State Football: Napavine returns to 2B championship, triumph over Asotin

RICHLAND — Jack Nelson summed it up eloquently.

“That’s not us,” the senior offensive lineman for the Napavine High School football team stated.

It was an unforgettable first half for the Tigers. Twelve penalties for 125 yards and an interception near the red zone. Yet they still were plus-two in the turnover margin and held an 8-0 halftime cushion.

Even when Napavine wasn’t playing its best, it was good enough.

“These guys have played in enough games to be more composed than that,” head coach Josh Fay said. “These guys have shown they can play through that.”

And when the Tigers needed to restock their championship mentality on Saturday night, they didn’t hesitate under the bright lights.

Two third quarter Colin Shields touchdowns and a critical fourth down stop powered third-seeded Napavine to a 23-8 triumph over second-seeded Asotin in the Class 2B semifinals at Fran Rish Stadium.

“It goes to show that we don’t quit,” Shields said. “Everyone out their on the field is going to keep going no matter what.”

For the fourth consecutive season, the Tigers (11-2) will play for a state title and for the third straight time, it will be against Okanogan.

Kick for the state title contest is slated for next Saturday at 11 a.m. at Husky Stadium.

“There’s not a lot of teams that are able to do that to get there four times,” Fay said. “A lot of people picked us to lose this game and I don’t think they like that. They’ve felt like they have something to prove for a long time.

“I don’t think they’re done.”

The biggest swing came in the final six minutes.

Asotin avoided the shutout with a 1-yard touchdown from quarterback Cody Ells and then it recovered the onside kick down 15.

At the moment, all the momentum was on the Panthers’ side. They faced 4th-and-3 with less than five minutes left in regulation.

Ells took a keeper to his left and was stopped short of the line to gain by Caleb Von Pressentin and Nelson.

“That was VP, I’m not taking any credit,” Nelson said. “We stayed within, we knew we were the better team.”

“We had a couple nice stunts and we let him get outside, just didn’t finish,” Fay added. “In that drive, we went back to some things we have done traditionally.”

Grady Wilson’s two-yard keeper cemented the victory. The Tigers greeted their coaching staff with euphoria in the locker room.

The senior class will end each of their seasons playing for a state championship.

“Week 2 when we played Life Christian, I knew this team could compete with those type of teams,” Nelson said. “We played them tough.”

Despite the penalties, Asotin (12-1) never took advantage, mainly due to the Tigers’ secondary.

Masen Jeg hauled in a pick and Karsen Denault went 45-yards to the house to put Napavine up by a score with 1 minute, 34 seconds left in the first half.

“He’s just in the right spot,” Fay said of Denault.

Shields took care of the scoring in the second half.

Fighting through an ankle injury sustained in the quarters versus Adna, the 6-foot do-it-all playmaker ran in a 16-yard sweep to double the Tigers’ margin and added an 11-yard TD pass from Wilson to cap the wire-to-wire win.

Shields tallied over 130 yards of total offense, including a 50-yard catch and run to set up his receiving score. He and Wilson each finished with 12 carries for over 70 yards.

Wilson tossed for 180 yards and Denault also finished with over total yards.

“Felt almost 100 percent coming in here,” Shields said. “I’m happy with myself, glad I bounced back, but really I’m just proud of the team.”

It will be a matchup seen plenty of times when Napavine and Okanogan meet for all the marbles. They have tussled over 10 times throughout their respective history.

And it is a matchup that seemingly always comes down to the wire.

“It all comes down to being prepared and fighting through adversity,” Shields said.