Bulldogs corral Mules; Pirates here Friday

The Wahkiakum Mule football team opened the 2019 season with a 54-21 loss to the Colfax Bulldogs last Friday.

The game was part of a double header featuring the Napavine Tigers and Liberty Lancers. The teams met last year at the Mule Stadium in Cathlamet.

And what a difference a year makes. Only two of the Mules had played in last year's victory over Colfax. The Mules have just two seniors, and most of last year's mainstays on the line and in the backfield are gone.

The host Bulldogs piled up 35 points in the first quarter for a 35-7 lead; they boosted that to 48-14 at halftime and both teams finished scoring in the third quarter for the final 54-21 score.

Freshman Dominic Curl put the Mules on the scoreboard with a 70-yard run at 1:45 of the first quarter. Junior quarterback Kaden Anderson connected with Chance Cothren, also a junior, on a 55-yard touchdown pass play in the second quarter, and Anderson passed to junior Braxton Johns for an 11-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Curl gained 87 yards on eight carries; Cothren had 46 yards on seven runs, and Johns picked up 42 yards on 12 carries. Anderson completed five of 11 passes, with one interception, for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Johns and Jake Leitz each caught two passes; Cothren caught one.

On defense, KC Beery led with six tackles; Leitz, Johns, Cothren and Zachary Brandon all had four; Dominic Curl, Eli Moon and Hank Bassi all had four; Gabe Moon and Jerimyah Johnson three apiece, Chase Heagy, Beau Rose and Zayne Meneou each had two, and Damion Curl had one. Cothren intercepted a Bulldog pass.

The Mules gained 187 yards on the ground and 111 in the air. Colfax had 122 yards on the ground and 158 in the air.

The Mules entertain the Adna Pirates this Friday, 7 p.m. Adna opened the season with a 33-6 non-league win over Pe Ell/Willapa Valley last Friday.