The Prairie Falcons arrived by bus to their home game against the Tigers at District Stadium on the Battle Ground High School campus and returned to Prairie High School victorious after a 43-38 win on Friday, Sept. 20.
With the huge win, the Falcons now have a 26-25 lead in the all-time series between the two Battle Ground Public Schools high schools. After the win, one Prairie player joked it should be called the “Prairie School District.”
“This was a statement win for the team, for the program, for the community, for the school, everybody. It wasn’t just the team. It was the fans, the family, the band, everybody,” Prairie head coach Junior Miller said.
After being smacked by the Ridgefield Spudders, the Falcons beat Washougal and then found their identity before the massive rivalry game.
“They bought in. They showed it last week against Washougal,” Miller said. “Our coaches, I have to give credit to those guys, the game planning that they do. We spend hours watching film. The kids spend hours watching film, and they do a great job of putting it on the field during our practice session. So I have to hand it to the coaches and the players. I mean, I’m just here to celebrate with them after this.”
After a back-and-forth second half, the Tigers struck late to regain the lead 38-36, but not late enough. The Falcons methodically drove down field with consistent sideline plays as the Tigers secondary tried to not give up the deep shot near the hashes. But, junior quarterback Devin Vigue found junior wide receiver Jackson Kimball to seal the deal.
“We were trying to get the ball to the sidelines, get out of bounds, just march down the field,” Vigue said. “The last throw, we’ve been running this T-wheel the whole game — we got a huge touchdown on it — so then we run it again, and we have a post coming over the top. They bit all the way on the wheel. We got the post over the top. I threw the ball out there. He made a guy miss and got in the end zone.”
Throughout the second half, the Prairie special teams prevailed, blocking three extra point attempts and one field goal attempt. Had those kicks gone through the uprights, the score would have put the Tigers ahead, 44-43, proving how crucial special teams are in football.
Despite special teams’ blocking woes, the Tigers’ Bryland Fick still shined with two long kicks through the uprights, a 41-yard field goal and a 37-yard field goal.
On the night, Vigue threw for four touchdowns and rushed in another, and Battle Ground’s Ethan Adams did the same with four by air and one by ground.
Vigue believes the Falcons’ win will shift the program’s momentum after it found its identity of grit and hard work.
“We have been leading up the whole week just wanting to get this win so bad. It’s a great momentum shift into the whole league and everything, which is great,” Vigue said. “... We’re gonna outwork everyone, outwork the whole county.”
After the game, Battle Ground head coach Mike Woodward was unavailable for comment.
The Prairie Falcons next have a road meeting with Dallas High School in Oregon at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, before league play opens up at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, at home against the Mountain View Thunder.
The Battle Ground Tigers now venture out for a while, an entire month to be exact. Their next matchup will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, at McKay High School, in Salem, Oregon. They will return to Clark County at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 18, at Camas High School before their only other home game at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at Skyview High School.
