The Rainier High School football team was as hot as any team in the 2B East/West League heading into its home finale against Wahkiakum on Friday, Oct. 20. But the Mules snapped the Mountaineers’ four-game winning streak and derailed their shot at a league title in their 21-12 win.
“It was probably the worst game we’ve played all year,” head coach Andy Bartell said. “A couple of things didn’t bounce our way, and it was just a bad game all around for us.”
The Mountaineers (5-3, 3-1 2B East/West) had a bevy of special teams errors that plagued them throughout the game, including a muffed punt, a muffed onside kick and a blocked punt. Quarterback Jake Meldrum threw an interception in the red zone in the first quarter, and the Mountaineers turned the ball over on downs after a long return by Jayden Alegarbes set them up at the Wahkiakum 8-yard line. Rainier also committed nine penalties, including four 15-yarders. It was a vastly different outcome from its four-game win streak in which the offense averaged 53.5 points per game.
“All those little things, those negative things get on your guys, and they just get deflated. The momentum shifted, and [Wahkiakum] did a good job,” Bartell said. “We let them get under our skin, and we had no mental toughness.”
On a night where the Mountaineers honored their seniors in their final home game, the team fell short of a chance to send its seniors off with a league title. Despite the loss, Bartell said the team still has much to play for ahead of its regular season finale at North Beach on Thursday, Oct. 26.
“We’re still alive. We get to go play a crossover, and we’re probably going to be the No. 2 seed if we take care of business [this] week,” Bartell said. “We always have to look at the positives. We still have a game to try to get in. We can’t let this be the downfall where it ruins a whole season because it has been a good year for us. We can’t let this tear us apart.”
