It was only for about 40 plays, but the W.F West football team returned to the field for the first time since its semifinal loss, playing at a jamboree in Kelso on Friday. Joining the Bearcats were the Skyview Storm, the Woodland Beavers and the host Kelso Hilanders.
“It’s great getting out here and having our guys get to play and compete finally against somebody other than themselves,” W.F. West coach Dan Hill said after the jamboree. “It’s just a lot of fun to get football started again.”
The Bearcats began facing off against the Storm, with Gage Brumfield leading the offense out to start.
After a few plays at quarterback, Brumfield moved out wide, where he was an all-area player last fall. Carson White stepped in at quarterback, and even took a shot to Brumfield down the sideline, but it was batted down by a Skyview defensive back.
“It’s all about building depth and getting guys reps,” Hill said, noting that White will likely get snaps at QB throughout the season. “We’ll have packages going forward where we get Gage back out there and throw him the ball a little bit and take advantage of his skillset.”
The Bearcats didn’t score in their set against Skyview, first going four-and-out before recording two first downs.
When the Storm offense took the field, they scored in five plays, the touchdown being a long screen to the running back that broke free. They would have scored again on a fourth-and-2 from the 15, but White jumped the route and batted the ball down at the goal line.
The defense took the field first against Woodland, and while it allowed two first downs and committed a pre-snap penalty, they benefited from an airmailed snap that pushed the Beavers back. They eventually held them to a field goal.
Hill was impressed with his defense, noting that they were able to get in and out of different fronts smoothly, and he commended his players for their communication and coverage on the back end.
“I think there was only one or two alignment mistakes, so that was nice to see,” Hill said. “We just gave up one big play against Skyview there in the first scrimmage and other than that I thought our defense was pretty outstanding.”
The Bearcats seemed to save the best for last offensively. After another four-and-out, the Bearcats marched down to score their first touchdown of the day, a 3-yard touchdown run by Declan McDonald.
White made the most of the final two plays, first scrambling and hitting Anthony Isenhower for an 18-yard gain and then connecting with Brumfield on a 22-yard touchdown on the final play of the day.
“We’re just getting a few things started there,” Hill said with a smile.
Hill was pleased with the team’s overall energy and hustle, and he added that they did well tackling. While there were a few mental mistakes on both sides of the ball, he said those will be whittled down as the season goes on.
The Bearcats open their season on Sep. 1 at home against Ridgefield, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
