Ducks stop Mules in key contest

The Toutle Lake Ducks held on for a 20-7 win over the Wahkiakum Mules last Friday in a key contest for Central League football standings.

Behind the power running of Jeff Campbell, the Ducks built a 14-0 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Mules put together a touchdown drive to cut the margin to 14-7, but Toutle responded with another scoring drive to put the game away.

The winner sits in good position for one of the league's post-season playoff berths, Mule Coach Eric Hansen said. With four other teams in the hunt, the Mules won't be able to make mistakes against good teams.

"Now we're in a must win situation," Hansen said. "We didn't block well. We'll work on that."

The Ducks scored at 9:10 of the second quarter on a 58-yard pass play from Cody O'Connor to Campbell. The Mules stopped the conversion attempt, and the score stood 6-0 at halftime.

Toutle went up 14-0 at 3:35 of the third quarter on a one-yard Campbell run. They ran the conversion to lead 14-0.

The Mules responded with a scoring drive. Quarterback Joel Fudge punched the ball over the goal line at 7:05 of the fourth quarter, and Blake Anderson kicked the conversion to cut the Duck lead to 14-7.

The Ducks ground out another scoring drive to put the game away with a five-yard touchdown pass from O'Connor to Chris Foster at 1:00.

The Mules gained 169 yards rushing, with Anderson gaining 60, Bryce McClain 46, Fudge 43, and Zach Schneider 22. Fudge completed two of eight passes for 16 yards.

Toutle had 176 yards rushing, with Campbell gaining 68. The Ducks completed three of four passes for 63 yards.

The Mules host the Vancouver Christian Light this Friday, 7 p.m. The Light lost 27-16 to the Morton Huskies last Friday.

The Mules will host the Pe Ell Trojans October 3 in the Mule Homecoming Game.

Statistics

First downs Mules8Ducks 5

Rushes/yardsMules 49/169Ducks 37/176

Passes/yards Mules2/16Ducks 3/63

Total offenseMules 185 Ducks251

Punts/averageMules 2/39Ducks 4/28

Fumbles/lostMules 2/0Ducks 1/1

Penalties/lost Mules 1/5Ducks 2/15

Passes/complete/intercepted

8/2/04/3/0Rushing: Mules--Zach Schneider 5/17; Bryce McClain 13/36; Blake Anderson 17/56; Joel Fudge 14/39.

Passing: Mules--Fudge 8/2/0, 16 yds.

Receptions: Mules--Jordan Fritsch 1/7, Schneider 1/9.

Tackles/assists/sacks: Mules--Anderson 6/5; Mitch Moonen 1/5; Ty Bain 4/3; Schneider 2/9; Joel Fudge 5/4; McClain 2/3; Jeff Vik 3/1; Stian Vik 0/5.

Fumble recoveries: Mules--McClain, Fritsch.