Braves play tough against 2A foe but come up short, 28-12

C.J. Edwards reeled off a 53-yard touchdown run, Ivory Damien delivered a 45-yard scoring strike to Tommy Murdock and the La Conner High School defense recovered five fumbles, but the Braves still fell 28-12 to Evergreen of Seattle in their grid opener at Whittaker Field Friday night.

The difference, even more than the Wolverines' 16-point margin of victory, was in roster depth.

Evergreen is a 2A King County program that rolls out 57 players. The 2B Braves, by contrast, suit up 20, two of them freshmen.

It was a quartet of Evergreen's team that did the most damage.

Ernie Tofi ran nine times for 101 yards, including a 36-yard TD burst that tied the score at 6-6 midway through the first period.

Quarterback Gabriel Fernandez scrambled six times for 54 yards, capping a seven-play, 57-yard second quarter scoring march with a nine-yard touchdown that pushed Evergreen's lead to double-digits at 16-6. Fernandez also completed two of five passes for 40 yards.

Miguel Savea, a bruising 240-pound running back, netted 88 yards on 11 attempts, one a 10-yard scoring scamper five minutes into the second half.

The Wolverines' Carter Morell rushed for 30 yards on just four carries, one of them a three-yard insurance TD run that gave Evergreen its largest edge at 28-6 with 5:28 to play.

The victors overcame their five turnovers and 95 yards in penalties by methodically wearing down La Conner, several of whose players suffered cramping on a night that began warm and muggy and ended cool and crisp.

"We showed a lot of hustle, heart and effort," Braves head coach Charlie Edwards said afterward. "We preach that constantly."

It was apparent from the get-go that the message has gotten through.

Kenai Zimmerman foiled Evergreen's opening drive with a fumble recovery at the Braves' 40. He would thwart a second Wolverines' possession by pouncing on another fumble.

Meanwhile, C.J. Edwards got the hosts on the board first with a quick hitter between the tackles from just shy of midfield less than four minutes into the contest. Edwards paced La Conner's ground attack by running 13 times for 79 yards. He also matched Zimmerman with a pair of fumble recoveries, the first came on a first half goal-line stand.

Oscar Soto likewise recovered a Wolverines' cough-up, doing so at the La Conner 30 just prior to intermission.

Clinging to a slim 8-6 advantage coming out of the break, Evergreen asserted itself in the third quarter. The visitors scored touchdowns on successive possessions, building a comfortable 22-6 lead.

With La Conner down 28-6 in the late going, Damien took advantage of single coverage by firing a deep spiral to state hurdles champion Tommy Murdock, who had gotten open behind the Evergreen secondary.

Damien finished with five completions out of 10 attempts for 106 yards. In addition to the long TD, he also found freshman wideout Jimbo Bobb on a 34-yard pass-run play and receiver Logan Burks twice for 22 yards.

La Conner looks to even its season slate tomorrow (Thursday) with a key NW2B home test with Friday Harbor. Kickoff is at 5 p.m.