It didn’t take Onalaska long to get rolling on Friday, as Rodrigo Rodriguez returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown to set the stage of a dominant 70-0 win over Rainier.
“I’m pleased with our effort tonight,” Onalaska coach Mazen Saade said. “I thought our kids came out very business-like, and that was important.”
Saade said that the focus this week was on the mental side of things, as he wanted the team to commit fewer penalties and have fewer turnovers.
The Loggers did well limiting both of those things, committing just five penalties and only losing one fumble, which was caused by a miscommunication on a snap.
“It was good to see us clean those things up,” Saade said.
With those aspects of the offense polished, the unit thrived in the first half.
After Rodriguez’s opening kickoff return, the Loggers scored four more touchdowns in the first, and they added three more in the second to take a 62-0 lead into halftime.
Saade gave credit to his offensive line, saying that each one – Nathan Preslicka, Steven Gomes, Justice Werner, Justin Jacoby, Will Zandell, Morgan Allen, and Ethan Thayer – played incredible.
“I was really pleased with how our offensive line played tonight,” Saade said. They came together and played as a unit.”
Once the younger players entered the game in the second half, the points slowed down, but Saade added that he was happy to see how hard they were working when they were on the field.
“We were very pleased with the entire program tonight,” Saade said.
Onalaska (3-1, 2-0 C2BL East) will return home next Friday to host Morton-White Pass, while Rainier (2-2, 1-1 C2BL East) will head to Winlock.
