Mossyrock hands Mules a hard loss

The Wahkiakum Mule football season came to an end with a 50-20 loss to the Mossyrock Vikings last Thursday in Mossyrock.

"We didn't play very good team defense," Mule Coach Eric Hansen commented. "We didn't bounce back from the loss to Adna."

The Vikings took a 6-0 lead on a 22-yard run in at 3:51 of the first quarter.

The Mules bounced back, with Bryce McClain scoring on a 38-yard run at 1:36.

Mossyrock responded with a 52-yard touchdown pass play with one second left in the quarter; a two point conversion put the Vikings up 14-6 going into the second quarter.

The Mules responded with a scoring drive; quarterback Joel Fudge scored on a four-yard run at 9:24 of the second quarter to cut the margin to 14-12.

The Vikings responded with two scores to lead 28-12 at halftime.

They took control of the game in the third quarter, piling up 194 yards rushing and scoring twice. The Mules put together a drive, with McClain breaking loose for a 52-yard touchdown run. Fudge passed to Ryan Helms for the conversion, but the Vikings led 42-20 after three quarters. Mossyrock added another touchdown in the fourth.

The Mules finished with 258 yards rushing and 34 yards passing. Mossyrock had 439 yards on the ground.

"McClain ran really hard, and Fudge did a good job at quarterback," Hansen said. "Zach Pierce played a good game, and Ben Doumit and Stian Vik left everything they had on the field."

McClain finished with 158 yards on seven carries. Blake Anderson picked up 35 yards on 13 runs. Fudge completed four of 11 passes for 34 yards. Pierce caught two for 15 yards, and Zach Schneider and Tylor Russell caught one each.

Ty Bain led the defense with eight tackles and three assists. McClain had 6/1; cousins Stian Vik and Jeff Vik each had 5/3; Fudge was 5/2, Doumit 4/3, Anderson 2/4 and Schneider 3/1.

Mule senior players were Fudge, Anderson, Doumit and Stian Vik.

The Mules finished the season with a 5-5 overall record and 4-4 in Central League play, tied with Mossyrock and Pe Ell for fourth place. Adna, Napavine, and Toutle Lake all finished tied for first in league with 7-1 records; all were 8-2 overall. The top three teams starte postseason playoffs this week.