Tigers finish regular season undefeated

Clatskanie High School's varsity football team ended its regular season last Friday, beating Nestucca 18-6. Senior running back Lucas Andreasen led off the game's scoring with a 17-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Sophomore quarterback Will Van Voorst would extend the Tigers' lead with a four-yard rush in the third quarter. Clatskanie's 12-0 lead entering the fourth quarter was certainly uncharacteristic for a team that averaged over 42 points a game all season. Nestucca cut the lead in half with a six-yard run, but Van Voorst was able to stretch it back out to 12 with just over a minute to go with his touchdown run from the one-yard line. After the fourth failed post-touchdown conversion of the night, the Tigers were able to conclude their regular season with a perfect 9-0 record.

As has been the case all season, Van Voorst led the team through the air with 49 yards passing but threw one interception in the second quarter. Van Voorst made up for it on defense with an interception of his own with under a minute to go in the third quarter. Andreasen reached the century mark in rushing with an even 100 yards and a touchdown. Though not throwing for any, Van Voorst accounted for two of the three Tigers' touchdowns on the ground. The affair being a low-scoring one, Clatskanie's leading receiver was junior Michael Simpson, who hauled in 18 yards on two catches. Senior Russ Carver led the team in tackles with eight, and sophomore Sam Belgarde led team in tackles for a loss with two. Simpson also led the team in fumble recoveries with two. Following the victory, coach Sean Gorley said, "Friday night was a wet soupy mess. By far the wettest game we've had this year. [It] really made it tough to get the ball to our athletes out in space. The boys stuck together and were able to grind out another win. The team we played was good and very physical. We did a good job of matching their physicality. I felt we should've put up some more points, but with the bad footing and some costly penalties really held our offense back. Our defense, like all season stepped up and really set the tone for the game. Now we look to playoffs this Friday at home against Colton. Which is gonna be another athletic physical team. A good matchup for us but one that we're gonna have to play well to win.

Clatskanie (9-0) begins postseason play at home this Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. against the Colton Vikings (5-3).