FORKS — Montesano came to Forks seeking to avenge last year’s last-second 14-12 loss on the Spartans’ sparse home turf and came away with a sting-relieving 26-6 victory in Evergreen League play.
“This was such a big game and the kids were a little bit nervous beforehand,” Forks coach Mark Feasel said after Friday’s game. “We were a little bit flat starting out.”
Anthony Louthan found half of the pay dirt for Montesano on the evening, taking seven touches and turning them into two touchdowns on just 26 yards of total rushing.
However, teammate Tanner Birdsall continuously did the heavy lifting, carrying the ball twenty times for 114 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
Feasel noted the drastic difference in team experience when searching for a difference in the game.
“They’ve got 25 seniors and juniors and we have five who can play. They have 12 senior lineman and we have zero. It’s just a numbers game,” Feasel said.
Despite its success on the ground, Montesano was plagued all game long by the symbiotic penalty and fumble bugs.
For the game, the Bulldogs accumulated 10 penalties for 80 yards and coughed the ball up three times, losing possession all three times.
Those loose footballs and the dirty yellow laundry that littered the field allowed Forks to hang tough into the fourth quarter as the Spartans faced just a 14-0 deficit when the final frame began.
A 66-yard rushing touchdown from Birdsall at the beginning of the fourth quarter did away with most of the remaining doubt, however, and Louthan punched in his third score of the night on the Bulldogs’ following possession.
Birdsall set up another score at the beginning of the fourth quarter by dashing 66 yards to the Forks 6-yard line before being caught from behind by Spartans cornerback Javier Contreras. A 6-yard rushing touchdown from Louthan on the next play put away any lingering doubt in the air.
On the other side of the line, the Spartans’ offense came only in fits and starts, with the hefty Miguel Morales shouldering a heavy load for Forks.
The Spartans had two offensive drives end with interceptions and lost one fumble on the evening as they were consistently unable to win the field position battle versus the Bulldogs.
“On three of the drives we gave them a short field, and that doesn’t help at all,” Feasel said.
Morales finished the evening with 82 yards rushing and a touchdown on 16 carries. He was buffered by his fleet-footed quarterback, Javier Contreras, who bolted for 84 yards on 13 scampers.
Dimitri Sampson, the third head of the Spartans three-headed backfield beast went down in the fourth quarter with a broken ring finger. Sampson’s status going forward was not known immediately after the game.
“With our senior backfield that we have we tried to come out and establish the running game, but in order to do that you’ve got to get some first downs,” Feasel said.
“Our three seniors are irreplaceable.”
Feasel also singled out junior lineman Tristan Tumaua for a great game in the trenches, saying, “That’s the best game I’ve ever seen him play.”
Forks (0-1, 1-2) travels to Rochester (1-0, 1-2) on Friday for the first part of the 2A portion of its league schedule.
Motesano 26, Forks 6
Montesano 7 7 0 12— 26
Forks 0 0 0 6— 6
First Quarter
M—Louthan 6 run (kick good)
Second Quarter
M—Birdsall 6 run (kick good)
Fourth Quarter
M—Louthan 6 run (PAT failed)
M—Birdsall 3 run (PAT failed)
F—Morales 2 run (PAT failed)
Individual Stats
Rushing— M: Birdsall 20-114, Louthan 7-26, Herzog 7-43. F: Contreras 13-84, Morales 16-82, Sampson 6-13.
Passing—M: 4-8, 54. F: Contreras 2-9-2, 20.
Receiving—M: Birdsall 1-20, Hopsecger 3-17. F: Moody 1-12, Sampson 1-8.
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Jordan Nailon is a freelance outdoors and sports writer.
