Despite trailing by several scores early in the C2BL contest against Toutle Lake, the Rainier Mountaineers (4-3) out-gunned the Fighting Ducks (2-5) in a 60-56 shootout victory.
Mountaineers head coach Andy Bartell was pleased to see his team bounce back from a 56-14 loss to Toledo from the previous week — adding he was thrilled to see the team’s mental toughness on display while facing adversity.
“It was a shoot out. We showed some real good resiliency throughout that game. At one point, we went down three scores, and it looked like we didn’t show up to play,” Bartell said. “It was a real good game for us. We showed some toughness and didn’t break down mentally.”
After trading scores to start off the contest, Bartell said Toutle Lake stopped Rainier’s offense while adding two scores of its own while the Mountaineers were on defense. Eventually, wide receiver Hunter Howell caught a “huge” touchdown to bring Rainier’s deficit to just eight points at halftime. Coming out of the half, Rainier’s offense turned the ball over on its first drive after the break, but quickly recovered behind senior running back Dorien Cano.
“In the second half, we decided we’d re-establish the run game. Dorien Cano had huge runs for us — ripping off gains of 10, 15 and eventually a huge gain of 50 or 60 yards to take the lead late in the third quarter,” Bartell said. “If you can run the football, dominate the line of scrimmage, you just feel like you’re going to stay in the football game.”
In addition to Cano’s big game, Bartell noted that quarterback Jake Meldrum threw and ran the ball tremendously in the road contest against the Fighting Ducks, adding that Howell had some big-time moments in the C2BL matchup, too. He also highlighted Jayden Alegarbes, who Bartell believes is the best kick returner in the league.
“Every time he touches the football in the return game, he has a chance to score,” Bartell said. “This was his third kick return this year, and he’s been caught twice inside the 10. He’s almost got five return touchdowns, and he’s a real threat back there every time he touches the ball.”
Bartell added that Blake Roberts was a force on the Mountaineers defensive line against Toutle Lake and that freshman Kaymen Larmen has stepped up for Rainier’s defense, too. He expects both athletes contributing for Rainier throughout the final weeks of the regular season and going forward into a crossover game and the postseason.
Up next, Rainier football will celebrate homecoming with a contest at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, against C2BL opponent Mossyrock (2-5). For Bartell and the Mountaineers, the contest is being treated like a playoff game.
“This is pretty much the winner takes the three seed, which gets you away from playing the one seed in the crossover game. It’s almost like the playoffs start now. That’s the message I gave the players after the game on Friday. We have to go get a win against Mossy and get that three seed, because it makes it a little bit gentler going into that crossover week,” Bartell said. “This is the start of the postseason for us. We get to be at home, and it’s our homecoming week. That always gets a little more excitement and energy going to go out and win that football game. It’s a big week over here at Rainier.”
