted to be respectful on the field for Tenino. Once we got in the locker room, they were dancing and hollering. I wanted them to soak in that win. But they were super excited for me.”
The celebration was just starting.
“A lot of parents were saying congratulations. A lot of people from King’s Way, who were following the game on Twitter, were texting me. The community at King’s Way was excited, as well. That made me feel even more special.”
Rodriguez credited the team’s defensive play for its turnaround from the first week when it allowed more than 400 yards of offense.
“They really, really prepared this week. Totally changed. We wanted to be physical this week,” Rodriguez said.
The Knights shut out Tenino for three quarters.
“If you stop the team and give the offense good field position, good things can happen,” Rodriguez said.
Gage Koenders and Kemper Shrock led the offense. Koenders rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns, and Shrock was 15 for 18 for 151 yards through the air with three TD passes.
King’s Way Christian now will look to get their new coach a winning streak. The Knights host Bellevue Christian on Friday.
La Center Wildcats (0-2)
Week 2: Woodland 40, La Center 20
Next: at Hoquiam, 7 p.m. Friday
OK, it was a loss. A second loss of the season for the La Center Wildcats. But they certainly do not feel defeated.
“We got a lot better. Oh my goodness. It was night and day,” La Center coach John Lambert said, comparing his squad from Week 1 to Week 2. “They understand what we’re supposed to do, who we are. You could feel it. You could see it. They’re working really hard to get better.”
It was a six-point game at the half. La Center would end up scoring three touchdowns against a quality 2A opponent.
“I was pleased,” Lambert said. “We had the same kind of breakdowns on defense. That’s OK, though. Totally fixable things. Not too bad.”
For the second week in a row, Wyatt Dodson stood out the most on defense when Lambert watched video of the game. “He’s everywhere, making all the tackles.”
Another standout was Sam Granneman.
“We asked our defensive line to do some things. He did,” Lambert said.
On offense, the coach saluted all of his linemen.
“The offensive line has improved so much as a group since June. It was pretty ugly in June,” the coach acknowledged. “They really put it upon themselves to improve. It showed in our blocking, both running and passing. It takes time. They’re working, and they’re getting better.”
Seton Catholic Cougars (1-1)
Week 2: Charles Wright Academy 7, Seton Catholic 6
Next: Riverside (Ore.) at Seton Catholic, 1 p.m. Saturday
It goes down as a loss, but it also might go down as one of the best defensive games in the short history of Seton Catholic football.
The Cougars allowed one touchdown, and that came only after the offense turned the ball over, giving Charles Wright Academy a first down in the red zone.
The rest of the night was all Seton Catholic defense.
There was a 3-and-out to set the tone on the first series of the game.
The next series, Ian Campbell chased down the quarterback for a fourth-down sack, also in the red zone.
On the next series, Campbell was at it again, sacking the quarterback to put CWA in a passing situation. Next play, I believe it was Mikey Silveira Jr. with the interception. (Hard to see on the video. Believe it was No. 8.)
The big highlight on offense came on Silveira’s touchdown run. He broke four tackles on the 12-yard carry to make it 7-6 in the first half.
Both defenses ruled from there.
