Clatskanie remains perfect following win

Clatskanie High School's varsity football team is off to a perfect 5-0 start to its season following a 43-19 victory at Gaston last Friday. The Tigers opened the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown run by senior Daylon Gutierrez. After a 10-yard touchdown run by Gaston brought the score to 7-6 Tigers, the Greyhounds failed on their two-point conversion. A three-yard run by senior Lucas Andreasen extended the lead to 13-6 Tigers, but Engen's extra-point attempt was no good. Gaston would take the lead in the second quarter to bring the score to 19-13, but Andreasen received a 29-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Will Van Voorst to tie the score at 19. Engen would connect with the extra point, and the Tigers took a 20-19 lead into the locker room at halftime. Junior Michael Simpson had the only score of the second half with his 18-yard touchdown run, and Van Voorst and Engen would extend the score to 43-19 Tigers with a three-yard touchdown run each in the fourth quarter to bring the score to where it would remain.

The contest was dominated by the Tigers' ground game, as five of the team's six touchdown scores came via the rush. Van Voorst connected on eight of his 13 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, and Andreasen led all rushers with 123 yards and a touchdown. Andreasen's TD reception in the second was the only score through the air for the Tigers. On the defensive side of the ball, Van Voorst led the team in tackles with eight, followed by six apiece by Simpson and senior Ayden Blackshire. Simpson also intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble to lead the defense. Junior Brett James also hauled in an interception and freshman Chance Pellham had the team's other fumble recovery. “I was super proud of our kids,” said Head Coach Sean Gorley. “[We] went into a hostile environment and played a very physical team. Faced some adversity but didn’t flinch. Just played through it all. On O (offense), we did a great job of keeping them off balance. Attacking with multiple weapons, but Andreasen is still our work horse. In the first half, Gaston came out in an offense that we had not prepped for. They caught us out of position for sure. At half time, we were able to talk and make adjustments. In the second half, we shut them out. We forced four total turnovers in the second half to really take control. As a unit, the whole D (defense) dominated in the second half.”

The Tigers (5-0) are also 2-0 in league play. The team returns to Clatskanie Friday, Oct. 10 to take on Harrisburg (4-1) at 7 p.m. before going back on the road next Friday, Oct. 17 to take on Rockaway Beach's Neah-Kah-Nie (1-4) at 7 p.m.