ADNA — Naillon Ramirez summed it up eloquently.
“There’s a difference between being injured and being hurt,” the junior running back for the Adna High School football team stated.
Nicks and bruises are unavoidable, especially with the brand of football the Pirates play. Still, there was a small stretch where some key contributors missed time.
Beau Miller was out for a couple weeks and is donning a boot currently. Grayson Humphrey was out a handful of games. When Adna lost to Tenino early in the season 28-6, it wasn’t even close to its full complement of weapons.
“We had a lot of work to do during that time frame,” Pirates head coach Aaron Cochran said. “They had to rise to that occasion. It was tough, but the kids responded.”
Now, healthier and motivated to go one step farther in the Class 2B state tournament, the seventh-seeded Pirates are riding the underdog mentality once again when they take on No. 2 seed and unbeaten Newport in the quarterfinals.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Roos Field, the famous red turf on the campus of Eastern Washington University, in Cheney. The game was originally scheduled to be in Newport, but a change of venue was finalized early in the week.
An added bonus for a pair of state semifinal hopefuls.
“That is pretty sweet,” Miller said.
Fresh off a 2,000-yard sophomore campaign, Miller was more than ready to shoulder another heavy workload in the backfield. A foot injury prevented him from playing the entire regular season, but he dashed his way to 255 yards on 31 carries and four scores last week.
Over the last four games, the junior has scored multiple TDs three times and eclipsed the century mark on the ground in each one.
“Try not to think about it,” Miller said.
Ramirez was a running back his freshman season, but played him elsewhere last fall before shifting him back to RB this season. He admitted there wasn’t much of a conversation between him and the staff.
And he didn’t mind.
“I love tailback, but he could put me anywhere and I’d be fine,” Ramirez added. “I’m grateful they trusted me.”
Those two are just the starting point for the multiple weapons Adna has at its disposal. Humphrey has been an impactful target, so too has Kannen Kephart in the receiving and return game. Tight end Oryn Nelson has gotten in the mix a few times.
Cochran avoids comparisons from year-to-year teams. He did say this version of Adna is a resilient bunch, saddled with a 1-2 start that has progressed into a top-eight seed in the classification.
“We can get the ball to a lot of different guys,” Cochran added. “The kids are starting to grasp things.”
The Pirates’ skill position players might have their hands full versus Newport.
The Grizzlies Round of 16 win over Rainier was their first completed game since Oct. 24. They picked up a forfeit over Chewelah in Week 9 and didn’t have a crossover the following week. They have not given up more than 10 points since a Week 6 victory over Freeman.
An apples-to-oranges comparison Cochran used was centered around two local teams.
“It is Onalaska kids running Toledo’s offense,” he said. “Just tough, they want to run it all over your face. We’ll have to play our best game of the year.”
Kutter Driver scored three touchdowns last week while Jacob Reimers had two of Newport’s four interceptions. The Grizzlies have seven of their o-linemen weighing at least 200 pounds plus they only have four seniors.
The majority of this team lost to Onalaska in the Round of 16 last fall.
“If everyone comes and is focused, we'll be perfectly fine,” Ramirez said.
The Pirates, with the higher seed attached, struggled early before finding a groove last week. With them five spots lower, the blue collar style as their bread-and-butter, they are ready to thrive as an underdog.
“We’ll just see what comes from that,” Ramirez said.
