Balanced offensive attack leads Titans over Mountaineers

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The Pe Ell-Willapa Valley football team earned a spot in the crossovers this weekend with a 41-12 victory over Rainier on Tuesday.

Nate Fluke threw three touchdown passes in the first half, Cody Strozyk and Blake Howard ran in TDs in the second half, and Connor Keeton capped it off with a scoop-and-score.

“I was happy with the way the kids played,” PWV coach Nate Smith said. “We came out pretty good and fought hard.”

The Titans (6-4, 2-2 C2B North) were nearly perfectly balanced on offense, rushing for 185 yards and throwing for 180.

Fluke finished 10 for 17 with 180 yards, while Blake Howard led the rushing attack with 108 yards on 20 carries.

“Nate throws the ball well if he has time,” Smith said. “The offensive line did okay, and we ran the ball decent. We did well overall.”

Smith added that it wasn’t a perfect game for PWV, as they committed 16 penalties that cost them 110 yards.

It’ll be a quick turnaround for the Titans, as they’ll shift their attention to Kalama. The Chinooks will host PWV in a winner-to-state crossover game on Saturday at 4 p.m.

The Mountaineers finish their season 6-4 overall.