Mule hold Trojans 18-12; senior night this Friday

Thunder, lightning rain, mud and more mud greeted high school football teams as they played their games last Friday, but the Wahkiakum Mules made the best of it in gaining an 18-12 win over the Pe Ell Trojans.

"The field was a mess," said Mule Coach Eric Hansen. "Our backs ran hard, and our defense held them when we needed it.

"It was a big win."

The win leaves the Mules in a three way tie with Toutle Lake and Mossyrock for the second and third places in league standings. The top three teams advance to post-season playoffs. If the Mules win their last two games, Vancouver Christian at WHS this Friday and at Toutle Lake next week, they'll finish second in the standings. If they were to lose one, they'd likely finish in a tie and have to play a tie breaker.

Because of the potential for tie-breakers, league officials have advanced the dates for the final games; the Mules will play Thursday, November 1, at Toutle, not Friday, November 2, as originally scheduled. The winner should claim second place, Hansen said. If one of the teams finishes in a tie for third, the teams will have a tie breaker on Saturday, and the third place team will start the playoffs on Tuesday against the third place team from the Pacific League.

Alec Sealund scored on a 38-yard run in the first quarter to give the Mules a 6-0 lead over Pe Ell. He put the Mules up 12-0 with a 33-yard run in the second quarter.

Pe Ell came back with two big plays in the second quarter, a 70-yard screen pass and a 34-yard pass, and the first half ended in a 12-12 tie.

The Mules dominated the third quarter with 18 rushing plays and two passes. They went ahead 18-12 early in the fourth quarter on Blake Anderson's 12-yard run.

Pe Ell moved the ball to the Mules' 6-yard line, but the Mule defense forced the Trojans back and took over after Pe Ell failed on a fourth down with 11 yards to go.

The Mules had to punt, and Pe Ell took over near mid-field.

"After two plays, Bobby Helms intercepted their pass, and we ran out the clock,"

Sealund gained 151 yards on 13 runs; Anderson picked up 123 yards on 19 runs.

On defense, Bobby Ferguson made seven tackles with five assists; Ty Bain was 6/8; Michael Weiler 5/8, and Matt Willette 5/5.

The Mules host Vancouver Christian this Friday, 7 p.m., in their last home game of the season. The team will honor its seniors before the game.

Summary

Wahkiakum6606--18

Pe Ell01200--12

MulesTrojans

First downs107

Rushes/yards45/26538/77

Passes/yards3/5511/158

Total offense320238

Passes/complete/intercepted

7/3/021/11/1

Punts/avg.2/235/34

Penalties6/457/65

Fumbles/lost3/12/1