MARYSVILLE — The Oak Harbor football team did whatever it wanted to do Thursday during its Wesco 3A North game against Marysville Pilchuck.
The vast majority of the time, the Wildcats wanted to run. And they ran very well.
Oak Harbor tallied 465 rushing yards and dominated from the opening whistle in its 60-0 victory. The Wildcats solidified their playoff positioning with the victory, while the Tomahawks’ loss means that their postseason hopes will be determined in a Kansas City tiebreaker Saturday.
“Last week we weren’t sharp, so it was nice that we came in here and played well,” Oak Harbor coach Jay Turner said. “The guys were more business-like, and they were focused. Hopefully we can use this as a catapult into the second season.”
The Wildcats’ (4-2 league, 7-2 overall) running back stable consisting of Lollar, Tamarik Hollins-Passmore and Mackenzie Nuanez was simply too much for Marysville Pilchuck to handle. Lollar ran the ball up the middle with ease, and Hollins-Passmore and Nuanez found success on the outside.
“This was a good confidence-booster for us,” said Wildcats running back Princeton Lollar. “Last week we didn’t play a good game, but this week we got our heads screwed on straight.”
Lollar ran for 214 yards on 20 carries, while Nuanez added 109 yards on eight carries.
“Our run game was solid, crisp,” Turner said. “We didn’t make mental mistakes like we did last week. It was a great effort. Princeton has been our workhorse all year. He’s 6-foot, 245 pounds, so I’m going to give him the ball as much as possible.”
The Wildcats dominated the first quarter en route to a 24-0 lead. Lollar capped off a long first drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Nuanez scored on a 5-yard run on their next drive and Lollar rumbled 50 yards for his second rushing score with 38 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Oak Harbor’s dominance continued in the second quarter as the Wildcats received rushing scores form Hollins-Passmore (5 yards) and Nuanez (34 yards) to take a 38-0 lead into halftime. Oak Harbor registered 312 rushing yards in the first half alone.
Lollar, Dorian Hardin and Thomas Gilham added rushing scores in the second half for the Wildcats, who began pulling some of their starters out of the game early in the third quarter when a running clock went into affect.
The Wildcats’ defense complemented the offensive attack with a stellar showing of its own, holding Marysville Pilchuck to 62 rushing yards. The Tomahawks couldn’t get anything going offensively except for three long pass plays completed by quarterback Kee-An Ballard.
Oak Harbor will travel to play Timberline next week in a quad-district winner-to-state contest.
The Tomahawks (2-4, 2-7) will participate in a tiebreaker with Arlington and host Stanwood on Saturday to determine the Wesco 3A North’s fourth seed.
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