NAPAVINE — Forks wrapped its Central 2B League football regular season with a rain-soaked 54-10 loss to the undefeated league champion Napavine Tigers on Thursday.
The Spartans couldn’t contain the Tigers’ screen passing game, as five of Napavine quarterback Grady Wilson’s six completions went for touchdowns, including three to Karsen Denault.
“They hit us with screens, really, that was what hurt us,” Forks coach Trevor Highfield said.
Denault finished with 124 yards on his three touchdowns, while Colin Shields also hauled in a 55-yard touchdown and Caleb Von Pressentin had a 36-yard touchdown grab. Von Pressentin also added 71 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
“The Denault kid, if there is a better receiver in Class 2B I haven’t seen them,” Highfield said. “That’s an NCAA Division I athlete. He’s quite the player, he’ll probably end up as our league MVP.”
Highfield played for the University of Washington and coached athletes at Louisburg College who would go on to play at division I schools.
Wilson finished with 220 passing yards, 71 rushing yards, and six total touchdowns.
Forks managed 118 yards of total offense. Noah Foster had a 17-yard reception on the Spartans’ longest play from scrimmage from sophomore quarterback Bubba Hernandez-Stansbury that set up Forks’ touchdown.
“We got a safety against their first-team offense and ended up hitting them on an RPO against their first-team defense to get down to their 2-yard line,” Highfield said.
Forks fumbled inside the 5-yard line, but Gage Willenbrink was there to pounce on the fumble and get into the end zone.
“I’m proud of our guys, we played through until it said 0:00 on the clock,” Highfield said. “The refs came and complimented our guys as well for their sportsmanship.”
Forks (3-6) will face Toledo (7-1) in a Class 2B Southwest District crossover playoff on Nov. 8 or 9.
Class 2B is the only classification that did not adopt the Round of 32-winner to state format this season.
Highfield said he expects that game will be played on a turf field, likely at Kalama.
Napavine 54, Forks 10
Forks 0 0 0 10— 10
Napavine 14 20 13 7— 54
First Quarter
Nap — Grady Wilson 55-yard pass to Karsen Denault (Two-point good)
Nap — Grady Wilson 13-yard pass to Karsen Denault (Two-point good)
Second Quarter
Nap — Grady Wilson 55-yard pass to Colin Shields (PAT good)
Nap — Caleb Von Pressentin 5-yard rush (PAT failed)
Nap — Grady Wilson 1-yard rush (PAT good)
Third Quarter
Nap — Colin Shields 1-yard run (PAT good)
Nap — Grady Wilson 36-yard pass to Caleb Von Pressentin (PAT failed)
Fourth Quarter
Nap — Grady Wilson 56-yard pass to Karsen Denault (PAT good)
Forks — Gage Willenbrink fumble recovery TD (Two-point good)
Forks — Safety
Individual Stats
Rushing— Forks: Kaden Ward 5-33, Emmanuel Hernandez-Stansbury 7-13, Karson Steffen 4-9; Landen Olson 5-5, Kade Highfield 5-3; Nap — Caleb Von Pressentin 9-71/TD, Grady Wilson 10-51.
Passing —F: Hernandez-Stansbury 3-4-60-INT; Nap — Grady Wilson 6-8-220-5 TDs
Receiving— Forks: Noah Foster 1-37, Barajas 1-10, Gage Willenbrink 1-6; Nap: — Karsen Denault 3-124-3 TDs, Colin Shields 1-55, Caleb Von Pressentin 1-36.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladailynews.com.
