I was able to answer my age-old question: “Can I make it to catch a glimpse of three different football games in one night?”
The answer is “yes.” However, finding a parking spot mid-game was practically a sport within itself.
On Friday, Sept. 25, I caught the first quarter of Woodland hosting 2A powerhouse Tumwater High School, the closing minutes of the first half of Ridgefield at Hockinson High School and the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter of Battle Ground hosting Skyview High School at District Stadium.
To witness three different high school football atmospheres on the same night was tremendous. Even if the three games I visited did not go in the favor of the home team, the hometown pride and student section spirit was on full display. The Battle Ground Tigers happened to have the smallest student section between Woodland, Hockinson, and even Ridgefield and Skyview as away teams, making this 2020 Battle Ground High School graduate a little concerned for his alma mater’s school spirit.
In game one, the Woodland Beavers lost 47-7 to the Tumwater Thunderbirds. In game two, the Ridgefield Spudders picked up their first win of the season 27-7 over the Hockinson Hawks. In game three, the Battle Ground Tigers were punched 35-0 by the Skyview Storm.
The one constant for the night was the nearly full moon in view from each football field. The Harvest Moon was out in full force as no cloud cover or fog obstructed any night sky at the three football venues.
The major glaring factor into week four football: it’s practically the halfway point in a nine-week season.
For the 2A Greater St. Helens League season, come week four, games should be impactful league matchups. For the Ridgefield Spudders, their league record should be 1-1. But it's not. The league record is 0-0. A week three loss to the Washougal Panthers and a week four win against the Hawks in reality mean nothing.
After the Evergreen Conference backed out of a league merger with the 2A GSHL, the 2A GSHL’s season was left in shambles. Historically, league matchups occurred week three through nine for the 2A GSHL. But after drafting up divisions with the combination of four 2A EvCO teams stepping in, and then stepping out, the 2A GSHL decided that matchups between the now north 2A GSHL and the south 2A GSHL are not league games, leaving coverage zone schools Ridgefield and Woodland to play league games with Mark Morris and R.A. Long. However, R.A. Long has now backed out of their varsity season and is asking for Friday night junior varsity games against their opponents. For Hockinson, they’re the lone coverage zone team in the south division against Columbia River, Hudson’s Bay and Washougal.
The Ridgefield Spudders, now 1-3 on the season, host Columbia River High School on Friday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. while the Hockinson Hawks, now 2-2 on the season, travel north to Tumwater to play Black Hills High School on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.
In what was planned to be a league game with the merger, Tumwater traveling south to Woodland turned into a nonleague game perhaps the Beavers could live without — a gutcheck loss of 47-7 in week four.
The Woodland Beavers, now 2-2 on the season, again host a 2A EvCO team as Aberdeen High School travels to Beaver Stadium for a 7 p.m. gridiron affair on Oct. 2.
However, games against Tumwater and W.F. West of Chehalis can be used as a test to see how the 2A GSHL teams match up against top competition in the classification.
For the 4A GSHL, the league of four will face each other twice this season as later-season non-league games became increasingly harder to come across without having to have hours worth of travel distance.
For Battle Ground, a 35-0 loss to Skyview could have been a different game, as it was just 6-0 at halftime. The Tigers were unable to capitalize on two goal-to-go situations, and an early fourth quarter drop of a possible touchdown pass was followed by an immediate Skyview dagger with a pick-six to make it 28-0.
The Tigers, now 3-1 on the season, will have their second opportunity against the Skyview Storm at Kiggins Bowl on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.
Battle Ground faces another big test in part one of two games against the Camas Papermakers on Friday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. at District Stadium, with matchup No. 2 on the road at Doc Harris Stadium on Halloween Eve.
Elsewhere across the coverage zone, the Prairie Falcons have yet to find themselves in the win column after a 40-0 loss to Kelso High School. The Falcons continue to have an uphill battle as Prairie next hosts the 3-1 Evergreen Plainsmen at District Stadium on Oct. 2 at 4 p.m. ahead of Battle Ground versus Camas.
The La Center Wildcats scheduled a test just 3.5 miles from the Canadian border against Lynden Christian High School on Saturday, Sept. 26, resulting in a 24-0 loss for the Wildcats. La Center, now 3-1 on the season, will look to bounce back against King’s Way Christian High School at home on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.
